tallhatDesign - UK web and branding design studio » News

Garden Affairs

chrisd — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:14:29 +0000

This garden buildings company came to us to help rebrand and build them a full database-driven CMS website to showcase their products. We chose the modX framework for the website, given the complexity and scope of the data structure and hierarchies. We trained the client who was then able to input all their images and product information into the site directly.

We also provided print advertising and stationery updates in line with the rebrand.

• www.gardenaffairs.co.uk

Nick Shipp Architects

chrisd — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 09:59:44 +0000

Nick Shipp Architects required a full rebrand and a new website to showcase their work. The rebrand involved the presentation of a number of logo concepts which were developed following client feedback to the ‘sign-off’ stage, after which stationery artwork was produced and we moved on to the website design and build.

The website required a fairly complex structure of categories and image galleries and the client wanted to be able to manage these directly. To make it as simple as we could we chose WordPress for the database CMS (Content Management System) and provided training to enable them to add and edit content within the website.

The database structure also allows search functionality to be built into the site.

• www.nickshipp.com

Two Can Design

chrisd — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:10:25 +0000

Not a typical web ‘design’ project – the client are a design agency themselves and wanted to produce something a little different. They also had their own visual ideas and artwork, and were looking for a partner to help implement their ideas. To begin with we looked at the options for implementing this type of site, and decided against ‘Flash’ (primarily as this would exclude many iphone/ipad users, an important sector for this type of client). We also presented a variety of ‘single page’ HTML5 sites to the client to help shape the approach and give them confidence. The client then provided their illustrations/artwork and we produced an initial test scene before developing the full site.

Highlight PR

chrisd — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:46:55 +0000

We designed the new branding, stationery and website for this Bath-based PR company. The website is based on the popular WordPress platform, which was already familiar to the business owner, and provides a great way to keep the site content up-to-date and ‘in house’. A bespoke WordPress theme was designed and developed. We also designed materials such as Twitter backgrounds, adverts, avatars and presentation templates.

• www.highlightpr.co.uk

20 Top Google Web Fonts

chrisd — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 16:54:30 +0000

The last couple of years has seen the rise of the embedded web font. At last it’s become practical to use more than the handful of standard system fonts within websites. There are many options for embedding web fonts, but surely one of the most ubiquitous sources is Google. They currently have 197 font families available (July 2011) which can be quickly previewed here: http://www.google.com/webfonts.

But the quality does vary, and the names won’t be familiar to most traditional graphic designers, so I’ve put together a list of 20 of the most “useful” Google fonts. My criteria was to create a selected fontbook set that I personally would use on a day-to-day basis. So they tend to be the more conservative choices.

Amaranth (A quirky bold, sans serif with some unusual shapes)
Andika Basic (You’d call it a sans serif but it has the tiniest flicks of serifs)
Arvo (A square slab serif, modern feel, an alternative to Rockwell)
Brawler (A medium bold tapered serif, good a various sizes)
Cabin (A bold sans serif, Frutiger-ish)
Copse (A bold, slab serif with rounded edges and a few loops here and there, slightly typewriter feel)
Droid Sans (A bold sans serif, Frutiger-ish)
Droid Serif (A clean solid serif)
Ezra SIL (A solid serif, slab-ish)
IM FELL (Eroded old-style serif)
Kameron (Modern, clean slab serif, rounder than Arvo/Rockwell)
Kreon (A bold, quirky slab serif)
Lato (A straight sans serif)
Metrophobic (A rounded, modern sans serif, all lines consistent weight)
Michroma (A wide, bold modern sans serif, all lines consistent weight)
Molengo (A straight sans serif)
Philosopher (A quirky “mixed serif”)
Play (A bold, modern display sans serif, all lines consistent weight)
Quattrocentro Sans (A straight sans serif)
Tinos (A bold, slab serif with rounded edges)

I haven’t necessarily used all of these a LOT yet, so this list may change over time.
By the way – tallhat.com uses Coda (Headings and Navigation) and Brawler (Body text).

Selling wedding dresses – Carina Baverstock Couture

chrisd — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:39:46 +0000

We’ve just started working with luxury designer bridal wear boutique ‘Carina Baverstock Couture’ – who sell wedding dresses in Bradford-on-Avon near Bath – to improve their website marketing and positioning. Their existing website has been tweaked to make it much more ‘search engine friendly’. Watch this space for future improvements!

New Oriel Hall

chrisd — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:27:34 +0000

We designed the new branding and website for this Bath-based community centre. The website is set up using the WordPress platform, which provides a great way to keep the site content up-to-date and ‘in house’. A bespoke WordPress theme was designed and developed and we also provided training for the content management.

Ace Energy

chrisd — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:25:02 +0000

We designed and produced this website for Bath-based renewable energy specialists ‘Ace Energy’. The website is set up using the WordPress platform, which provides a great way to keep the site content up-to-date and ‘in house’. A bespoke WordPress theme was designed and developed.

Swaffham Motorcycles

chrisd — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:21:57 +0000

We designed this logo and signage artwork for Swaffham Motorcycles

Stuart Ryan

chrisd — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 12:10:18 +0000

Stuart is a professional guitarist, tutor and writer and required a ‘personal’ website to market his services and tutorials. We designed and built the site using WordPress to allow him to manage the site content directly, adding news stories, event information and generally keeping the site up-to-date.