Aréa: Memento tells the story of urban life
An invitation to rethink public space
For over 35 years, urban furniture brand Aréa has supported eco-friendly, human-first public spaces. Best known for manufacturing benches, bollards, planters, and bike racks, the French design and manufacturing company wanted an elegant, state-of-the-art upgrade to its website. While its competitors’ websites focus on product specs and hard sells, Aréa wanted a tool that would not only support client conversations but also show the company’s dedication to refined public experiences.
Aréa partnered with WS Interactive to design Memento, an interactive digital experience for its website. The goal was to go beyond creating a website and displaying products, but rather to explore how urban furniture shapes social interaction and the experience of public space.
The challenge: Converting a catalog into a living narrative
Memento needed to translate complex themes on everything from urban planning and economics to a varied audience of designers, the public, city planners, and elected officials.
Aréa needed Memento to deliver on several goals, including:
- Demonstrate how street furniture shapes contemporary, state-of-the-art public spaces
- Avoid technical language or product-focused sales
- Stay true to Aréa’s timeless brand
- Use simple and intuitive navigation, despite addressing complex topics
To deliver on Aréa’s ambitions and deliver a great experience, we started with an emotional design approach to the project with an equal focus on content and creativity.
The solution: Where UX meets urban thinking
WS Interactive translated Aréa’s vision into an immersive, design-forward digital experience. Memento needed to cover a lot of complex topics in just a few clicks, so WS Interactive designed a clean, minimalist experience that allowed the content to breathe.
The team collaborated with Aréa to offer end-to-end support, including:
- UX strategy and content architecture
- Graphic design
- Interactive elements, including micro-scroll animations
- Performance optimization
A platform designed for exploration
WS Interactive created a serene, editorial-inspired experience that mirrors the intentional nature of Aréa’s designs. In an industry inundated with promotional language, Memento is an expectation-shattering experience that brings Aréa’s mission to the forefront. Far from being just a furniture manufacturer and designer, Aréa is a thought leader with the public’s interests at heart.
In addition to helping Aréa stand out from the competition, Memento also:
- Provides Aréa’s clients with a helpful reference tool
- Showcases Aréa’s editorial thinking and digital craftsmanship
- Gives Aréa’s sales team an eye-catching tool for client conversations
Memento isn’t a promotional tool. It’s a curated knowledge platform that reflects Aréa’s true influence on public life. This long-term brand asset perfectly balances Aréa’s needs for an elegant solution that simplifies complex ideas, all while positioning the company as a design leader. Benches and bike racks may not be frequently on the public’s mind, but for the future-focused professionals at Aréa, these designs are changing public life, one space at a time.
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