Visual design
Our designers bring the user experience to life with elegant, intuitive, attractive designs. Our success is built on our ability to deliver consistent user experiences regardless of channel, format or device.
We treat each project as a unique challenge requiring a tailored solution, but the basic tenets of visual design always apply. We use visual elements to accentuate key messages and primary flows as well as create the appropriate mood, tone and experience. We know that compositional hierarchy, balance, rhythm, colour and gestalt are as important to successful web design as JavaScript, coding frameworks and APIs.
When it comes to design, our fame has spread. Our team is regularly approached to provide design consulting services covering web interface design, user experience design, digital brand development or brand extension. As part of this work, we can produce usage guidelines for brand assets.
Techniques we use
Accessible design
Most of our clients need their products to be accessible to visually-impaired users. We develop web sites using best practice accessibility guidelines as defined by the W3C WCAG 2.1 guidelines (to an AA standard) and, where applicable, the NZ Web Accessibility Standard 1.1 and NZ Web Usability Standard 1.3. Our designers ensure that colour contrasts, font sizes and the use of graphic imagery meet required accessibility and usability standards .
Responsive design
Our responsive design is holistic and intentional, not an afterthought, so our designers keep the mobile experience at the front of their minds. We’re well aware of the variance in user experience that different devices can bring. Tackling these device considerations up front lets us streamline responsive development.
Application design
We develop outstanding user experiences for web applications, transactional websites and mobile apps. Our approach to interface development breaks down the barriers between designers and developers by treating user-centric design, rapid prototyping, visual design, front-end development and user testing as a single practice. Getting functioning code in front of real users quickly is the best way to develop successful user interfaces, and our cross-disciplinary team works together to achieve this.
Visual design as communication
Many sites we’ve designed, especially for Government clients, need to cater to multi-lingual audiences, migrants, users with low literacy and users with learning disabilities. Through our user-centred approach, we’ve learned how visual design can build bridges across comprehension gaps on the web for these users, and for all users. This can take the form of iconography, illustration or infographics. Our designers enjoy working closely with content writers to harness words and images in creative ways, including the use of stories, scenarios and step-by-step instructions.
Case study
Notable projects include the following websites and applications:
Public websites
Inland Revenue, Beef+Lamb NZ Future Farms, Ministry of Primary Industries, OSPRI, Environment Canterbury, Beef+Lamb NZ, NZDF
Web applications
OSPRI portal, EdPay, Quotable Value (QV)