Knowing how to work with prior groundwork
It’s an unusual way to do things, but we still have interesting things to say about this RFP we didn’t win. Starting with a stimulating challenge that asked us, when writing our response, to work with prior groundwork that included personas, a new information architecture and zoning for the main pages. We chose to challenge that groundwork, showing our ability to build on a solid base while bringing in a fresh perspective. The project also called for particular attention to accessibility (RGAA), eco-design (RGESN), pillars of our approach to responsible design, and to the mobile-first experience.
Our approach: synergy as a creative engine
Faced with a fairly short deadline to write a response to this RFP, we put together a tight-knit team covering the key areas of expertise in our scope: UX design, UI design and art direction. The goal: to bring our disciplines together to deliver a response that’s right, coherent and inspiring, while concretely illustrating our vision of how we support clients. While the UX team explores what’s being done well and less well in the tourism sector, with particular attention to the world of the mountains (but not only), the UI team runs its own visual benchmark. They analyse the aesthetic codes of the major ski resorts and other visual universes. Worth noting: this research goes beyond the strictly digital frame to look at physical materials as well. A simultaneous approach that saves us precious time and also lets us project ourselves as users: 💬 “I’m used to mountain hiking and usually what I’m missing is direct access to information about the type of hike!”, 💬 or “me, on the contrary, I never go to the mountains, what I’d like is to be supported from A to Z to prepare my stay”. We could also have imagined the worst tourism experiences to surface the best ideas for improvement.
Balancing performance, emotion and sobriety
How do you guide multiple target audiences on the same site, depending on their needs, their level of familiarity with the mountains and the season? How do you balance digital sobriety, accessibility and desirability? Questions like these guide our proposal. The “Plan your stay” block, for instance, is imagined as a personal assistant supporting visitors before, during and after their stay. This contextualised-journey logic answers user experience stakes and business goals at the same time, creating natural opportunities for add-on services while improving customer satisfaction.
Toward responsible and inclusive digital design
On the eco-design side, we make a strong choice to remove the autoplay video on the homepage (which is nonetheless a standard in the tourism sector) and to offer high-quality visuals capable of triggering the same emotion without compromising performance. To be clear, we’re not saying that video should be banned outright! It can absolutely be triggered at the user’s explicit request, drastically reducing the site’s carbon footprint without sacrificing its visual and emotional impact. Accessibility is treated not as a constraint but as an opportunity for inclusion. The “Les Arcs for everyone” block, for instance, imagines navigation by user profile: families, groups of friends, people with reduced mobility, or visitors travelling with pets. An approach that goes beyond the RGAA requirements and turns the diversity of audiences into a competitive asset for the resort.
Anticipating tomorrow's tourism habits
Beyond the functional scope, we bring in a more strategic reflection on how the sector is shifting: the impact of climate change on destination choices, the search for more responsible stays, or the pressure on purchasing power. All transformations that invite us to rethink the communication, the way the region is showcased (a topic we know well from having supported SNCF Voyageurs on the last-mile theme), and the overall digital experience.
The impact: a taste of how we work
Our thinking aimed to optimise the user experience while generating value for Les Arcs, by proposing targeted services, support opportunities, and by reinforcing the resort’s brand image through eco-design. What we lacked, on the other hand, was an extra level of explanation to make our design directions explicit. Even so, these deliverables convey a vision that is both pragmatic and inspired: a global response that fully illustrates the way we design:
- the ability to respect and showcase existing work while bringing in a fresh perspective,
- a collective and agile approach, bringing in the right expertise at the right moment,
- a constant search for balance between function and emotion,
- and a philosophy of responsible design, combining accessibility, eco-design and aesthetics.
