Calcutta Timber Merchants Association (CTMA)
Project Overview
Modernizing the Digital Identity of India’s Leading Timber Trade Association
The Calcutta Timber Merchants Association (CTMA) is one of India’s oldest and most respected trade associations representing timber manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, retailers, and allied industries. The objective of this project was to redesign CTMA’s digital presence into a modern, content-driven, and highly accessible website that serves members, businesses, government authorities, and industry professionals through a centralized digital platform.
The redesigned website focuses on improving information accessibility, member engagement, event participation, publications, notices, resource distribution, and association transparency while maintaining the trust and legacy built over decades. As the Lead UI/UX Designer, I created a responsive, scalable, and user-centric experience that simplifies complex information architecture into an intuitive journey for every visitor.
The Challenge
Managing Extensive Industry Information
CTMA regularly publishes notices, circulars, industry news, publications, events, awards, and member resources. Organizing this large volume of information into a simple and intuitive navigation system was one of the biggest design challenges.
Modernizing a Legacy Organization
The website needed to preserve CTMA's long-standing reputation while introducing a contemporary interface that reflects professionalism, trust, and industry leadership.
Improving Member Engagement
Members required faster access to downloads, events, committee information, resource centers, dealer directories, and association updates without navigating through multiple pages.
User Research & Insights
Visitors Primarily Seek Information
Research showed that most users visit the website to access association notices, publications, industry news, membership details, and upcoming events rather than general corporate information.
Simple Navigation Improves Information Discovery
Users preferred clearly categorized navigation with dedicated sections for resources, memberships, committees, and events rather than deeply nested menu structures.
Mobile Usage Continues to Grow
More than 0% of visitors accessed the website using smartphones, making responsive navigation and mobile-friendly layouts critical for improving accessibility.
Professional Design Builds Institutional Trust
A structured layout, consistent branding, and organized presentation of official information significantly increased user confidence in the association's credibility.
Designing a Member-Centric Information Hub
The user experience was designed around how different stakeholders interact with the association. Instead of presenting information according to internal organizational structures, the website organizes content around visitor goals such as becoming a member, accessing resources, exploring events, reading industry updates, or contacting the association. This approach significantly improves discoverability while creating a more intuitive browsing experience.
Ideation & Logic
Designing a Member-Centric Information Hub
The user experience was designed around how different stakeholders interact with the association. Instead of presenting information according to internal organizational structures, the website organizes content around visitor goals such as becoming a member, accessing resources, exploring events, reading industry updates, or contacting the association. This approach significantly improves discoverability while creating a more intuitive browsing experience.
Learn about the association, its history, objectives, leadership, and contributions to the timber industry.
Understand membership benefits, eligibility criteria, application procedures, and member services.
Browse publications, circulars, notices, newsletters, events, awards, and resource center materials.
Discover seminars, exhibitions, annual meetings, workshops, and industry networking opportunities.
Contact CTMA, locate member businesses, access support services, and stay informed about industry developments.
Wireframes & Iteration
Design System & UI Kit
Visual Identity
The visual language reflects CTMA's heritage while embracing modern web design principles. A refined green-and-gold color palette, elegant typography, structured layouts, and reusable UI components establish credibility and improve readability across every section of the website. The design system supports future expansion while maintaining visual consistency throughout the platform.
Typography & Components
- Poppins Paragraph / 'Poppins', sans-serif / 1.1rem
- Lora Section Title / "Lora", serif / 2rem
- Cavet Section top Title / "Caveat", cursive / 1.2rem
FINAL VISUAL DESIGN
A professional, content-rich association website that combines intuitive navigation, modern visual design, responsive layouts, and structured information architecture to strengthen member engagement and industry communication.
• What CTMA Actually Do
• Affiliation partner and CTMA Strength
Support links and Resource for All
Dedicated Contact form
Members Profile
Interactive Prototype
An interactive prototype was developed to demonstrate the complete website experience, including homepage navigation, mega menu interactions, membership pages, resource center browsing, event discovery, publications, contact workflows, and responsive layouts. The prototype enabled stakeholders to validate the information architecture before development while ensuring seamless usability across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.
Usability Testing & Impact
Testing Outcomes
Usability testing focused on content discoverability, navigation efficiency, mobile responsiveness, and resource accessibility. Feedback from association members, business owners, and stakeholders helped simplify the navigation structure, improve information hierarchy, and optimize access to publications, events, and membership services. The final design successfully transformed CTMA's website into a modern digital platform that strengthens communication, improves engagement, and supports the association's long-term digital growth.
- Reduced average information search time by 0% through improved information architecture and mega navigation.
- Increased membership page engagement by 0% with simplified navigation and clearly structured membership information.
- Improved mobile usability by 0% through responsive layouts, touch-friendly navigation, and optimized content presentation.
- Enhanced user satisfaction by 0% with modern design, faster content discovery, and a streamlined browsing experience.
Gallery Albums
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