Leybourne Carpentry is a family run carpentry business based in West Berkshire. They have received the Certification of Master Craftsmanship from HRH Prince Of Wales. As proof of their extensive knowledge and experience, they have completed projects on some of Britain’s most notable buildings including Windsor Castle and Lincoln Cathedral.
In December 2019, Leybourne Carpentry were referred to The Creative Donut by a number of clients in the Newbury area. Matt Leybourne was in the process of starting his own business and The Creative Donut was asked to help develop a brand and undertake web design and development of a showcase website.
The project for Leybourne Carpentry was a full package of branding, web design and website development. Obviously the best place to start was the logo and font, as creating the brand first helps solidify the design styles going forward. Inspiration then flows in terms of design from the branding to layout, web design and messaging.
We started by researching the name, in this case Matt’s surname – Leybourne. It sounded old, so seemed like a good place to start. Leybourne is actually a name dating back to the time of William the Conqueror. The town (built around the church) of Leybourne is situated in Kent. “Why all this random information?” I hear you ask – well, during our research we came across the Leybourne family coat of arms:
This was a great source of inspiration as Matt had said he was after something “clean but classic”. We created a shortlist of fonts to pair with our lion and presented them to the client. Happily he was impressed and selected his preferred pairing. We also discussed using his favourite 2 colors from the Farrow & Ball paint range: Hague Blue and Cord.
Going into this type of project there are a few key sections that we always need in order to fulfill the users requirements. With service led business such as this – Services offered, Portfolio of work, Testimonials and a Contact form. Once we have a rough understanding of content for those sections we can start building a wireframe layout which is then developed into a Design Draft.
We wanted to do something a little different here in the way we presented the Services sections. In this case we stacked them vertically with the icon, heading and description. Subtle animation in this section highlights its importance to the visitor. In addition we used our 2 key colors to produce a wider colour palette by creating an inverse color range between the two.
Finally as with any portfolio website – photo quality is key and content is king! We worked and advised the client on the best way to approach case studies and tools/techniques which he could use maximise efficiency and Search Engine Optimisation.
We were super happy with the result as is the client. Matt is very good at taking advice and guidance on board and integrating it into his work flow. He understands the importance of updating your online portfolio on a regular basis. Gone are the days of static sites. A website is a marketing tool that can be used to maximise your market exposure and positioning in order to create awareness of your products and services.
We are happy that Leybourne Carpentry have also joined our Support Pack where we offer ongoing updates, maintenance, and the occasional electric idea to grow the reach and engagement of your website.
“Sam created my website and branded my business, he is a magician and absolutely superb at his job. I actively recommend the creative donut to friends and family.”
Matt Leybourne
Owner – Leybourne Carpentry