London web design

What is the London web design style?

The UK has a well-deserved reputation around the world for being at the cutting edge of what’s new and vibrant in all aspects of design. It’s something we aspire towards creatively ourselves – but keeping up with what’s new and emerging, or even just simply the technology available to us as designers, is a huge challenge. Keeping up with what’s on our doorstep is an ongoing story. We like to think we contribute to the London web design style – but just what does define it?

 

THE DOUBLE CHALLENGE

We’re always trying to improve on our past work and attempt new things. Inevitably this is a two pronged attack – working on new and interesting ways to present the (often equally new and interesting) clients we work with, online… then adapting to new technology available.

What is this new technology of which I speak? Well, with each passing day, usually quite literally, the systems we work with and their associated plugins, constantly improve and adapt. Just like your smartphone, with its apps and operating system, updates seem never-ending.

These are often as a result of user feedback and testing and fixing bugs as they go, but in particular I enjoy it when the user experience improves with better, cleaner design.

Given we aren’t actually defining technology but working with it, the key to us keeping up to date is understanding what is out there to apply to the client briefs we are set.

On the surface, these these don’t always offer massive scope for being experimental, but they key is to already know ways in which new plugins or systems can be applied so as to answer the brief and be one step ahead of the client.

Much easier to write, than to do… but we keep on trying!

 

THREE CASE STUDIES

I’ve cited below three different websites which feel, to me, to be good examples of the London web design style. Two are from other agencies, one from us.

All three feel ‘of a set’, to me. I’m glad to properly credit the other two agencies responsible for Sandows and L’Estrange, as well as my lead designer and co-director, Riccardo Teofilo, who designed Longwall Ventures.

 

1.
SANDOWS, LONDON

This is such a great website. I love the spareness and graphic feel of the Sandows homepage and then elegant use of consistent imagery on subsequent pages.

The crop of the homepage I’ve used here is slightly scrolled down mainly because I think the symbol ‘blown up’ is so gutsy and bold.

The choice of typefaces here also really appeals to me – the secondary face feels almost analogue in its simplicity implying an honest, back-t0-basics, beautiful product is at the heart of the brand.

The Sandows website is designed by Studio Thomas in Hackney.

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Sandows London, a great example of London web design by Studio Thomas

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Sandows London, a great example of London web design by Studio Thomas

 

2.
L’ESTRANGE

Caveat: Six, the designers behind this site aren’t in London at all – rather Leicester. But then, so is one third of my design team, so count me a big fan of design from the Midlands – and their aesthetic.

There are any number of reasons why the L’Estrange website stands out to me. Admittedly the spare but informative menu system many not be the most obvious starting point, but an elegant, considered approach to the ‘nuts and bolts’ of a site has always appealed.

Moving users around a site is the best way of making sure your products and services are to the fore, and this project wins hands down in that respect.

In particular the menu system has a three-tiered approach that is easy to use and delightful as you move across and find the thing you were after, without working too hard.

The way the image and text intersect on the product page is an approach I’ve always really enjoyed in graphic design, and it’s surprisingly difficult to manage successfully online given the constraints that responsive design, with its constantly changing layouts from format-to-format, place upon us. It works here because each format ‘jumps’ to a fresh layout, never compromising the overall design.

The L’Estrange website is designed by Six in Leicester.

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L’Estrange, a fantastic example of great British web design by Six

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L’Estrange, a fantastic example of great British web design by Six

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L’Estrange, a fantastic example of great British web design by Six

 

3.
LONGWALL VENTURES

Our contribution to this article is a really lovely project with a fairly straightforward, corporate brief.

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes the best projects come about in response to requirements from straightforward website design briefs.

In this instance, we had designed a logo for Longwall Ventures which had ‘another life’ beyond its monochrome original version. The website was the ideal moment to showcase this – and so the four-colour version was positioned front and centre, and then key swatches from that palette deployed throughout the site.

One of our ideas for the site was the diagonal lines which seems fairly straightforward… until you start to build the site responsively. And so, we ended up building something new in response to that challenge which worked on every platform – and is unlike any other project we’ve done.

So in that sense, the Longwall Ventures site is a great example of smart design and some quirky under-the-hood programming – an ideal response to the challenge to remain modern in both senses.

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Longwall Ventures, a great example of London web design by Richard Chapman Studio

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Longwall Ventures, a great example of London web design by Richard Chapman Studio

 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LONDON WEB DESIGN

The Longwall Ventures project is just one of many sites we’ve designed using a simple user experience and bold, clean design. Take a look at our full portfolio for more information.

Visit the Longwall Ventures website (external link)

More about the Longwall Ventures project

All our work

Contact Richard Chapman Studio