Overview
A socially responsible construction company
TS was started by brother and sister team Tom and Chloe Shann. Having been incredibly successful in the short time that they have operated they asked me to re design their website to reflect the number of new projects they had completed.
Problem
The website lacked the detail on the projects completed by the client, and they wanted to address this.
Solution
Give the user more details on the projects whilst including the imagery. Provide insight into how the project was completed and ensure the user knows how to contact.
View Final Solution
My Role/Responsibilities
UX research, design, site build and SEO
Discover
London construction competitors
My initial research focused on looking at competitors as well as other business' in related industries of architecture and property sales.
Focus Areas
01
How much detail do these other business show on their projects?
02
How is this displayed?
03
What could be improved across these other business' sites?
04
What features are critical to successfully obtaining new business through the website?
Define
Building a niche in a saturated market
After an initial consultation with Thornhill Shann it became clear that their project images showed the most about the quality of their work. However, they were all mixed up together in the current website. When discussing the projects with them it became clear that the images needed some context and to be defined/arranged so that the user could see the transformations to the properties.
Goals set
We agreed to the following for the design:
1. Bring the projects to the front of the website
2. Add further details on each project - for example, details on the architects, costs, time frame etc.
3. Create a story for each project on how it was achieved.
4. Make sure that the user could understand the quality in their work.
Ideate
Setting out a better experience
It was important to see what others in the industry were creating with their websites.
What I uncovered was that a lot of building companies are a little behind when it comes to web design, and so I found myself regularly looking at architecture practices.
This also made sense to me as the client positioned themselves in the higher end of the market and regularly worked alongside some top architecture practices. It felt like the two were more aligned than I first realised.
What also stood out to me was that a lot of floorplans for developments were added to architecture practices websites. The current site for Thornhill Shann had images of the finished project only. I felt that the plans to a project showed more character and offered further insight into the process of working with them.
Build
The final result
The finished design created a whole new experience for the user.
With the addition of the projects and arranging them into categories it created a much easier flow for the user. I was pleased that the projects came across well and felt that the message for the brand was clear. It also defined the brand in a far more cohesive way as the design elevated them to a position of stature, which was hugely important if they were to win new and larger clients.
