New web design for holiday company The Alpine Generation

One of the most satisfying professional projects is the realisation of a project that has been a long time coming. We’ve just completed one of these, a new web design for holiday company The Alpine Generation. We talked to Graham and Kelly, who run the business, about a total overhaul for the first time back in 2017. The idea had been to take the design and apply it to the web at that point, but in the event, that ended up not being a priority. However we finally got our chance to complete the project a few weeks ago. Deep in lockdown, I had a call with the team who had decided now was the moment to focus on the future. A few weeks later, guess what: it’s already arrived.

Get your skis on!
How it all began, then what happened next

Back in January 2017, we had been talking with Graham and Kelly Taylor, the founders of The Alpine Generation, about their brand. We presented a few ideas to them, covering a variety of themes one would associate with a skiing holiday. But something interesting happened… the previous year we had been working with Magnus Riise, a Norwegian illustrator, on a pitch project. That never came to anything (as is sometimes the case), but I wondered if this project was a better fit for our mooted collaboration. And so it proved.

The team loved the idea of the Norwegian angle. So the design of the logo with its familiar pinecone was then finished, agreed and handed over – but ‘temporarily’ placed on their old website. At the time the intention was not to wait too long before rolling it out to a new site. But then, as sometimes happens, time passed. The skiing holiday season is a cruel mistress. If you work in it, rather like a plumber (!), you’re frantically busy when it’s cold, then have lots of time – but not so much income – when it’s warm. With this perpetual zig-zag of feast and famine, it was hardly surprising that it took a pretty major event to kick the project into gear.

Deep in the middle of lockdown, the phone rang. It was Graham – and he had decided now was the moment to look at the website.

We had a long chat about how he saw things panning out, how he wanted to grow the business and that he felt their future was online, particularly mobile. A couple of days later we had a Zoom chat with Graham, his wife Kelly and their ‘right hand lady’ Fiona and made a plan. We were going to work together to complete this entire skiing holiday web design project during lockdown – in record time.

How illustration can define the look of a brand

Having worked with Magnus on the branding project, it seemed only natural to draw him in for the new website. In any case, with custom brand photography off the agenda during lockdown, I had been curious to see if we could use more illustration online. To my delight, Magnus jumped at the opportunity. Over the past few months I have been working on ‘remote art direction’ with my team. I’ve been trying out all manner of comms… including just leaving WhatsApp video chat open during periods of the working day with one of my colleagues and carrying on as if we were in the studio.

As we discussed this project, I described to Magnus that we needed all sorts of icons indicating core services, but that they needed their own feel. They needed to be immediate, but with a softness and sense they belonged with the pinecone of the logo.

He got it.

And in fact, as the project progressed, we went a lot further than just basic icons. These tiny graphics are around a centimetre or less across. There were various places where the attributes of a chalet, for instance, could be displayed as much larger drawings. We even wondered about The Alpine Generation team…  could we not ‘draw’ them? As we homed in on the core of the site, I felt that the long, detailed chalet and resort pages with their repeating ‘how it all works’ features could be warmed up, applying Magnus’s work there too.

The overall effect is of a singular brand with personality, charm, business clarity – one that completely understands its customers.

A website that covers all the bases

One of the values that makes The Alpine Generation stand out is that they have bags of personality. They understand their customers, know how to put together the best skiing holiday – and do it all understanding that they’re delivering something special. The new website we’ve designed aims to match all those aspirations.

It helps that their 26 chalets are carefully chosen, are properties they’ve worked with for years, and all have a ton of specific details. This is particularly useful because this website isn’t transactional, rather it’s an online travel brochure. The idea is that you pick a destination, then a chalet you like, and send in a request and the team take it from there.

The job of this website is to back up the team, showcasing each chalet, as well as their local partner companies that complete a skiing holiday – for instance, lift passes, ski hire as well as food and drink. As all the details of your holiday come together, the website completes the offering. The easy tone of voice (and occasional use of emojis!) has the effect of capturing the personality of the business and the people behind it.

Fundamentally this is a website that understands its customer base and captures the core values of the company… and was delivered in record time during lockdown. An incredibly satisfying piece of work for a fantastic client. You can’t ask for more than that.

Do you need web design for a holiday company?

If you’re planning new wave of marketing this autumn, why not get in touch to discuss a wide range of different approaches? We can work on web design for a holiday company (summer and winter)! from the simple to the sensational, depending on your brief and budget.

Call us on 020 7351 4083 or email us direct.

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Find out more about our work on The Alpine Generation

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