GKG WEBSITE

Design | Build | Photography | Copy

When Gil Sanchez decided to open Gil's Kickboxing Gym in the South Bay, he came to me to design a website. I knew a successful website required conveying the sense of a thriving membership community...a site filled with photography of happy members engaging in training and class activities. When a gym hasn't opened , creating that photography is a challenge. To address the challenge, I built the site entirely using placeholder photography. Within a few days of the doors opening, I was able to generate the photos and swap out all placeholder art.

What Makes GKG Stand Out?

To attract new members, it was essential to communicate the attributes making GKG stand apart from other gyms. Special emphasis needed to be placed on the qualifications and passion of the instructors and the ways in which the gym focuses on developing the hardcore skills that deliver both fitness and self confidence. The gym also needed to feel welcoming for people at all levels. For this it was critical to photograph real gym members in real classes not paid models.

Mobile-Friendly Schedule

One important need of gym members is to quickly access an up-to-date class schedule while on the go. Competitor websites often display schedules using PDFs which are not mobile-friendly requiring pinching and zooming to read the contents. For GKG I created an elegant responsive solution that aggregates classes by day. I purposely avoided heavy graphics on the page so it would load quickly when not on WiFi. Desktop users are given the additional options of printing a schedule and downloading a PDF.

Logo Design

Gil needed help with the logo. What he was using when I started was suitable for a t-shirt, but failed to adequately meet his needs across all uses. My approach to his logo was to keep it simple. Convey the meaning of "GKG" by pairing it with a silhouette of a kickboxer and the full business name spelled out. A sense of the business is imparted...learn hardcore skills with an instructor you can relate to.