New York.
Designing at scale
Few tourism brands are as recognizable as I Love New York. The iconic heart logo has represented the state for decades, making it both a powerful asset and a creative challenge when designing the official tourism website.
As Art Director on the project, I helped translate that identity into a digital experience that could represent the entire state. While many visitors immediately think of New York City, the platform also needed to showcase everything from Niagara Falls and the Finger Lakes to the Adirondack Mountains and small towns across the state. It was important that the design reflected the full scope of New York, not just the city most people associate with the brand.
The scale of the content was enormous, with multiple regions, stakeholders, and priorities all competing for attention. To make the experience approachable, the design relied on modular systems and regional breakdowns that helped organize content in a way that felt structured without becoming overwhelming.
There was a conscious effort to avoid common pitfalls that come with a brand this recognizable. Overusing the logo, leaning too heavily into New York City, or playing it too safe would have limited the experience. Instead, the I Love New York identity was used with intention, allowing it to guide the experience without overpowering it.
The heart logo became both a branding element and a functional device throughout the site. It appeared subtly in navigation, calls to action, and key interaction points, sometimes directly and sometimes through variations of the motif, helping create a cohesive thread across the platform.
Balancing client expectations with what the product needed was a critical part of the process. Early on, there was a tendency to include everything at once, but organizing content through clear regional structures created a more usable and scalable experience. The final platform delivered a dynamic, easy-to-navigate site that improved engagement and continues to support tourism across New York State today.
