Mawg Design is a bunch of clever designers and makers, who take an interesting idea, then actually bring it into the real, physical world. They get busy, designing and building experiences with very tight deadlines, so figuring out what to do for their website was something they meant to get around to.
When I first offered my help with the website, there wasn’t one, only contact info at their web address and plans to use Instagram as a portfolio. We had a few meetings to discuss strategy and content. A clear brand and guidelines had been decided upon, and their graphic designer shared a few conceptual mockups for what they thought the website could be.
Using WordPress, I was able to take the flat concept and make it work within the platform. Ideas were shared, concerns for usability and accessibility were addressed as the site was worked on in a staging environment.
I hosted weekly reviews, over coffee. I would make tweaks to the design while sharing my Mac’s screen to a large TV, so we could view changes as I worked on the site and agree before continuing. Reviewing the design this way allowed us to identify the content needed, where there were gaps in the case studies, or if additional images were needed. It was fun and much more efficient than if I had taken notes, then worked in solitude until the next meeting.
The original concept, a one-page site with navigation and links that jumped to content lower on the page, turned into five pages, once case-studies were added. It was clear that one page wouldn’t be enough to showcase their incredible projects and share all of the interesting details about them.
The Mawg team and myself were very happy with the outcome. This project was unique because we were starting with a blank slate, not redesigning an existing site. The site is colourful and fun, when so many websites look the same. Information about the company is presented through illustrations and animations. Project photos show how impressive their work is, in a way that a text description cannot convey.
Another unique aspect was that I challenged myself by taking on all of the WordPress development work, tweaking UI elements and adding custom CSS to achieve the layout and look we were after.
Check out the site yourself at mawgdesign.com