Design

Great Design, Great Results

ILLU 7

Digital design is so much more than good looking graphics and carefully selected colour palettes. It's about expertly implemented technology and knowledge. Even if a website overflows with gorgeous imagery, without a helpful and intuitive structure it will lack the depth and clarity required to satisfy its users. Add to that considerations around rich content and SEO, loading speeds, compatibility across platforms etc, and you can see that web design is far more complex than often envisaged.

Our design process helps us make sure we understand your organisation's core message and objectives, meaning you get the most out of your online presence. High end design that is unique to every project, exceeding the expectations of clients and meeting the challenge of complex briefs.

Content Comes First

One thing that always helps when putting together a design concept is real content - the images and the text you want to see in the final, finished version. Every website and every person has something different to say, and we use design to ensure this is clearly communicated. When you use dummy text, you are assuming that the communication problem has already been solved, and that it is just white noise to the 'more important' issue of stylisation.

We see design differently. As the medium for communication, not just the icing on the cake.

Wireframing Process

Rather than jumping straight into designs with imagery and colour, our design process begins with a quick prototyping method known as Wireframing. This allows us to rapidly mock up web pages and show you the structure and layout of key content before working on the actual user interface.

Wireframing really helps speed up the next stage, when we begin to consider the intricate elements of the design. It saves time in the long-run, especially on larger sites with complex hierarchies and structures. Sketching out the structure in this environment helps you and us to visualise the end result, makes it quick to make changes, and gives us a canvas upon which we can then build the creative elements.

User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) Design

There are many things that go into good design. Our designers study people's online behaviour and browsing habits, and this influences the designs they produce. As well as looking great, a good web design will be intuitive, following a visual language that the viewer understands and making it easy to find your way around.

There's no silver bullet. We take what we have learned from everything we've built before, and apply this experience and knowledge to everything new. It's this process that helps us create something unique for every client we work with.

Responsive Web Design

The expansion of technology, proliferation of devices, and the prediction that mobile browsing is soon to surpass desktops has given rise to a new way of thinking about design for the online space. Think about it, how often do you access the web via your phone these days?

We use responsive web design to help future-proof the websites we build, delivering an optimal user experience across devices. To do this, we follow a process of progressive enhancement, in which we design for the smallest screen first and add more to the experience for full browsers on larger screens. By making it responsive design, we can create a tailored, enjoyable user experience for every screen and browser.

Furthermore, responsive web design is a cost-efficient solution in that it reduces the need to create different templates of your site, i.e. a mobile website in addition to the desktop version, offering a single solution that works across devices and platforms. It also puts the focus back on the content, meaning you better consider the end users' needs from the offset.

Is your site Responsive? Check out our Responsive Web Design Testing Tool to find out.

Front-End Development

In the front-end development process, we take the static designs and introduce interactive elements and custom graphics to bring them to life. We understand that great content is only part of the story: the delivery of content, and the user experience, are equally essential. It can be the difference between a user sharing your page with all of their friends, or losing interest half-way through.