Increasing Digital Visibility
A High-Impact Web Presence
LGH Studio is a boutique residential design and planning studio in Seattle, WA specializing in home remodels and new builds.
The studio prides itself on delivering creative, architectural solutions customized to the unique need of each client.
SCOPE
New Concept
Responsive Website
MY ROLES
UX Designer
Content Strategist
UX Writer
TOOLS
Figma
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Squarespace
Understanding the Business
I met with the owner of LGH Studio to understand the business needs.
BUSINESS PROBLEM
Initially LGH Studios relied on word-of-mouth and high-touch engagement to land new clientele. This process, although resource-heavy, was successful for many years for forming a good first impression with potential clients and cultivating longer-term client relationships.
As a new generation of homeowners began looking for home design services, this way of operating no longer worked. Since LGH Studios had no online or website or social media presence, they were essentially “off the grid” to a majority of homeowners seeking design services.
BUSINESS GOAL
LGH Studios seeks to increase new business and divert more efforts from sales into design and planning projects.
Investigating the Problem
To ensure a successful solution, I first needed to orient myself with the problem space through multiple methods.
Studying the Current State
I interviewed the client to understand needs, current business practices and existing content. From there, I began inventorying and auditing existing content to determine what could be used in the solution and noting any content gaps.
12
completed client projects
185
project
images
0
existing
copy
Analyzing the Competition
Next I conducted a competitive analysis of websites of similar-sized architecture and residential design studios in the Seattle area. Heavy use of imagery was a common theme. The amount of accompanying copy varied. Some had more intuitive navigation models than others.
Understanding Users
I dove into feedback LGH Studio had received from potential clients who had declined to hire them after initial conversations. With these insights and interviews from prospective new customers, I uncovered the following themes:
Social referrals
are influential
Web presence reflects legitimacy
Imagery reveals
information
Users tend to seek word-of-mouth or online referrals in order to find service providers.
A website shows users that a business is legit and has served other clients.
Users seek imagery to get a quick idea of whether the business can serve their needs.
After analyzing and synthesizing all of my findings, I defined the design opportunity for this project.
Design Opportunity
How might we showcase the work of LGH Studio and validate them as a trusted residential design business, in order to increase business?
Formulating a Strategy
It was essential to deliver a solution quickly for this project, in order to reduce lost business. The content audit revealed that much of the work needed for a complete website would be time-consuming – writing all of the copy, filling content gaps, and refreshing image assets.
Instead of tackling the entire website at once, I identified the MVP (minimal viable product) needed to meet business goals. Then, I broke the project into three phases:
1
The MVP: Impactful Landing Page
Curate a small collection of images that give a high- level representation of the quality of LGH Studio’s work. Add a brief business description and contact call to action.
2
Design Project Pages
Tell the story behind the top three projects through engaging layouts of images and copy. This phase will require defining content strategy and information structures.
3
Tell Studio Brand Story
Design “About Studio” page and expand on studio’s specialties, history and work process. Then tie in social media presence.
Designing an Impactful Presence
The goal of the first phase was to quickly design and launch a landing page that could serve as the face of the studio while the rest of the website was being designed.
Iterating on Design Layouts
Since the first launch of this website will be a single landing page, it was important to provide users with enough information about LGH Studios to motivate them to click the Contact call-to-action. From my research, I understood that this single page needed to be highly visual while also building trust with users. I went through several rounds of home page design iteration to discover the ideal layout for keeping users engaged and informed.
The original idea was to organize the content around abstract concepts.
PRO: unique, creative vibe
CON: might create too much cognitive load for users. Important content not easily discoverable.
Next, I explored the idea of a slideshow carousel.
PRO: easy way to showcase work
CON: assumes users will spend time watching slideshow. Also, difficult to create cohesive look with existing photos
I landed on the idea of vertical storytelling structure using a mix of images and copy. This layout will keep users engaged while also informing them about the business.
Telling a Story Through Purposeful Design
In the final landing page design below, users first see a large image that reflects the overall style of the LGH Studio. From there, users can scroll to see information about the services provided by the studio and images of other completed projects. At the bottom of the page, users are prompted to contact the studio to talk about their home project.
This proposed design aims to solve the business problem, while also fulfilling the needs of the users. It validates the legitimacy of the business for users and provides a way to alleviate some of the sales efforts of the business owner. The style and quality of work is communicated through imagery and minimal text, and users are given social proof of the studio’s success through a testimonial.
Users first see bold image that reflects style of LGH Studio.
Brief statement reveals type of work performed by the studio.
Image grid fulfills user need for imagery conveying information.
Brief statement describing the studio's philosophy.
List of the types of services provided by the studio.
Testimonial fulfills user need for social proof.
Clear call-to-action for users interested in learning more.
Measuring Success
To validate my assumption, I plan to measure the site's success when launched by:
1
Time on site versus bounce rate
2
Call-to-action conversion rate
3
Usability testing to determine whether solution
exudes trust to users
Continuing On To Phase 2
As I embark on phase 2, I will build upon research learnings and iterate on solutions to improve behavioral metrics. In this phase, I’m digging through details, identifying a strategy for the content, and crafting design patterns for the project pages that can scale as LGH Studio grows. I’m looking forward to sharing this information in the future!
