TIMBERLINE LODGE

BRINGING HISTORY TO A NEW GENERATION

Timberline Lodge is one of Oregon’s oldest and most celebrated landmarks. From its most famous claim to fame as the exterior lodge in The Shining to a world-class ski/snowboard destination — Timberline is an amalgam of rich history and modern outdoor life.

Their previous site, both structurally and visually, reflected how the stakeholder team felt about the Lodge. The structure of the site mirrored their business’ departments (e.g. Ski School, Lodge, Cafe, etc) — each with a ‘page.’ Site visuals were anchored in the historical aspects within the Lodge.

As art director on the project, I worked with a team that encouraged business stakeholders to consider the fundamental needs of site visitors. Nemo worked with Timberline to meet all business goals (selling more lift tickets, increasing Lodge bookings online) while restructuring the site around customer needs identified in user research. The previous navigation structure, centered around departments, was revised to mirror what a Timberline visitor would be doing at the Lodge — Visiting (Lodge), Playing (Ski/Snowboard), Learning (School), and Exploring.

WHAT IS YOUR TIMBERLINE?

In an effort to visually expand the meaning of Timberline, we used the Explore section as an opportunity to allow the public to share their view of the Timberline experience through photography and video. Using a variety of social media tactics (also a business goal), the site invited visitors to show their own version of Timberline - From the giant pine boards throughout the Lodge to the most cutting-edge snowboard halfpipe trick. This tactic helped Timberline open conversations with their audiences in ways that were previously not possible.

REALTIME WEATHER

Historically, weather reporting on the mountain has proven to be a challenge. The typical Portland reports are rarely able to accurately predict weather on the Mountain, and particularly at the Lodge. As a service to their customers, our team built a robust conditions page that displayed realtime, customized weather and lift reports. This data was coupled with Timberline’s Twtitter account, allowing our clients to broadcast specific and accurate weather information at any given moment. User interviews, backed by analytics reporting, confirm this is one of the most frequently used tools on the site.