In 2017, The Creative Donut developed the branding and first website for Foxes Tree Services & Son (read about the first project here). After 3 years of growth the website and it’s content were due for a refresh.
At the beginning of 2020, we began a discussion with Foxes regarding a redesign and rebuild project to give the site a fresh new look and take advantage of new technologies.
When reflecting back on the old site we heavily used the brand colors to reinforce the new look logo and new messaging. This now looks very dated as website styles have changed drastically over the past few years.
One of the main drawbacks of the 2017 site was the use of stock photography. The odd stock photo is ok if it’s in keeping with the rest of the photography and is used in a subtle way. However at the time we had no photography of our own this led to a common theme but a mishmash of styles and diluted the messaging.
From the start we decided with client that a photoshoot was a must. I was able to show them other sites where the client had their own photography – undertaking the services offered, team wearing uniform, sign-written vehicles. Having your own high-quality photography from a professional has a huge impact on the success of a website and trustworthiness in the users eyes.
We also used some premium artwork and branded icons. Rather than the block colour icons of the previous site, we went with some more subtle line work. We didn’t need to enforce the brand here as heavily as we have photos containing the logo.
The resulting website is much cleaner with more white space and less block color. We focus on the photography which demonstrates the client providing their services. The layout and graphic design is used to complement the text rather than overpowering the visitor with “click now” type messaging.
The goal of this redesign was to utilised new photography, technology and augment a subtle design scheme to position the client as experts in their field.
