Local consultancy Nixon builds website to promote Cornwall through users’ content

Consultancy Nixon, based in Hayle, Cornwall, has designed and built the I Love Cornwall website, an online initiative to run alongside the Visit Cornwall website to promote the county through social networking.

The Cornwall Tourist Board, which commissioned the project and runs Visit Cornwall, appointed Nixon in December 2010 following a three-way credentials pitch.
Martin Nixon, managing director of Nixon Design, says, ’The rationale was to create something immediately engaging and to take advantage of trends in social media.

’Part of the brief was to try to make it stand alone. It’s a playful, witty, entertaining way of spreading the love about Cornwall.’

The project involved developing the look and feel of the site’s pages and branding, and building the site itself.

Nixon has created a ’mini branding device’ for the words ’I Love Cornwall’, which was inspired by the current tourist brochure brand guidelines, created by Falmouth-based design consultancy Gendall for Visit Cornwall.

Cornish digital marketing consultant Aren Grimshaw contributed towards the strategy.

The website’s content will mostly be user-generated, with Cornish people and visitors posting recommendations, thoughts and photographs relating to the county, alongside competitions and more ’magaziney’ content. Lauren Hogan, digital marketing manager for Visit Cornwall, says, ’The idea is that it’s going to be a space for the community to share their passion for Cornwall and to celebrate [the county].’

The website launches on 14 February.