Responses by Joe Stewart, cofounder/design partner, Work & Co

Background: The site’s role is to serve as the digital home for cycling apparel company Rapha. It’s the front door for the company to reach its passionate fans and loyal customers. While Rapha has built physical stores, called “Clubhouses,” in several countries, it relies heavily on digital for a singular face of its worldwide brand. Our aim was to create an experience that reflects the uniqueness of the Rapha brand.

Highlights: The site is designed to motivate users to get on their bikes. It makes it easy to find great local rides, book a cycling holiday, get advice on distance cycling and learn from the legends of the sport. On top of all that, it also happens to sell users the best cycling apparel in the world. In addition, we kept in mind that we needed to speak to both professional cyclists and newcomers at the same time. The site makes it easy to select proficiency levels to find the right range of products and then tailors content based on the user’s experience.

Technical features: Rapha has an incredibly active community via the Rapha Cycling Club (RCC), a global cycling club that organizes thousands of rides annually. There’s a magical interplay between the digital and physical worlds that the site supports. It makes sure to serve the needs of the RCC to meet up in person, ride together, support each other, answer each other’s questions and most importantly, keep getting on their bikes.

Navigational structure: Because Rapha is about fostering the romance of cycling and providing education to riders alongside its popular line of clothing and accessories, we ensured that the “Ride” and “Shop” sections were on equal footing. The structure makes it clear that we want to fuel cyclists’ passions via e-commerce as much as we do via useful content. It was critical that the navigation is built to serve everyone equally as well, from professional cyclists to casual enthusiasts.