Designing a website for a designer

13/1/2016

 

I was very keen to take on the Angel + Blume website project and excited about working with Owner Cate Burren. However, a little bit of me was nervous about matching the expectations of another designer. I need not have worried. Cate and I seemed to see eye to eye on every aspect of the design. The result was a joyous project to work on and an end result I am extremely proud of.

 

 

I caught up with Cate to ask her some questions about the 'Catfish Experience'.

 

Can you provide an introduction to you and your business.

 

We are an interior design business based in Cambridge. We undertake mainly domestic work and smaller commercial projects, mostly around the local area. We have been in business since 2002 and there are four people in total working at Angel + Blume. 

 

What problems were you facing with your website before doing business with Catfish?

 

The site was very laborious to update and it had evolved over time so felt quite disjointed. It also lacked a united look and feel and was desperately in need of a more up-to-date and professional design presentation.

 

What goal did you hope to achieve with our service?

There were two main goals – the first was to put a new section on the site which is an searchable address book of our favourite suppliers that needed to be easy to update in house, and the second was to give the whole site a well needed revamp.

 

Do you feel we achieved this for you?

Yes, I loved the initial design concepts that you sent as I felt you had captured the image that we wanted to present very well. The designs were also a massive step forward in our online presentation and immediately made the old site feel very dated. I am also delighted with the address book section of the site which is not something we could ever have achieved ourselves.

 

Has this made a difference to your business and, if so, how? 

 

I believe it has made a difference to our business and we have received lots of compliments on the new website. The statistics for the number of hits on the address book are moving up month by month and this is growing as we add more suppliers to the directory.

 

Has the website helped with anything other than your main aim?
 

It has been great having the newsletter more integrated with the website which means that we are sending newsletters out regularly. Also, the presence of the address book section of the site means that relevant suppliers are getting in touch with us, which is a bonus.

 

What do you feel differentiates us from other web designers?
 

I was very impressed with your ability to understand what we wanted and also to develop a design that I felt really worked for us.

 

Why did you choose to work with us?

 

I was impressed with your portfolio of work and I had met and liked Jane already so I felt that she is someone that I would be happy to work with.

 

 

​In November 2015 Catfish won a Gold and Silver Award at the Cambridge Digital Awards for the Angel + Blume website, in the Small Business category and Lifestyle and Culture category/