OE Federal Credit Union partnered with award-winning credit union website design agency BloomCU to develop a new website. One of the primary goals of the website redesign was to put OE Federal’s distinctive brand in the spotlight.
As the new oefcu.org explains, “In 1964, the members of Operating Engineers Local #3 gathered in the union hall to form OE Federal: a financial institution made by union workers, for union workers.” To this day, OE Federal’s membership is 100% union. Due to OE Federal’s rich history of working exclusively with union members, the design and content of the new website needed to show how OE Federal serves them better than anyone else, alongside their values of family, strength, and integrity. “The new website needed to be sleek and stylish,” said Derik Krauss, one of BloomCU’s cofounders, “but also have enough grit to make John Wayne jealous.”
The new design uses strong lines, sharp angles, bold fonts, and a dark theme accented with striking yellow. The gritty vibe is completed with carefully selected images that depict the trades of OE Federal’s membership, which includes operating engineers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, painters, and many other skilled laborers. The result of this meticulously constructed credit union website design is a new site that’s dripping with union flavor. This comes across most clearly on the homepage, which shows various union workers in their element and discusses the distinct advantages of a “union-only” credit union.
The website also features advanced technology, so you can find what you’re looking for in seconds. The navigation menus include an interactive assistant—when you click on a category, questions pop up to help you discover the products and services you need. For example, if you click “Accounts” from the top menu, you have the option to answer a few interactive questions about what you need, e.g. “Do you need an account for spending or saving?” Based on your responses, the navigation assistant can tell you which account is best for you. (E.g., It can tell you if you should you open a Money Market or Share Certificate account.)
OE Federal also wanted their new site to provide financial education for members. BloomCU helped them reach this goal by building an Education Center to post interactive lessons, webinars, and educational blog posts. The interactive lessons teach financial concepts—like how to get the most out of a home loan or pay off a credit card—in short, digestible segments.
“Honestly, this is one of my favorite websites we’ve designed,” said Krauss. “The teams at OE Federal and BloomCU both did a fantastic job collaborating to produce a work of art that so beautifully represents OE Federal’s brand.”