.

Truly Bespoke Design

Bespoke Web Design

For those that really want their website to make an impact with their audience. The Loft is able to design you a truly bespoke website, completely purpose built to your needs and desires. When we say ‘bespoke,’ we really mean bespoke. Something unique and special. We start with a completely fresh sheet of paper and an open mind about what you actually want your website to achieve. We then consider in terms of appearance, usability and functionality how we can do something truly exceptional for you. If you have the opportunity, please check out our gallery and see that when we say bespoke, we truly mean bespoke.

Holistic Approach

Bespoke design involves a completely holistic approach to design in the first principle. Design in the first principle is not designing a product in the same way as your competitors but re-thinking the whole concept of what you want to achieve.

Other agencies may say they are providing you with ‘bespoke web-design.’ But they then continue to produce templated sites with only minor alterations in the text and images. For businesses on a budget, there is nothing wrong with this approach. It is a very pragmatic and sensible solution. We welcome it. However, we believe that it is wrong to trade disingenuously under the label ‘bespoke design’ when it is anything but.

However, for those people that want to truly enhance their online profile with cutting edge website design, it may be worthwhile investing in a completely bespoke solution.

For companies looking to add that extra edge and are considering a bespoke solution, please consider the following.

A bespoke website…

Generally looks more modern and advanced than other sites on the web. If a site has been designed from a fresh sheet of paper. It will undoubtedly have a certain freshness that other sites in your sector don’t have.

Should not look like most other websites in terms of its layout. If everything is laid out in boxes or tables. Then it is more than likely that the web design agencies haven’t strayed too far from the original template.

Should have an enhanced user experience. Possibly consisting of some form of technical/functional innovation. Websites are not just about looking good. The way the user interacts with them should also be enhanced.

Should have one/two features (either aesthetically/technically) that enhance the appeal of the site and your brand.

In short truly bespoke website design, should have that x-factor and ideally represent everything that is great about your brand in the most exciting and distinctive way possible.

Gallery >>>

.
Brand Identity


Every company requires a strong visual identity. One that confidently communicates who you are and what you are about. Branding forms an integral part of this communication process. Your brand identity will be one of the first points your consumers may use to judge you. The Loft takes great pride in designing bold brand identities that exhibit the positive attributes about your business. There are no right/wrong solutions to brand design. Techno, colourful, minimal or decorative etc doesn’t really matter, they are only effective if they tell the right story.

At the Loft we have three main rules about the design of brand identities.

Does the branding reflect what you do?

The font, proportion, colour and balance of your brand identity should accurately reflect what your company does? Young energetic companies should have brand identities that make use of vivid colours and dynamic proportions. On the other hand, older more established companies that trade on reputation should use this to their advantage with more time-worthy designs.

Is the logo functional?

Your brand identity should be sufficiently able to be altered and modified in a number of various arenas.
Your brand identity is likely to appear in a variety of ways. On business cards, letterheads, compliment slips, posters, facebook pages, shop/van signs etc. It must be sufficiently flexible to give the correct impression in each of the various arenas. Good branding can have elements altered yet maintain its core appeal.

Will your logo stand the test of time?

Trends can appear in all areas of design from fashion to architecture. This is no different to branding itself. We have a loose rule at the Loft that a logo should be able to endure for 20 years (however, this may be insufficient for some companies.) We deliberately avoid obvious trends in designing brand identities to allow them to stand the test of time.

The Loft works very hard to make sure all visual identities we create are distinctive and bold. We also work exceptionally hard to refine them properly so they maintain an impression of quality and durability.

Gallery >>>

.
Design Forecasting
Design & Innovation

Design Forecasting is a new strategic service offered by the Loft where we look at ways that design and more accurately innovation can make a positive difference to improve your business.

The importance of design in business is usually limited to the advertising pictures, the logo, the branding, and the graphics. But good design is about more than things just looking good. Creativity and innovation can be used to improve a business in areas such as recruitment/communication/distribution and strategy. Imagine if a creative approach was placed at the centre of how a company delivered its services or its communication strategy or the actual products themselves. Innovation generally plays a big part of any forward looking and prosperous business model, allowing the company the opportunity to grow and adapt in ever changing markets.

Many companies on a whole do a great job at incrementally squeezing out profit on a quarter by quarter basis. Maximising their ability to perform in a certain marketplace. But what about 3-5 years ahead, or even 10 years ahead.

Is your target market going to be the same?

Will your audience access your services differently?

Will they expect a different kind/level of service?

Will your sector even exist or will it transform itself into something different?

As designers, it is our role to properly analyse the context and actually identify the challenges/opportunities of the future. We then put forward solutions that can help your company prepare for these scenarios.

One of the advantages of our design forecasting strategies is that we can take an uninhibited and fresh look at your company, its services and its sector?

For example, think social media is the future? It’s not, it’s the present. But what’s next?

We can provide the answers.

We can help prepare your company for the future. Not simply by responding to it but by actually helping to shape it. Delivering services more creatively, more profitably and ultimately better for your target market. Good design is about more than just looking good. It is about providing a better experience for your audience.

Can you afford to innovate? Can you afford not to?

Gallery >>>

.
The Loft - Non Profit Organisations
Helping Hand

At the Loft we believe that good quality design and innovation should not simply be the prize for the prosperous. We believe that good quality design should also be democratic and that every successful business as a whole should have a social conscious. At the Loft we want to do our bit.

It is for this reason that the Loft as a company is happy to dedicate two days per month into helping charitable causes with their design work. We can assist with posters, branding, flyers, social media campaigns and html newsletters etc. We are also happy to help out in a strategic role.

If you are part of, or know of any charitable organisation requiring design work, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Please note that this service is very much in demand, our roster is generally full several months in advance so please get in early if you would like the Loft to help out.

Gallery >>>

.
The Loft - Non Profit Organisations

The Perfect entry into web-design for beginners. The Loft is still a relatively young business. So first and foremost, we completely understand the pressures and demands of starting a new business afresh, particular one-person businesses. The first couple of years of a new enterprise are undoubtedly the hardest many people will encounter in their lifetimes. You are generally overworked and underpaid for these efforts. In addition to your business’s main activities – you must also do the work that larger companies have several employees doing. Book-keeping, sales, marketing, and the design, build and maintaining of the company website.

The Loft - Affordable Startup Option

It is with the last of these tasks that we feel the Loft can help you on your journey. We understand that money is a source of continual attention for the business start-up. Therefore, we can announce that our start-up websites start at £745 and £1045 respectively. We mentioned cost early in this passage as we understand that this is probably the number one priority for most business start-ups. The next priority is probably time. So if that initial price is unaffordable, we feel it is probably best to inform you straight away before speaking in more detail. However, if you are building your website for the first time, please read the free guides we have provided on ’web design for beginners.’ There is a plethora of information about each of the individual facets of owning and maintaining a website. So even if you are not interested in using the Loft for your web design, feel free to read the free information available and get in touch with us if you have any questions.

.

Beginners Guides | Startup Packages >>>

© 2010 The Loft | Webdesign Glasgow. All Rights Reserved

E-Mail: info@theloft.co | The Loft Creative Studios, 2nd Floor Mercantile Chambers, 53 Bothwell Street, Glasgow G2 6TS | Tel: +44 (0)141 552 5516