Creating a digital experience that reflects brand values - Velvet Badger

Q. How did you first feel when you were given the opportunity to build the new Velvet Badger website??

Due to the Velvet Badger rebrand it was a real necessity to review and assess the need for updating the website. We wanted to ensure that our site reflected the principles of the brand, not only in the visual aesthetic but to ensure that it was represented through the user's experience when visiting the site. Velvet Badger has an inherent affinity for being unique, so it was really important to ensure we applied this to every aspect of the digital experience.

For the reasons above, the opportunity of creating something less-traditional and more reflective of the agency's unique personality really opened up the possibilities of what we could aim to achieve. It was vital that we could showcase the level of creativity and technical ability of the team, and how that transpires through the work Velvet Badger creates, all in all making the whole process a very exciting prospect.?

Q. What were your first steps when faced with this challenge?

It was important that we allowed ourselves to explore all possibilities, taking the key elements of the brand, and how we could translate the essence of Velvet Badger into this particular medium. Ultimately, this led us to more future-focussed applications of implementation, non-traditional website design patterns, and putting an emphasis on interaction, motion and content discovery - of which, Velvet Badger is synonymous.

Ensuring that our team explored the potential of what could be achieved both technically and creatively required close collaboration, (applying our normal working processes as per any client) which enabled us to deliver iterative prototypes and design developments at every stage. This ensured we could continue testing and applying feedback into the overall user experience as we iterated all the way up until launch.

Q. What was the most challenging aspect of building the website?

Velvet Badger pride itself on creating experiences that are meaningful, emotional and transformative - while looking to the future, and what is next for the industry. Therefore creating something that is truly? unique, bringing it to the forefront of any interaction or experience a user may encounter had to be implemented beyond stating the fact.?

In order to demonstrate this, it meant that we had to take on several challenges, both technical and creative. Maintaining a fine balance to ensure that we avoided over-engineering or impacting the user's experience was critical. As a result, I feel we have hit a good balance of creative implementation while managing to include a few unusual design patterns which demonstrate Velvet Badger’s future-forward approach.

Q. What/who are your biggest inspirations when it comes to the web, and what’s next?

Too many to list! Usually you can point at a specific individual or company that tends to specialise in a particular niche, but typically I find my biggest inspiration comes from well executed digital experiences that blend technology and/or physical/digital realms with truly creative solutions.?

Movement towards this in Web3, XR, VR or AR and ‘invisible’ tech has gained rapid momentum over the years, and with larger companies such as Apple pushing this further with the soon to be release Vision Pro, as well as underlying technologies such as WebGL, Unity and WEBGPU. I’m looking forward to seeing the opportunities that this opens up to Velvet Badger and the 3D team as well.

With the first phase of our website now complete, we have some very exciting updates and project drops in the works, so worth keeping in mind that there is more to come, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we’re able to create as we continue to evolve.

Visit the latest website: https://velvetbadger.com/

#digitalexperience #website #rebranding #agency

Credits:

Phil Allen: Strategy

Eden Kirk: Rebrand and Design Direction

Frank Sweet: Design