The existing site was restrictive and didn’t allow the company to show-off their incredible archive of imagery and video.

They felt that the site had to work much harder to convey the impact of seeing the company performing live.

Discovery

We started by looking at analytics data from the existing site, studying the sites of peers and competitors, reading through audience feedback, and picking the brains of the in house team. We thought about the key users of the site and the kinds of information they are looking to find. We build personas for those who want to quickly book tickets, students and researchers looking for background information, and professional dancers looking to work with the company.

Working with the in house team we planned the site’s structure to best suit those audiences, adapting the language used for menus, and reducing the need for sub-sections and complex navigation.

We created a hierarchy of information, using images and video to full effect. By clearly signposting the content in that way, users can find the information they need as quickly as possible, whilst having a rich visual experience throughout the site.

Design

We kept the visual styling pared-back and simple (so as not to overshadow the images) but we also wanted to give the site a unique visual personality. So, we introduced an unusual serif font for headlines and large text. Confident quotes are used throughout, bringing out the thoughtful, narrative nature of Akram Khan’s work.

Of course, with any new site it was also important that the viewing experience was seamless across any device – mobile, tablet and desktop. That responsive approach was key to all our design thinking.

To reinforce the simplicity of the navigation we introduced large text explanations to clearly signpost what is in which section of the site. The large text echoes the quote styling, creating a consistent visual language throughout the site.

Using an interactive map we made a feature of the world tours in the What’s on section by. It gives users a new way to find performances as well as emphasising that world touring is an important part of the company’s work.

At the heart of the site, each production has its own details page which we’ve designed as a modular template. Our clients can use that template to build up layers of content as it becomes available: rehearsal images, initial press quotes, video, production images, audience quotes and production images can all be easily updated as the production is developed.

The production overview page, shown here, also makes use of large imagery, giving a beautiful overview of the company’s work, past and present.

Development

Once we started building and coding the site we crafted every detail, particularly the transitions between pages and the way that page elements interact with mouse-clicks (or screen-taps). This level of detailing has helped to create a sense of movement that reflects the work shown on the site.

Deployment

Undeterred by the extremely tight deadline (it was designed and built in two months) we delivered the site to our clients with time for them to upload content and for us to check and test on different platforms and devices before the world premiere of their new work, Until The Lions.

To celebrate the successful partnership, the whole team went along to experience the show ourselves.