A website that generates consistent business usually has a design that is simple, obvious, eye-catching and consistent.
Visual Guide
Visitors to your site shouldn’t have to guess what you offer, who it’s for or what they should do next if they’re interested.
To ensure we’re creating a design that speaks to your target audience, we start our design process with a stylescape.
What is a Stylescape?
Stylescapes take the information we’ve gathered up to that point and presents it visually.
This allows us to check in with the client and confirm that we’re on the right track.
A stylescape will showcase the typography, imagery, colors and site elements a designer plans to use for your website and help establish the overall “look and feel.”
example of a stylescape
Our Design Process – Stylescapes
1. Research and Gather Elements
Once we’ve gathered the information we need from you about:
your business
your offer
who your target audience is
why they should trust you
what to do next
Our team then puts together site elements (photos, headlines from your copy, graphics, etc.), and prepares fonts (typically 2-3 types), as well as the color scheme (usually inspired from your logo) for your stylescape.
Your audience is a huge factor we keep in mind when creating your stylescape.
The colors we use, graphics, style of copy and images are all curated with the goal of making sure they resonate with a specific demographic.
2. Tell a Story
Through the stylescape, we want to make it clear;
Who the target audience is
The problem your business solves
What life will be like after they use your service
Use of Color – Stylescapes to Establish Your Design
Colors can subconsciously communicate a story. The color scheme you use for your design can also have a different meaning, depending on your industry.
For example; blue is thought to encourage relaxation, whereas orange promotes fun and excitement.
To read more on the psychology of color, as well as the importance of contrast and call to actions, click here.
3. Establish Direction
Clients love stylescapes because they get to see a snapshot of the design.
Our goal is to reduce the number of revisions needed, so we can get the updated site online and start optimizing for results. A stylescape is a great way to do that.
When we are doing design revisions, we want to make sure we discuss why we’re making a change and how it helps us reach the goal we’ve established together.
If we’re spending time making changes just for the sake of making changes, that’s not the best use of anyone’s time.
Whichever design direction we end up choosing, we want to make sure it’s consistent and that we’re continuing to make progress.
Start Gathering Feedback & Data ASAP
Stylescapes are a great way to establish your design and set expectations, but rather than speculating what your audience will like, start testing it!
Data and customer feedback will you if something needs to be fined, and as long as you don’t lose sight of your main goal, you can use it to make informed decisions.
