SO WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT THE ONE SECOND THAT MATTERS MOST TO YOUR BRAND?
How long does it take to make a first impression? A second or less. That's why your website—which is often where a customer first encounters your brand—is so vital.
In an instant, your website and logo telegraph attributes in hundreds of little ways most of us can't even articulate—from selection of colors, spacing, and choice of font to images, video, amount of text, headlines and captions, and navigational hierarchy.
Your company’s website is the most high-impact marketing and sales tool available. Don't cheat yourself by "getting by" with a website that isn't doing your brand justice.
Remember that there's a very real cost to every prospective customer who is lost in that critical first second.
A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT A WEBSITE AND LOGO MAKEOVER
Need some inspiration? We recently redesigned the visual brand and website for Stella’s Homestead. In this entry, we’ll take you behind the scenes to see the makeover.
website
We updated photo and copy content throughout the site to reflect a brighter, more modern and welcoming feel—and to create more compelling language around their story.
Since the budget didn’t allow re-shooting images, we edited, cropped, and treated the client’s existing photos, dramatically elevating the visuals. We featured the best ones on the opening banners on each individual page of the site—inviting viewers to imagine the opportunities available on the homestead. There was so much magic that occurred in this stage of the process and it really reveals what can happen to photos in the hands of a seasoned designer and artist.
Colors
The final color palette is a nuanced mix of traditional and modern:
Brown, gold and gray are a nod to the rustic outdoor setting and convey the warm, timeless attributes of Stella’s Homestead.
Red adds a modern vibe—adding a more fiery, passionate feel to the brand—and paying homage to the big red barn on the property.
Logo & Fonts
We liked the sentiment behind featuring the iconic barn, but the original logo was busy and hard to read. Building on the circle and the barn image, we re-imagined a logo that would retain the authenticity of the original logo while addressing those concerns and giving a fresh look to the brand.
The new logo features the iconic barn found on Stella’s Homestead. It quickly communicates the history and hospitality found on the property while conveying an up-to-date look.
Our art director selected several fonts that represented the right mix of modern and traditional: Sorts Mill Goudy because it has the warmth, sophistication, and clarity the client had in mind, and Open Sans Condensed as the complimentary font because of its clean versatility. It also gives a nod to the importance of simplicity in business communications.
Behind each of these design decisions was a great deal of research, exploration, and internal discussion before we ever showed our final recommendations. Working with the client, we then refined the visuals until they felt like the perfect fit for her story.
“It was an honor and a privilege to work with CMBell Company to take my new business, Stella’s Homestead, from the JV team to the A squad. They redid my logo and website and it’s all so beautiful! Super professional team, first rate communication, and on-time delivery timeline. I am deeply indebted and grateful that my vision is now becoming reality. Thank you!”
the story of stella’s homestead
Check out the new Stella’s Homestead site at: stellashomestead.com.