In the age of stock photos, clip art, and graphic design templates, the web is proliferated with sites that all feel the same. One reason for this is that the materials a web designer uses typically are limited to the photos and graphics supplied by the client. Custom artwork is expensive, as with unique stock imagery, so many clients cannot afford to spend the money for photography that really stands out.

FCC’s solution to this problem is to provide access to custom photography while we design the look and feel of your web site.

We have found that by using graphic elements that we obtain from your place of business help us develop a page design that is truly one of a kind.

Here are two examples of this design method.

Fionn Mac Cools Irish Bar

We were contracted to implement the a content management system into the client’s existing site design and also upgrade the look and feel to something more eye catching. That “something” was left solely to us. We could have created graphics from scratch and used the theme of Ireland and traditional pubs to guide us – but this has been done before. To do it again, but better, would be a fine approach, but we went a step further.

We decided to visit the pub with photo gear in tow and see what inspirations we could find. The result was very successful as we immediately saw many design ideas based on the decor and architecture of the Pub itself. Below is a shot for the main header graphic. We used Adobe’s Photoshop to manipulate the beautiful sign outside the pub and we also used the wood pillars as frames for the page layout.

You can see in the photo in the main page area that the building’s sign is a stand out. Now the Fionn Mac Cool web site is memorable in the same way. The look and feel of the pub is now embedded in the site design.

JB Woodworking

Tasked with a similar project, we also found that a trip to the client’s workshop paid off as we where able to find our inspiration from the natural environment of the client. Below is another header graphic created from the actual wood and tools found in the J.B. Woodworking shop.

This graphic is particularly effective as the tools shown exemplify the kind of custom craftsmanship the shop is known for. The other design elements were inspired by of all the blue prints the shop had out on the worktables. The logo was also designed by FCC.

Conclusion

We believe that custom photography is the key to an outstanding web design. It is a creative approach to the age old challenges of business advertisement - attract attention and be memorable.