A case study in implementing a brand online: our work for NorthWall Capital

We absolutely love working on every aspect of a brand identity from the ground up, whether that’s total renewal or evolution. However there are (many) cases where changing a logo either isn’t possible, practical… or simply isn’t changing. We’re talking here about projects where the task is implementing a brand online in the best, most creative way possible – and to leave the identity alone.

Our latest project is just such a job for credit investment firm NorthWall Capital where the specific nature of the commission to work on the website alone in a sense freed us, necessitating a focus on layout, concept graphics and their animation. This design process allowed us to completely immerse ourselves in seeing the visual possibilities within the identity and assist with the creating of new visual content for the site.

A new take on NorthWall’s brand

At the beginning of last summer, NorthWall Capital approached us to consider a new way of implementing their brand online. We’d had no role in either the design of the logo or a launch website, so we came to the project entirely fresh and unattached to all that had gone before.

As it happens, this sort of scenario is incredibly common in our financial services web design work and consequently we addressed the project with our sleeves rolled up, seeing as a great challenge. One of my key principles in approaching a situation like this is to look at all the best elements of the current brand and suggest ways we can build not merely on, but with, these.

We particularly liked the way that graphics could be built from the typographic glyph that had been created for NorthWall’s icon, as well as the type set that had been chosen – and a set of sharp, elegant colours. NorthWall then asked us to apply an almost entirely graphic approach to our website design. In fact this approach softened a little as we went along, but beginning without illustrative or decorative brand imagery at all was a challenge we relished. This strictures of this, as well as our idea of dividing the pages up using a mix of diagonal and horizontal sections, served the layout of the website well.

We began by expanding the branding with a fresh set of graphics for the project, mixing up the letterforms, the colours and shapes that the original identity scheme had contained, and placing these in new shapes and environments. We found we could remain true to the brand but also work with new ingredients, laying the pages out in a clear visually compelling way. During this process we also created an outline brand pattern inspired by the logo and its elements that was one more way of adding to the mix, but also without fighting with the graphics that comprised the brand at the outset.

How we used vector animation

The entire feel to the design of the new site is defined by the vector animations that run through every aspect of the layout. The use of animation was one of the reasons NorthWall approached us, as we’ve made it a real hallmark of our work in recent years. The brief was based in the idea of a modern, comprehensive site that embraces motion, while of course placing the information about the company and its investments front and centre.

Vector animations, both as a decorative but also functional technique, works outstandingly well on both desktop and mobile web design. Our expertise in this area and its dynamic visual appeal is something we’re really proud of and ultimately was central to implementing the NorthWall brand online. The site and its application has ended up being a striking case study in graphic minimalism.

Interestingly in this case the animation is not SVG animation alone: in line with other projects we’ve worked on lately we’ve mimicked some of the actual animation with a discreet use of the gentle movement techniques of parallax programming. This means that the layout has both dynamism and a subtler motion as the user scrolls through the page.

The end result is almost playful where one technique ends and the other begins. All this is really fairly unusual on a corporate website, and its combination offers originality. Our idea is to place information and expertise at the heart of our layout, while offering delight and intrigue to the user, blending the detail they are reading and an unusual way of delivering it.

A striking end result

Assisting with not only design and build of our websites but the creation of the visual content that sits within them is, for me, a source of endless satisfaction. At the outset of our work for NorthWall, we’d been sent a set of truly fantastic headshots of their team with an unusual, jet-black backdrop. These portraits gave us the opportunity to devise one of the most beautiful staff/team galleries I’ve ever seen. The way the shots sit alongside each other is just so satisfying and elegant. I can’t get over it.

To build on this visual approach, we proposed a new set of custom brand photography, focussing on the team interacting. My thinking is that without any of this sort of imagery, the site had the potential to look rather antiseptic, missing the charismatic spirit of the firm. I was really pleased that the team at NorthWall readily agreed with the idea, and this gave us an opportunity to work with the team behind the original headshots.

The end result blended candid, day-to-day working-type shots with a looser face-on visuals of the team principals that could be used on the new News/Insights section we’d added. This sort of crunchy content not only makes a site more interesting but the addition of evolving media coverage or thought leadership ensures a better, more vibrant website. And this is really key here. Decisive, clear opinions are highly popular in financial services circles and when implementing a brand online, it’s vital to build a design that lets that sort of writing shine.

Essentially all of these different pillars – a re-interpretation of NorthWall’s identity with new graphic design, custom vector animation, great headshots and newly shot team imagery – are ways of building out a brand and giving it the strongest possible life online. That we didn’t design the original logo but rather choose to embrace it and expand its potential became a highly satisfying central mission of the project itself.

How we can help you with implementing a brand online

Working in the boutique financial services side of the City, modern, distinctive design is vital. Put simply, as an asset manager your skills are second to none, but there’s no doubt that distinctive design can set you apart from the competition.

Our clients consistently tell us that AUM shoots up noticeably after a rebrand or new website, so why not get in touch to discuss a range of different approaches? Whether you’re in the UK or work across EMEA, we can work on designs from the creative to the corporate, depending on your brief and budget.

Call us on 020 7351 4083 or email us direct.

Find out more about this project

Our portfolio page covering all our work for NorthWall Capital

Visit the new NorthWall Capital website

More background to our work for financial services businesses