New site launched: Ocean Marine Surveys

We were very happy to be recommended by one of our existing clients to Ian Fagg, a Marine Surveyor, who was about to set up a new company and wanted a unique and interesting presence on the web.

The first step was to choose a name that encompassed the services provided, but also worked well for SEO.

We spent some time analysing competitor websites to gauge the approach they were taking in communicating their services to potential clients. We felt that the sites were very wordy and in most cases quite dull. Most of the sites were over serious and we wanted to add a bit of fun. Having worked with nice full-screen-background sites recently we decided to apply this style to Ocean Marine Surveys, hoping the the visual impact of the background photography could be balanced with clear, clean and minimalist design.

Our initial approach was to design a brand icon that could be used across differing media, we decided that a small model boat would be ideal as it would provide a grounding visual element to the brand and website, be descriptive of the service and add this element of “fun”. The toy boat was an object many boat owners may have had historical contact with, and even could have driven their interest of sailing. Alas the boat ended up being quite technical in nature and was a little too detailed to effectively be used in a brand.

Our next step driven by Ian was to incorporate a seabird. The grey tipped gull was chosen for it’s keen eye and it’s connection with both sea and shore. The webdesign used this element to break out of the otherwise rigid grid, and provides great visual interest whilst linking background photography to the foreground copy.

You can visit the site here:

http://www.oceanmarinesurveys.co.uk