The Word On The Street is Canada’s largest book and magazine festival, hosted annually in five cities. Its mission extends beyond celebration — supporting literacy awareness and strengthening the Canadian publishing ecosystem.
Despite its national prominence, its digital presence did not reflect the scale, cultural relevance, or operational complexity of the event.
The Problem
The organization faced both brand and operational challenges:
An outdated website that didn’t reflect its national stature
Complex annual content updates (authors, books, schedules, venues)
Separate festival sites with inconsistent UX patterns
Limited mobile responsiveness
Brand identity that lacked cohesion and visual presence
The platform needed to support five festivals, evolving yearly content, and multiple stakeholder groups — from attendees to authors to sponsors.
The Approach
UX Audit & Platform Strategy
Conducted a full experience audit across the main site and five festival sites
Identified opportunities to unify structure and simplify content management
Reframed the site around immersive, content-first storytelling
Brand & Experience Redesign
Refreshed the organization’s visual identity
Designed an imagery-driven interface highlighting authors, books, and events
Increased visual hierarchy and whitespace to clarify information structure
Strengthened sponsor and partner visibility
Interactive & Searchable Festival Experience
Designed an interactive festival schedule with venue, time, and genre search
Created dedicated author and book experiences
Integrated donation flows for supporters and authors
Embedded social media touchpoints to encourage community engagement
Scalable CMS Infrastructure
Built a custom WordPress template
Streamlined content entry, linking, and annual updates
Created a maintainable framework for future festival cycles
Responsive & Accessible Design
Delivered a fully responsive experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile
Ensured accessibility and browser compatibility
Impact
Unified five festival sites under a cohesive digital ecosystem
Simplified annual content management workflows
Elevated the festival’s national brand presence
Created an immersive, content-driven user experience
Delivered a scalable platform to support future growth
This project demonstrates the ability to blend brand strategy, content architecture, and scalable CMS design — transforming a culturally significant national event into a modern, maintainable digital platform.