building design bridges
A number of years ago I was approached by a client who offered 2 services. They asked me to design a website. The client wanted their site to feature their photography services, both corporate architecture and organic farming. The problem was now how to create one site which marketed to 2 distinctive audiences.
I discerned that with 2 such disparate audiences, their services would not live comfortably together on the ‘same page’. Therefore the conclusion was to create 2 sites but have them mirror each other and find a way to bridge their common characteristics.
Did you know that rats' eyes move in different directions? Fascinating! Somehow this animal with eyes looking at different things can still keep its eye on the ball. This was my task. To ensure that the viewer saw both the 2 kinds of services.
In considering this problem, a conversation with the client clarified that in actuality there were analogous elements between the 2 desired offerings. Findings both the similarities as well as the differences was the key to the next step. This helped me then visualize what the thread was between the 2 offerings ... now the designing could begin.
The solution was to create 2 sites not one, with one link, a bridge to get from one site to the next but without being intrusive. This skill is often required. There are always multiple components even in the simplest site. Learning which is to be the main focus and how to achieve it, as well as the secondary and then tertiary component, is a valuable skill.
The design was to utilize the similarities of the mirroring the sites. Cool pastels were utilized for the corporate direction with both sans serif body copy and headline treatment. Meanwhile the ‘twin’ site used warm organic colors using the same sans serif body copy type style as the corporate site but, differentiated itself with the choice of a more intimate type style for the headlines/subtitles.
Placement of a well-positioned and sized button to allow the viewer to click between the sites was another riddle to solve. Bridging between the 2 sites was fundamental for this project. Making sure that the primary focus of the viewer was not obstructed was imperative to the successful working of this website. The button needed to be seen subtly yet obvious.
Constructing bridges between design components whether they be so disparate as in the example above, can only be achieved by a skilled eye with experience.