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 Case Study: Rhino Foods  
The ClientRhino Foods began in the 1980s as a small Vermont ice cream shop known as Chessy’s Frozen Custard. After decades of consistent quality and growth, Rhino is now responsible for the large-scale production of products such as inclusions and add-ins for the best ice cream and frozen dessert companies in the world. Rhino Foods and its founder, Ted Castle, pride themselves on their purpose and core business principles which focus on community improvement, strong customer relationships, employee care, and long-term financial health. They needed a site that would not only tell people about their business, but also educate visitors on how they do business. Planning and PrototypingThe planning phase was a collaborative one in which input from both the client and our agency partner helped us to best personalize our strategic insight. Beginning with a very basic navigation structure, we met regularly as a group until we had fully articulated the site’s structure and functionality in a comprehensive prototype. We defined all of the content relationships and crafted a smooth user experience.
Design and Agency PartnershipHaving been actively involved in the planning and prototyping of the website, Steve Wetherby, the art director at Scuola Group, had a clear sense of the site’s goals and functionality--an understanding he was then able to apply to the visual design process. Scuola Group worked closely with Rhino Foods to create a fresh and fun design that fell right in line with Rhino’s core values and personality. The new logo and color scheme as well as over-sized graphics bring a great new atmosphere to the Rhino Foods site.
Key FunctionalityRhino wanted the ability to add interactive elements, like slideshows and videos, throughout the site. We developed a solution that allows them to embed Vimeo videos and Vuvox presentations on any standard page, in addition to the Newfangled slideshow tool. Additionally, to create a better user experience while bringing users further into the site, we created a template that allows Rhino to select related content (blog posts, programs or other resources) for any standard page. To build off of Rhino’s commitment to their employees and focus on a personal touch, we also created custom sidebar contact forms where they could specify individual employees to contact. Lastly, we created a system of organization for all of the various products that Rhino produces. This system gives them the ability to assign and re-use product categories and even flavors for each product. Project Team |
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We discussed how all of this functionality would work - what would be automated through the content management system (CMS), and what would be controlled by Rhino. The end goal, of course, being a balance between easy of use and customization abilities that would effectively meet the needs of the client and, ultimately, the end users of the website.
The design utilizes graphics of handmade objects, like paper notes and scotch tape. This hand-crafted look rings back to the personal touch that Rhino has in creating all of their products. Additionally, Rhino chose to feature photographs of all of their employees and created custom contact forms, allowing the user to get a deeper glimpse into the Rhino Foods culture.
