Web design is an ever-evolving discipline which develops just as quickly as people’s taste in music, culture and fashion, however, the fundamentals never change for Heavyweight Agency.
Our approach to web design maximises creative potential while ensuring every project is unique and bespoke to our clients requirements.
It’s no simple task, but it’s the only way we work.
Our ground rule is that content leads design.
Copy, photography, video and other key elements are prioritised to ensure simplicity and clarity throughout our process. Design should never distract the user from the content itself.
The design should assist the user by providing a clean, easy to navigate website that enables them to gain the information they need as quickly as possible in a visually appealing environment.
“Design can be art, design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it’s so complicated.”
Paul Rand – Modernist Master
The first step to designing a website which matches the image a client has in their head, is to spend time listening to their vision, expectations, likes and dislikes.
But it’s not just information that we try to absorb, so much of what makes design great is how it makes people feel, which is why we take a rational and emotional approach towards a design project.
We’ll pay close attention to corporate guidelines and brand architecture to make sure the identity of a business shines through our designs.
“Bad design is smoke, while good design is a mirror.”
Juan-Carlos Fernandez – Art Director
Combining all of the learnings and information gathered during our initial phase, we’ll present a site plan which details the full scope of works and a detailed wiring map.
The placement of content is key, so make we’ll make it clear where image, videos, pop-ups and other key elements will be presented.
Every website we design will also be structered to suit the latest and best SEO practices, which is a critical part of developing a webiste.
Once we have presented the initial site plan, we’ll hand it over to be looked over and edited if any changes are needed. We want to make sure that the whole process is collaborative, so we’ll make sure to allow time for a full feedback process to take place.
“Thinking about design is hard, but not thinking about design can be disastrous.”
Ralph Caplan – Author
Once we have received sign-off on the site plan, we’ll move forward with creating the first version of the web design.
We’ll make sure to create a few pages to highlight how the designs will look with different types of content and functionality.
We spend a lot of time creating flexible options for the design, allowing it to seamlessly change as more content is added and more elements combined, such as menu options and animations.
Once finalised, our team will rigorously examine the designs before presenting visuals.
We take great pride in our work, so we will always discuss why certain design decisions were made and what inspired us to make those decisions. This verbal process also allows clients to ask questions and make final suggestions for us to take on board.
“Nail the basics first, detail the details later.”
Chris Anderson – Creator of TED Talks
After receiving the initial sign-off on designs, we’ll proceed to start work on designing a brand new website.
As standard, each website will contain different versions of designs, which will fit the each individual device and browser so that the website looks just as good on a desktop, mobile and tablet.
Once the design work has been completed and full sign-off is secured from the client, everything will be handed over to our development team to start bringing the designs to life.
“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupery – Writer and Poet
George Brown