Helen Bartlett Family

To ensure the website functioned effectively as a shop window, images had to be front and centre throughout the project. We gave the user multiple viewing experiences, from thumbnail gallery sheets, to enlarged lightbox experiences and even a slideshow. We wanted to ensure Helen’s potential clients could browse the images in their preferred format, to improve their chances of converting.

Speed was an important consideration. As we weren’t the hosts of this site, we weren’t able to control or optimise the server setup. Instead, we needed to ensure the code was optimised to the highest level so that the on-page optimisation was at its best.

Taking inspiration from some artisanal websites belonging to European Restaurants and Architects, we were keen to animate Helen’s text to elevate it. We introduced subtle animation on standout paragraphs and testimonials, and impactful scrolling text for a dramatic first load of each service page.

We’d been aching to use a custom cursor on a site for ages. However, with a predominately greyscale colour scheme and a desire to avoid distraction from the images, we had to be careful.

In the end, we opted for a simple red circle, taking inspiration from Helen’s existing monogram logo. Coincidentally, Helen then reminded us of the iconic red ring on Canon’s lenses, their symbol for “Optical Excellence”. Whilst we’d love to claim this was our intention all along, we simply have to put this down to serendipity.