Foundry Projects
Case Study
Foundry Projects
Foundry Projects is one of the UK's leading suppliers to the foundry industry, supplying equipment not only to the UK but also worldwide.
The company designs and manufactures a wide range of products and has the capability to offer turnkey projects, including installation, commissioning and servicing requirements, to a world class standard.
The majority of its projects call for unique solutions, which is where their experience and expertise becomes essential.
Project Overview
Foundry Products came to Clickingmad looking for a fresh new website and a complete rebrand, to shift the perception of the company. We needed to drive their team's technical expertise and industry knowledge to the online medium – so evident in our face-to-face discussions with them.
The fact that the 35-year-old company operates globally and manages sizeable projects that require capital investment, was not being fully reflected. Performance was also an issue with the existing website failing to rank in internet searches and direct visits forming the lion's share of the traffic.
The Solution
Foundry Projects' brief was simple. They wanted a cleaner, more professional looking website to give a flavour of what they do with minimal technical information and plenty of room for project imagery. We began by getting rid of the old text logo, opting instead for a strong brand that captures their true personality.
It was important to fix on colours and typography that were bold and powerful, like the industry the company serves. We went for a simple icon that symbolises a foundry ladle, the hard-working vessel used to transport and pour out molten metals, and a shape that also embodies the solid, all-round support that Foundry Projects provides. The colour palette features a vibrant blue, common in the engineering industry and often used for the equipment itself, teamed with an industrial grey.
The striking new logo then set the scene for the design and development of their website, which needed to encapsulate the company's capabilities and their new brand direction, to engage with their engineering audience better.
Our plan of attack was to create a site that featured a lot of project imagery, to demonstrate Foundry Projects' experience and the sheer scope of their products and services. Initial designs included a main gallery to display the images in one place, but later we decided to weave mini galleries into each of the product sections for greater relevance.
One of the big challenges with this project was to enhance the years of photos compiled by the client, to work as main headers. Our design team spent many long hours adding sparks and reflections, cleaning up industrial settings and heavy machinery, all to create a dynamic, innovative look. The smart new homepage, with orange working as a warmer accent colour, greets visitors with powerful images, eye-catching banners and distinct sections, each designed to prompt click-throughs.
We needed to make sure that the site was inviting and open, with all information being easily-accessible and shared freely. Banishing drop-down menus results in an uninterrupted view of the stunning full-width header images and a banner matrix on the product page serves to signpost its expansive content clearly.
A simple navigation system organises and highlights all of Foundry Projects' many products and services effortlessly, helping users to find information in an easy and direct way.
Behind the scenes, our technical team implemented a fully responsive solution backed by Joomla CMS with a user-friendly WordPress blog for the client to regularly update themselves.
"We met Clickingmad to bounce ideas around – it was a team effort and we felt very involved in the process."
"I appreciated the format and detail of the quote. The costs were fully broken down and further services were also listed."
"Clickingmad are extremely easy to work with. I felt so comfortable with Shaun and his team that I didn't feel the need for alternative quotes."
Services Provided
- Branding
- Speed Optimisation
- Graphic Design
- SEO & Analytics
- Custom Joomla CMS
- UX User Experience Design
- WordPress Blog
- Mobile Accessibility
Outcome
The new website offers a greatly improved overall aesthetic and user experience, making the site more engaging to visitors. Functionality and layout have been optimised for ease-of-use and slick navigation throughout the site.
There's a better feel to exploring the company's products, with centralised content that makes it easy to view what's available.
Directly after the go-live, the client was keen to move forward with SEO to kick-start the campaign to reach the top spots for relevant key search terms.
I wouldn't change anything about the project, I was happy with the timescale, and thought the site represented good value for money.
