Earnest · Dave Batt
Brand definition, website strategy and design for an award winning advertising agency.
Role
Design Lead & Digital Strategy
Scope
Responsive website, design system, brand guidelines, content strategy.
Duration
Four months
Redesigning an agency website without formal brand guidelines meant there was no clear foundation for design, messaging, or user experience decisions. With no defined visual language, or tone of voice, every choice risked becoming subjective, leading to inconsistent feedback, competing opinions, and a fragmented final product. Before creating a cohesive digital experience, the brand itself needed to be defined. As a result, the project became a combined branding and web design exercise focused on establishing a clear identity, creating a website that communicated the agency’s value proposition with clarity and consistency.
My Role
I was hired by Earnest to help plan and design websites for several different client projects, but also to approach their own digital platform with a fresh pair of eyes. Having no previous association with their brand or any company material, the goal was to create an unbiased tone that would be supported by managers and stakeholders. This would establish a foundation of values that would help describe a more appropriate visual direction for the new site, and future marketing collateral.
Process
Discussions with the CEO, creative director, and strategy team, an overarching voice for the agency was formally defined. The next step was to build a quick visual library of past collateral that had been produced for external comms. A closer look at previous client presentations, case studies, and social posts revealed a consistent (but rough) base of visual elements that could help reflect the agency’s core values.
From there, we created a style guide outlining typography, brand colours, image and illustration styles, and tone of voice. This in turn informed the component library to build out the required modules and pages for the new site.
