A complete transformation of Door County’s visitor guide, evolving it from a dense, reference-style book into a visually engaging, editorial-driven magazine.
The redesign introduced a modern aesthetic, enhancing readability, storytelling, and overall appeal while ensuring alignment with the destination’s broader marketing strategy.
Overview & Scope
Destination Door County
CLIENT
Art Direction, Editorial Design, Redesign Strategy, Editorial Strategy
CONTRIBUTIONS
Reimagine the guide by shifting from a text-heavy, reference-style format to a visually compelling, magazine-style publication.
OBJECTIVE
ESTO Finalist
Challenges
Balancing Information Density with Design
The previous guide was packed with excessive text and minimal creative layout, making it overwhelming to read. The challenge was to retain essential information while introducing a more visually engaging structure.
Integrating Marketing Strategy into Print
The guide needed to align with Door County’s seasonal marketing themes while maintaining longevity as a year-round resource. This required a deep understanding of their campaigns and digital initiatives.
The visitor guide's warm messaging is seamlessly integrated into every visual and narrative element.
For each annual guide, I collaborate with local freelance photographers to capture environmental portraits of Door County’s business owners. By providing creative direction, I ensure the imagery’s editing style and overall aesthetic are seamlessly aligned with the guide’s established branding. This careful coordination results in authentic, visually cohesive portraits that not only highlight the unique character of each business but also contribute to the guide's rich, community-driven narrative.
Approach
Editorial & Marketing Cohesion
Unlike typical projects, I played a larger role in story ideation, ensuring the guide complemented Door County’s evolving marketing narratives. If a digital campaign focused on local artists, the guide featured the results of that initiative, creating a seamless brand experience.
Strategic Content & Visual Overhaul
I transformed the guide’s structure by reducing dense blocks of text, introducing a more intentional hierarchy, and incorporating dynamic imagery. Additionally, I curated selections from a not-so organized 15,000-image library, establishing a more structured system for future use.
Results
The new design not only modernized the guide’s look but also reinforced the messaging from Door County’s broader marketing efforts, ensuring a unified brand presence across platforms.
The shift to a magazine-style layout with cohesive storytelling and curated imagery made the guide more inviting, digestible, and visually compelling, improving overall user experience.
The 2024 Door County Visitor Guide marked a first-of-its-kind initiative at our company, driven by my idea to transform a featured story into a full-scale marketing campaign. Inspired by Home Cooked & Heartfelt, a piece in the guide highlighting the region’s top dining experiences, I developed the concept for Savor the Flavor of Door County—a multi-platform campaign designed to bridge the gap between print and digital engagement.
This initiative invited visitors to share their culinary adventures by posting a photo of their meal at Door County restaurants on Instagram using a dedicated hashtag. Participants had the chance to win a gift certificate sponsored by Destination Door County. To support the campaign, I shaped the strategy and approach, while our digital designer brought the vision to life through compelling campaign assets. We deployed a mix of print and digital marketing, including table toppers at partner restaurants, targeted social media ads, and dedicated email promotions.
With cross promotion, the guide itself becomes a catalyst for engagement, inviting readers to explore more about the campaign on our digital channels while highlighting the diverse dining options featured in the area. By bridging the gap between print and digital marketing, we enhance user engagement and elevate our guide's overall impact.
The campaign delivered exceptional results, generating over 10,000 website clicks with a 1.12% CTR, far exceeding industry benchmarks. On social media, engagement was equally impressive, with 150+ user-generated submissions and growing. This level of user-generated content both amplified the reach of this campaign and served as a testament to the vibrant dining scene in Door County.
By curating and showcasing these submissions online, we provide valuable social proof to prospective travelers. Each submission becomes a window into the unique flavors that our destination offers and fosters a sense of community among both locals and visitors. This organic growth further amplifies our campaign's impact, reaching individuals beyond our initial target audience and showcasing Door County as a must-visit destination for food enthusiasts.
Beyond numbers, Savor the Flavor fostered community engagement, amplifying Door County’s vibrant dining scene through authentic visitor experiences. By curating and sharing these submissions, we not only extended our campaign’s reach but also reinforced the region’s appeal as a must-visit culinary destination.
To promote this campaign, we engaged in paid advertising across multiple social media platforms, promoted in emails, and encouraged user-generated content, all of which promoted "Savor the Flavor."
This integrated approach not only drove traffic and campaign participation but also created a seamless connection between our printed guide and digital platforms.
Awards & Recognitions
The Door County Visitor Guide was named a finalist for the esteemed ESTO Award in the category of Regional Destination Visitor Guide.
Each year, the U.S. Travel Association receives numerous submissions from across the country, with only three finalists selected per category, highlighting the guide's exceptional quality and impact. Being named a finalist underscores the creativity, attention to detail, and strategic approach involved in creating a guide that showcases Door County's unique charm and appeal.
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