www.ilevel.com
HORNALL ANDERSON DESIGN WORKS
The people staring out at you from the iLevel website can’t seem to stand
still. In fact, they look like the men and women you might see fidgeting
in line at the grocery store—idly shifting their heads or adjusting their
jackets. But here all this motion serves a bigger purpose than passing
time. The slight movements make these characters seem truly alive, even
though they’re set against simple line drawings of houses and trucks. It’s
all part of creating an immersive, 3D environment where people can experience
a relatively new brand.
This site plays an important role in the launch of a branded business
from Weyerhaeuser—a launch that brings together different segments
of the company’s residential wood products business under
one umbrella. Hornall Anderson Design Works partnered with
the company on the entire branding process, but the iLevel website
proved to be an important part of the puzzle: It’s where many people
first encounter the brand. As such, the site needed to grab attention
with something more compelling than text, so the project team
decided to turn the target audience into the site’s stars.
The featured individuals—ranging from home buyers and
builders to a design professional—actually step forward on the
site and talk about what iLevel does for them. Hornall Anderson
created scripts and worked with actors to make these characters
come alive in a way that’s realistic and engaging. As you watch
the testimonials, you can learn about how the brand saves time or
just helps a homeowner avoid squeaky floors. “It’s pretty hard for
me to relate to an I-beam, but it’s easy for me to relate to a person,”
says Jamie Monberg, interactive creative director.
This personal approach also helped the site appeal to a diverse
target audience without making the project seem disjointed or
unfocused. “How could you build one experience that felt like it
was created for each of these people?” Monberg asks. With this
design, users can simply start with the person who represents
them. But no matter where you start exploring the home page,
you’ll uncover important information about iLevel. Roll over
a house, and you’ll highlight a roof or flooring solution. A simple
click of the mouse takes you to detailed product information.
This environment allows users to truly interact with the brand
and gives them a reason to dig deeper to learn more about iLevel’s
extensive offerings.
Michelle Taute
Hornall Anderson Design Works | INTERACTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Jamie Monberg | SENIOR PRODUCER, ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Erica Goldsmith | PRODUCER: Dina Robinson | LEAD DESIGNER: Curt Collinsworth | FLASH DESIGNER, DEVELOPER: Adrien Lo | LEAD DEVELOPER: Jason Hickner | DESIGNER: Nathan Young | BRAND LIAISON, SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER: James Tee | www.hadw.com