Combining form and function for Armac Martin
We love a collaborative process. For our client Armac Martin we were responsible for a new, sophisticated and exciting ecommerce website – with its design being heavily informed by their new brand.
That’s two hefty marketing projects rolled into one. Whilst the website was our baby, and the branding was managed by another agency, successfully co-parenting the process was important – making sure it all came together perfectly for the client
Why build a prototype?
We worked on a new website behind the scenes, incorporating the new logo, colours, fonts and everything that creates the brand. It was critical to get this right – not only to deliver the project professionally – but also because Armac Martin is a company operating within the luxury interiors sector. When a business has a spotlight on detail and finish within a high-end market, there is no room for error in terms of online representation. The design/web development collaboration led us to suggest tweaks to the brand, alongside our changes to the site, to make it work seamlessly.
There’s more to it than the optics. A prototype is a no-code, visual representation of the website that allows for live links and basic user functionality. It is built to give clients a useful framework and allows for movement, adjustments and development at every stage. And, because it’s a prototype, you can experiment, see how it flows, observe how it looks and collect feedback.
How does a prototype affect production timelines?
You might think that it would slow things down. In reality it does add an additional layer to the development process but it undoubtedly saves time as the launch version is fully tested, snags removed and a sense of calm built in as standard. Trading online is a global goldfish bowl – everyone can see everything! Ultimately, working with a prototype shortcuts the development time as there are fewer (if any) changes to be made further down the line, immediately after the launch.
Did the Armac Martin website pose any other challenges?
Alongside the new brand and a healthy wishlist, we supported a new product management system. Armac Martin has many knob and handle products, each with a multitude of variants in terms of size, finish and price points. To proceed to a satisfying conclusion we incorporated their new indexing that replaced an increasingly unwieldy categorisation system that had been in use over many decades. It was a case of doing things well, working with the whole team to resolve issues and making sure that the final website served the business better in every way.
We enjoy that our work serves business benefits beyond the obvious.
Why Digital by Default?
We’re specialists in e-commerce with a back story of full agency credentials. This makes us good to know in terms of making design and practicality a cohesive success. We relish the collaborative process with our clients and other partners such as Shopify, Pinterest, Meta and design agencies.
