Jun
2009
25
picture this - surface view
Websites have grown from their humble beginnings in the 1990s. Now every individual, company, government body and not-for-profit organisation worth their salt has a dedicated online home for their brand.
At LEWIS, we create truly award-winning websites for our clients. Take the case of Hunter Boot Ltd, where we won The Drum Marketing Award for Re-launch of the Year for the e-commerce site we designed on Hunter's behalf in 2008. It takes a team of experts across creative, technical and marketing expertise to bring such websites to life. The LEWIS experts respect nothing more than great design and continually appreciate, and are inspired by, the millions of websites that are currently being hosted on the World Wide Web.
Read on to discover what conclusions Kirsty Johnston, Scott McBay and Gillian Grant from our digital account team reached when they were asked to analyse www.surfaceview.co.uk - a website that allows users to create unique, bespoke prints, murals and blinds from an unrivalled selection of images.
First impressions count
In what Kirsty describes as ‘a feast for the eyes', the site was instantly intriguing to all three of our analysts encouraging them to naturally explore the site. Gillian, who thought the website oozed style, was immediately sold on the product and kept navigating through the site until she discovered how to make a purchase. However, our Senior Search Account Manager, Scott, felt that the three sections, Surface View, Surface View two and Surface View blog, could have been more integrated as opposed to being isolated in separate sections on the site.
Attention grabbers
Everybody highlighted how impressed they were by the site's feature that allows users to select an image and see a preview of it in a format and room of your choice. For example, an image from the National Gallery collection becomes a blind, mural or print in a bedroom, living room or office situation, simply by the click of a button. This feature was tipped as a ‘really clever selling device' by Kirsty who thought it allowed Surface View to target a variety of audience groups through the same channel and Scott particularly liked the way that the canvasses slide into the centre of the screen into situ along with the furniture which provided some movement and action to the site.
Room for improvement?
Gillian's clever suggestion of allowing users to submit their own image and have it turned into a mural, might appeal to some consumers for certain events like weddings.
Scott thought that Surface View is missing a trick with the pricing. He expected that the products in this slick and stylish website would be outrageously expensive but upon reaching the checkout basket, he was pleasantly surprised. Scott suggested that if Surface View considers promoting price brackets throughout the site, this may help to engage users and improve conversion rates.
Cool collaborations
Surface View already work with V&A, Marvel and the National Gallery but when asked what other sorts of images or collaborations the team would like to see in their range, Kirsty suggested collaborating with a high-profile photographer such as Rankin or Annie Leibovitz. Gillian thought that a Where's Wally could create hours of intrigue for the buyer and Scott thought that some of the amazing images from LIFE magazine make an excellent collection to add to the company's portfolio.
Firm favourites
On any given day, with the vast array of images available, users could choose a different favourite image depending on their mood at the time. When asked to choose a favourite image, Scott decided he liked the Boys Own, Astronauts and Cowboys image the best because of its comic book style. Gillian loved the Retro Romance, We Should be in a Film image which made her feel happy, wanting to kick back in the sunshine with a good book and Kirsty, although she loved the V&A lace images, would choose Ella Doran's Dandelion for her home because of its vibrant colours and striking simplicity.
A final LEWIS thought
Websites can come in many shapes and forms, whether they are brochure sites, e-commerce sites or even bespoke microsites which can promote particular aspects or services of a company. Check out our portfolio to see the variety of websites we've designed for our clients and give us a call if you think that you need our help to build or redevelop your online home.
article author(s)