We sit down with you to go through and fill out our creative brief. We will discuss the details of the project, your business, your product, your consumer base, etc., to better grasp what the website needs to do and how it should communicate to the viewer. A large focus of this 1-hour meeting is to determine what makes your product or service unique so we can develop a crystal clear message that creates intrigue and builds value for your customer.

Brand Exercises:
The Creative Brief includes brand exercises that we will go through together. These exercises will help us better understand the personality your new website should exude and will directly influence the visual design and any copywriting created.

2. Strategy (1 week)

Along with the Creative Brief, we take an in-depth look at analytic reports to analyze current site traffic trends to help us plan the appropriate page structure for your site. In this step, we will create a comprehensive plan for your project.

Sitemap & Wireframe:
The sitemap will detail all of the pages that make up your website, how they will all fit together, and determine the “flow” of the website. The wireframe will organize and prioritize the site’s content for any core pages, in order to optimize visitor conversion. Spending time on these two items pays dividends as it aligns everyone on what will be delivered to you.

Design Brainstorming:
The creative team brainstorms and works through potential conceptual ideas directed at your target audience. The concepts are all based on the information we gather from you in the initial meeting along with additional market research we do on our own (investigating your competitors’ strategies, related products, etc). There is a lot of sketching and “loose” designing in this stage to determine, at a glance, which ideas will transfer visually while communicating the desired message to the target audience.

Key Visuals:
In the next step, we sift through all of the ideas and decide which ones are worth pursuing and developing further. Sometimes we will discover new ideas often based on (or inspired by) the initial ones we liked from the brainstorming. The goal of this stage is to create 3-5 visually and conceptually strong ideas in the form of ‘key visuals,’ which are broad-stroke approaches to the design.

3. Brand & Content Strategy (1 week)

Powerful branding is the key to selling on value rather than relying solely on cost. When looking to connect with your audience, branding is the first place to start. When it comes to websites, we almost always recommend our Brand Script process to enhance the website’s performance. This approach allows us to weave emotion along with logical reasoning, dramatically increasing the chances that the viewer will take action. This process helps to build trust with the viewer while helping them to evaluate your product or service based on the result or outcome they will experience.

Brand Script: Our Brand Script process will help to define your unique selling proposition (USP), clearly articulate the problem your audience faces, as well as establish you as an authority on how to help them solve that problem. This process will enable us to develop the following:

• • • • A powerful, emotionally-charged narrative that clearly establishes:
        • Why the consumer should care about the problem(s) you solve
        • Your brand as the guide that will help enable them to solve their problem(s)
        • Why you are the right choice for them
        • The steps your customer needs to take and specific language that will get them to take action
      • Write headlines, taglines, and primary and secondary calls to action for use within the marketing strategy
      • Create a unique, authentic brand voice that distinguishes your brand from competitors
      • Build a foundation for ongoing content within websites, advertising, and other marketing

Homepage Copywriting: Whenever we create a Brand Script, we include the copywriting for the website’s homepage at no additional cost.

4. Design (2 weeks)*

We then take the ideas we feel confident about to the next level, beginning to work out the ideas in detail. Some ideas may be cut from the running if they fail to translate as well as we think they need to. It’s important to understand that while we strive to create a visually striking design, the top priority is to communicate the correct message effectively. This is the basis we use when determining what ideas stay or go. Another primary focus of this phase is creating an HOI (hierarchy of information) that breaks all of the content of the site down into small “bite-sized” pieces. This encourages readers to dive deeper into the site by initially piquing their interest and leading them through vs. bombarding them by dumping multiple, competing elements and ideas from the start.

Presentation:
When the artwork is ready to be shared with you, we will contact you and arrange a time to meet so we can present and discuss the work. This is an opportunity for us to explain our ideas and the rationale behind them. At this meeting, you will be presented with homepage design layouts as well as interior page layouts for each concept. We like to treat these meetings as an “open forum,” encouraging everyone to participate, asking questions, offering up concerns, and giving us their overall feelings on the art. The goal of this meeting is to come away with a direction that everyone feels good about moving forward with (sometimes we may mix and match concepts if necessary).

Design Revisions:
We then take the chosen design concept and make any revisions and alterations needed to cover off on any additional requirements or concerns you might have.

*Note: Revisions can add to the project’s timeline. We usually estimate 1 week for edits, but this can sometimes take longer.

5. Website Development (Varies per project)

Once the artwork is approved and finalized, the website is then sent to the web developers for “build-out.” We will work with them, providing them with direction and specific pieces of artwork as needed until the site is completed and ready to go live.

Testing:
Before the site goes officially online, we have to ensure that it will display correctly in the multitude of browsers your consumers may potentially use including Google Chrome and Safari.

Going Live & Training:
Finally, your fully functional website goes online. We will continue to work with you as necessary to educate you on CMS functionality as well as address any additional questions or needs you may have.

Sites we design and build with a content management system may require training. We will schedule a follow-up meeting to go over the website structure so that you are able to make any updates or alterations as needed

Website Maintenance & Support:
The reason we went into business was to help our clients reach their goals while creating strong, long-lasting relationships. We want you to know that we’re here for you and we’re always willing to help. If you ever have a question or concern, pick up the phone or drop us an e-mail, our opinions and advice are always free.

We offer cost-effective maintenance plans to ensure you get the most longevity possible out of your new website.