Category: Web Design

Planning your website project

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

When you own a business, it is safe to assume that you have at least thought about the idea of having a website. It is a good idea, as in this day and age nearly everything is online, and having a web presence can sometimes be more vital than having a physical shop, for example helping you to reach places and customers that your shop cannot.

However, when it comes to a website, it can sometimes be a delicate process, as it isn’t just as simple as setting one up and leaving it at that. It needs maintenance, for example when you get new products or publish new content. But you don’t have to worry about doing all of this yourself, as here at Kaizen Brand Evolution, web design is something that we specialise in, and as such would be more than happy to help. But before jumping in the deep end take a look at some of the things you need to think about before beginning your website project.

Written content:

Before you can even start to think about putting your website together, you need to think about what you want to go up on it. There isn’t much point in saying you’re ready to bring the website together if you don’t have content, as then you will just set yourself back. To begin with, think about the different pages you want to have and what they are going to be. This all depends on what business area it is you are involved in. For example, if you are like ourselves here at kaizenprint.co.uk, you are going to want a lot of different pages detailing all of the different products that you have. However, if for example if you own a photography studio you might want to have fewer pages, and instead include a gallery page which then has subcategories of all of the different types of photography that you are involved in. But aside from this, everything on each page is vitally important, from the homepage telling people who your brand is to the contact page. So before starting your project, we highly advise sitting down and thinking about all of this, making sure that you have everything, before going over it again just to make sure you haven’t missed anything. Of course, it isn’t compulsory to have this planned before visiting us but will save a lot of time.

Photography and video content:

When beginning your website project, it is important to think about what visuals you are going to have on there, and this all depends on what it is your service or product is. However, one thing that is a common factor among all of the great websites is their photography. Images sell on a website, so before you have started your project it is a good idea to plan ahead and get them sorted now. Again, think about what your website is going to be used for, and plan your photography around that for example If you’re selling products, it is a good idea to use a professional photographer. They can catch your products in the best light, making them easy to view and also enticing for customer viewing them. Using a professional photographer is a good idea for whatever photography that you need, as it will really show in the quality of your images. Here at Kaizen Brand Evolution, we understand the best brands are ones that work together and we can put you in touch with a few of our favourite photographers. If you don’t need a professional photographer we have a team of graphic designers that can use stock photography that will look right at home.

Purchasing a domain:

Before beginning your website project, it’s a good idea to purchase your domain name. When you do this, you are ensuring that the website address is yours and yours alone. We highly recommend that you purchase yours off 123reg.co.uk and get it now. When this is done, you can let us know and we can upload a holding page to go up until your website is being completed.

Hosting your website:

Before you can begin hosting with a company, they usually request that you own your domain name, so it is definitely a good idea to get that part sorted first. But what exactly is web hosting? It is a service provided by companies that allow both individuals and other companies to bring their website online, and put it on the internet and provide them with the tools they need to do this. Here at Kaizen Brand Evolution, we use a company called Big Wet Fish who we highly recommend and will gladly put you in touch with them if you don’t already have something sorted yourself.

Research other websites:

One of the final steps that will be involved with your website project is the designing of it and once all of the content has been gathered this can go ahead. However, before meeting with your web designer, it would be a good idea to come with some preparations. Take a look at some other websites, whether they are in the same business as you or not, take a look at ones you like the look of and compile a list. Look at how they are designed, their functionality, colours and imagery, as this will all help when it comes to designing yours. For example, if you have a few, you could tell your designer that you like the look of X but the way Y functions, and as such can begin to create exactly what it was you had envisioned for your website.

We hope by now you have some idea of the steps that are required when you begin your own website project. But we also hope that this article has helped you understand a little better, and help you your way of gathering everything you need, before taking the step to creating your online presence.

If that is what you are currently thinking about, then why not let us help you even further? Here at Kaizen Brand Evolution, we have a specialised Web Designer in-house who is always happy to help get you up and running. Give us a call on +44 (0)28 9507 2007  or get us by email via our contact form.

Harlow Brand Identity

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

The client’s ambition was to supply top of the line Italian and Scandinavian fashions online with an eventual ‘bricks and mortar’ store in Northern Ireland.  The brand had no name, identity, narrative or visual strategy. It was our job to sculpt and direct the branding from naming to delivery.

We chose a name that reflected the company’s ambitions, high-end, one with an abstract meaning and a subtle hint to a landscape in which the clothes are made. The name Harlow was a great driver for the identity creation and overall styling of the brand collateral, as it reflects elegance, subtly and confidence.  The naming process was approached with the same rigour as any brand identity project. Firstly with research and investigation, looking at hundreds of colloquial, European meanings and names, names that echoed style, femininity, and confidence, all brand pillars of what is now known as Harlow Clothing Company.

With the company name to hand, we could now focus on creating the brand identity. Our research revealed some really outstanding fashion outlets and quirky retailers across the globe. We explored texture, palette, photography – fashion, landscape and otherwise. We tested and worked with an array of type, symbolism and mark making. We used the stem ‘passion led us here’ as a backbone narrative for the project – this language opened up the door for passionate photography, and an overall ‘chill’ – ‘hippy’ lifestyle vibe for the brand – something that the client was immediately connected with.  The narrative paved way for an ‘airy,’ modern use of type with wide spacing between letters. The font used for the primary type mark is a Grecian typeface, one that screams ‘foreign contemporary’ to keep in line with the business ambition and to suit the product. The type in the mark now decided upon we wanted to introduce a simple device to enhance the overall identity. Traditionally when thinking to European or foreign language we expect to see accents or glyphs that derive from foreign alphabets, so how do we introduce this – cleverly. Taking inspiration from the missing holes inside a button we introduced an “umlaut”-style device above the H in Harlow. This addition creates a unique brand identity and creates a new brand atmosphere to begin to use dots and the separated H as part of the brand material and roll out.

The colour palette is subtle, confident and modern reflective of the 3 pillars of Harlow Clothing Company. The greys and blues echo the denim and highbrow fashion on sale. Pairing the colour palette with fashion photography enhances the brand personality, solidifying the clients’ expectations and price ticket of some of the brands on sale at harowclothing.co. Harlow’s initial brands are Italian denim magnates Freddy and Scandinavia’s SVEA – two unique, stylish brands that radiate quality and fashion. Harlow sits confidently in this brand landscape and showcases the products on sale fantastically. The photography brings another element of landscape to the identity, transporting its customers to the origins of the garments on sale. The photography is a welcome addition to the brand pack, it’s storytelling ability enhances the experience and establishes the new business as an already market leader in this field. I must highlight that Harlow is the first business in Northern Ireland to stock and sell the Freddy and SVEA brands.

We designed all brand material from online e-commerce site to tags, labels, packaging and signage. All brand elements adapt the same brand tone, minimal yet impactful. The brand is now live and boasts an already impressive online following on Instagram. As Harlow’s reputation builds we continue to work with them, acting as brand guardians, as they evolve so do we.

Evolve your business with design thinking #ImWithTheBrand

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

Design solves business problems; it’s that simple.

Struggling to reach your target audience? Join us for the 4th event in our #ImWithTheBrand series, where we’ll take you through our full design process and help you grow your business with design thinking.

This workshop will introduce you to the tools to build and evolve, showing you how to bring a brand to life, both online and offline, adding value to your business.

Design thinking enables you to identify unique selling points of a business, identify key messages, generate stand out marketing campaigns and develop the overall ethos and goals of your business to allow for growth. These tools can be used to build, revitalise and strengthen any brand, from start ups to large corporations.

This event is perfect for owners of local start up businesses and established SMEs, and marketing/business development professionals who would like to see their businesses grow and thrive.

The workshop takes place on Jan 19th from 8am until 10am, at The Academy Restaurant in Ulster University. Early bird tickets are £5 until Jan 3rd (£8 after this date). If you’d like to book a place, you can buy tickets using the form below.

Speakers

Ryan Stanfield – Design Director at Kaizen Brand Evolution

Ryan leads the branding team that create and manage some of Ireland and the UK’s most recognised brands. After numerous years in branding agencies, Ryan has learnt that designing for the client, building relationships and getting to the core of the business is key when undertaking any brief. His creative take on the branding process enables him to build brands that present the core values and mission of a business in visual form. His unique approach delivers deep meaningful change across our clients businesses, brands come to us when they want results.

Lizi Daley – Digital Designer at Kaizen Brand Evolution

Lizi pushes the envelope with functionality online while keeping the user in mind at all times. Her approach to design focuses on user experience and engaging content, which always results in a positive impact on the bottom line of our client’s businesses. As well as interpreting the brand message to digital format, Lizi also offers training on functionality and purpose so that clients are fully equipped to get the best from their online presence. Online conversion is core to any business, acting as an extension to your sales team.

1 to 1 Sessions

Connor McAuley will also be hosting 1 to 1 brand consultations after the speakers as part of the event. If you would like to book a consultation, please contact us here.

Connor McAuley – Managing Director at Kaizen Brand Evolution

Connor has been in the business of design and marketing for over 16 years and as the industry landscape changes and adapts so does Connor’s technique. Under Connor’s leadership Kaizen Brand Evolution has grown from a small Ireland focused studio to a much larger business working with major international, national and regional clients in London, Dublin, and Belfast. Connor’s ability to get under the skin of a businesses core beliefs enables him to advise of how best to reach markets and communicate effectively.

Little Hands Little Feet

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

Little Hands Little Feet are a leading day-care and afterschool facility that pride themselves on providing a fun, safe environment right in the heart of South Belfast. We’ve been working with Little Hands Little Feet for a number of years, from the development of their internal graphics and collateral to their external wall designs on their mobile classrooms. At the beginning of the year Little Hands Little Feet approached the team at Kaizen Brand Evolution to audit their brand. They felt that their brand presence needed revived both in print and online and wanted to lead the way in their marketplace. We were first tasked to solidify the LHLF brand at first by creating a set of brand guidelines for the business, setting the tone for the brand and providing a clear guide of how it should be handled in print and digitally.

We created the brand guidelines for LHLF revitalising the personality and brand culture of the workforce and experience that the children have when attending through design. We re-set the logo and brand colour palette to reflect a more fun brand outlook and overall contemporary brand identity. We provided the owners with a hard copy brand ‘bible’ outlining the new direction, palette, typographic direction and photography style. With this set in place we were then able to proceed with a new image library, branded collateral and web design.

Our in-house photographer visited Little Hands Little Feet for a photo shoot with the aim of capturing the creative, exciting environment at LHLF. The shoot spanned each room available on the premises as well as the interactivity the staff have with the children. The shoot was bright, colourful and messy at some points, which added to the new brand direction. Following a shortlisting process the new image library has began rolling out across a number of items from Interlocking Folder designs to event calendars supplied to exiting and potential parents.

With the new brand guidelines and photo shoot in place the next stage of the brand audit was the website design and build. The owners wanted the new Little Hands Little Feet website to reflect contemporary web trends utilising the new photography and colour palette in creating a highly visualy, engaging experience for existing and potential customer alike. We designed and built a clean, photo-led website with optimisation in tablet and mobile environments. Each page of the new site provides the user with an engaging, informative and playful experience, much similar to the offerings available at Little Hands Little Feet. New typographic styles and colour palettes have been introduced throughout the new site reflective of the new brand guidelines. (*The investment in brand guidelines at the early stages provides a solid foundation for the evolution of the brand and shows how the brand should be rolled out and controlled. They provide the designers and business owners with a clear understanding of progression and brand use which is agreed upon by both parties before any collateral is created or designed.) Navigating through the new site the use of white space provides clarity and support to the fantastic new photography. The new Little Hands Little Feet website stands out amongst the industry landscape highlighting how adapting and auditing your brand both on and offline can seriously affect your business for the better.

The brand audit of Little Hands Little Feet ensures consistency across the entire brand collateral. The audit highlights brand values clearly and concisely across all new and future brand exposure. With brand consistency comes trust and trust in a brand is one of the key elements for growth and brand sustainability.

Visit website: littlehandslittlefeet.org

Web design for Belfast Music Production Academy

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

The team behind Belfast Music Production Academy contacted us recently with the request to design and build their online presence. After researching the marketplace both online and locally we decided to build a content led website focusing on the courses and software Belfast Music Production Academy offer guidance on.

Courses are held in physical location here in Belfast and while optimisation for search engines is paramount the focus on converting leads into course attendees is the primary focus of the website. Working with some of Ireland’s greatest I’m most successful producers Belfast music production Academy is in an amazing position to assist has many people as possible on their journey into learning electronic music production.

Built on a content management platform, our primary aim from an administration perspective is to reduce the time required to update the website and manage the payments from course attendees.

We are extremely happy with implementation of the website and will be following this up with considered marketing campaign utilising social media channels and E-newsletters.

About Belfast Music Production Academy

BMP Academy has a single aim, to help you learn the art of electronic music production, giving you the opportunity to grow your skills alongside the best in the business. BMP brings together some of the biggest names and rising stars in the electronic music industry, creating a professional network with the skills, capabilities, contacts and resources you need to build your career in music.

Loco Pizza

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

Loco approached Kaizen Brand Evolution to create a contemporary brand identity, menus, website and interior graphics for their fresh new pizza place situated in the East Point Entertainment Village, Dundonald. Loco’s mantra ‘mad about pizza’ highlights their passion for great tasting, hearty pizza. Not just your run of the mill pizza joint, Loco aims to cater for the masses. No matter how you like your pizza fix Loco caters for groups, parties, children’s parties, take away, table service and walk ins all which are welcome come lunch or dinner. Boasting a range of non-pizza items such as burgers, wings, salads & dessert pizza’s they’ve got you covered whatever your preference.

With all things considered and the target audience identified we created a brand identity that is fun, engaging and a bit mad. Textured, disjointed type flows through the Loco brand reinforcing the strapline ‘mad about pizza’ and with the addition of a brand language sporting slogans such as ‘in pizza we crust’ we created a platform for an engaging tone of voice. The branding balances hand-made design and modern graphics successfully, establishing the business as the stand out Pizza offering in Northern Ireland. Our research and development into Pizza restaurant branding provided some obvious results such pizza illustrations and Italian themes. We wanted to create a brand that was unique and one that would stand out amongst the crowd. When you visit Loco you will not see an Italian flag or any cliché pizza illustrations featured in the interiors or menus. The owners came to Kaizen Brand Evolution to create something different, an identity that would stand the test of time and one that customers could easily buy in to.

As well as the new logo mark and brand identity for Loco we created all aspects of the brand roll-out for launch such as the menus, website (coming soon), interior way finding system, window graphics, social media posts, napkin designs, table toppers, loyalty cards, over-bags, pizza boxes, receipts, t-shirts and custom wallpaper for the interiors. Loco have a great understanding of the importance of branding and utilising the team at Kaizen Brand Evolution as their brand guardians. We offer this service to all of our clients and when it comes to rolling out branding we, as the creators of the brand can oversee any aspects of print and digital materials that may be needed.

A key element of the Loco brand is the new website which we are completing as I write this blog post. We have focussed on the user experience for the design of the Loco site, creating a one-page site where most content can be viewed through a scroll of the mouse as soon as you land on the site loco.pizza. Utilising the stunning food photography of Fergus Jordan at White Cloud Photographic we created the site with the vision of prioritising the mobile experience following research into the users preference when visiting restaurant sites 80% of which where viewed on mobile. This knowledge then sets the precedent for the likes of portrait imagery, clean, concise typography and user interface design that is visually engaging. We look forward to the roll out of the site across mobile and desktop in the up and coming weeks.

It was a pleasure working on the branding and roll out of Loco and as another hospitality brand features in the Kaizen Brand Evolution portfolio we are excited for the future of Northern Irelands eateries. From our experience branding some of the countries leading hospitality brands, Northern Ireland has so much to offer whatever your taste and Loco is certainly top of the list when it comes to Pizza!

www.Loco.pizza

Panacea in Vogue and online

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

We love seeing a brand do so well from its fruition in the Kaizen Brand Evolution Studio. Working closely with Panacea Drinks in their brand evolution has proven a massive success for the company with features in Vogue magazine, tastings from The Body Coach, Joe Wicks and growth in London and Ireland.

This week we see the launch of the brand new Panacea website. We use a contemporary site design that reflects the needs of the customer through interactive blogs, visually engaging page layouts and insight to the product and lifestyle. The site boasts a straightforward user experience from start to finish, setting Panacea Drinks ahead of their competitors, paving the way for healthy, pro-biotic water-kefir in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The website follows as a part of Panacea’s brand strategy moving forward. As brand guardians to Panacea we ensure the direction is on point and communicating with the target audience as it grows. We are proud to continue working with this innovative brand as it reaches the masses.

View the new site here: www.panaceadrinks.com

Reuben’s tasty new website

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

We love when businesses grow and reach new levels of success through hard work and considered business direction. It’s our goal to help them get there through great graphic design and web site design. Today we’d like to show how we’ve helped grow the presence of Reuben’s, a modern, rustic cafe that prides itself on delicious local food.

When the owners approached us to evolve their branding and look at their online presence we knew this was a tasty adventure we wanted to unfold. We felt their current website design did not portray the modern and friendly feel the Reuben’s team has worked tirelessly to achieve. The food which should be the hero of the hour was lost in a menu and not visually displayed online and so we extolled the virtues of great food photography, which has made a significant difference in it’s own right to the sites look and feel. Reuben’s new online presence was just not about making it pretty but also making sure we communicated the brand’s personality and history into it. Each page tells a story of Reuben’s cafe, from the opening in 1996 right through to the current day.

Evolving your brand is important to ensure you protect your business from the threat of competition. By continuously improving and ensuring dedication to your brand will ensure you are in a stronger position to grow and flourish. Don’t worry though, we are experts in this field, providing professional web design, here in Belfast.

Pride of Ireland

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

Mirror Media approached Kaizen Brand Evolution to give the prestigious Pride of Ireland Awards a brand refresh. They required brand identity, strategy and direction for print, online and event material. The Awards ceremony celebrates the achievements of Ireland’s unsung heroes. It is a national event and broadcast across Irish television channels with a list of celebrities endorsing the awards and recognising the nominees on stage.

We had the pleasure of rebranding this established ceremony with a contemporary device revival and additional modern typesetting. Using powerful imagery to enhance the engagement for the voting stages and a full new colour palette. We designed all advertising for print, outdoor and online. We totally re-designed the Pride of Ireland website, introducing the new branding with a fresh, user-friendly online environment. The brand launch has seen success in engagement and spreading the awareness of the event significantly.

French Village Catering Website

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

The French Village Bakery brand is one that we have evolved from conception, when the guys at French Village Catering came to us to discuss building a website, it was one we couldn’t wait to get started on!

The French Village team handcraft each of their catering menus to create a unique and unforgettable tasting experience. The website was to be a portfolio to showcase the creativity of their food along with the friendly and inviting team of staff that support the family business.

We intentionally used full screen images on this website to tempt the viewer with the amazing product range, inviting them to enjoy the experience. The design was in keeping with the parent brand, but allows French Village Catering to create it’s own division to sell to a different audience. In building the website attention was focused on responsive design, making mobile friendly along with the desktop version to allow their customers to access menus and download them at ease on the move.

French Village Catering promote nine key features of their business; office, corporate, weddings, funerals, private events, product launches, film catering, home and BBQs. It was important that the user could access each menu separately so that the selection and ordering process was simplistic. Working with French Village over the last few months on this project, we feel this site certainly highlights the temptation of all the menus, now we just need an excuse for a party!

Visit the website: www.frenchvillagecatering.co.uk

Boojum, Cinco De Mayo

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

Boojum approached us to create a concept for the launch of their new ‘Win a trip to Mexico’ Campaign for Cinco De Mayo. We developed an online and printed campaign strategy that revolved around a ‘holiday tag.’ Using the tag as the device to drive the campaign it was clearly linked to the Holiday theme and strategically, ‘Tagging friends’ on social media became the staple of the competition. The tag also appears at the final stages of the competition where Boojum hold a special night where finalists have the chance to find a printed ‘Boojum Tag’ inside a Burrito on the night of the draw. Corona where the main partner in the holiday give away and we introduced some hashtag’s to coincide with the competition #boojum5demayo and #boojum&corona. The competition has proved very successful in driving new traffic to the main site www.boojummex.com (design by us) and raising brand awareness across Ireland.

Web Design for Boojum, Belfast, Dublin and Galway

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

Ireland’s premier burrito bar and Mexican fast food restaurant Boojum, are firm favourites in the KBE studio. Friday is most definitely a Boojum day, as is Monday and a regular late night. We’re fully fledged #boojumaddicts and proud. When the team behind Boojum engaged us to redevelop their online portal, this was one project we were happy to sink our teeth into.

Puns aside, Boojum operate across the Island of Ireland, north and south. The brand appeals to such a diverse demographic that we hand to be mindful of this while retaining the charm and character of the brand, that has been crafted over the last 10 years.

Attention was also paid to the usability of the website both behind desks and on the move. We ensured the site was fully responsive to enable flawless delivery on the move. Web traffic and user experience has increased greatly within the first few months of the launch.

SBD Events Website

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

A long time customer, SBD Events, came to us with a unique challenge. Working in such a visually focused industry, their website design needed to reflect the vast nature of their business, but also remain completely usable from a customers perspective. We created a fantastic image led website that presented each of the items they sell beautifully for all to see. Each of the website graphics are purposely set for sharing on Pinterest which is a huge element of the SBD Events sales and marketing focus.

We focus on amazing web design Belfast and provide an unmatched service meeting our customer needs and requirements for their online business or shopfronts.

Action Renewables Website

Posted on by YBmMqGwLx0

We successfully won the contract to design and code the Action Renewables new web portal. Coming up against stiff competition, our ability to implement industry leading graphic design as well as integrating with their existing CMS, put us in an ideal position to increase the user experience and freshen up the look of the site.

Our approach to website design is to focus on how stakeholders interact with the content. Content and the functionality of use, is paramount to the success of such web design projects and with this in mind, we build websites that work for our customers all across Belfast and the rest of the UK & Ireland.