Gill Balfour
Case study
The email.
I remember this morning clearly. I'm sitting at my desk, going through my emails, when I get an email from Gill. In it, she said she made ceramics and wanted an online store, and asked if I could help her. At the bottom of the email were five attachments. This is not always a good thing... I clicked on them to open them, and when I did, I was blown away. The plate above is the first thing I see. I fell completely in love with it, and I am thrilled.
Gill was a recently retired nurse and had a background in graphic design. Over the years, pottery had become her passion, and she had attended many wonderfully exotic and creative ceramics courses. Being highly creative, she had dedicated herself to what had essentially been a hobby. Now, she wanted to establish an online shop so that she could sell her work.
The online shop part was pretty easy; the more difficult but enjoyable part was that Gill also needed a brand.
Audience research
Competitor Analysis
Tone of voice
Brand Strategy
Design Strategy
Content Creation
Retouching
Digital design
Research
This is one of the really fun parts: we take a look at the market and her competitors to see how they present themselves. It is easy to tell who the successful ones are; many have invested significantly in branding and website design.
Gill’s target audience: Gill’s work resonates with people who value authenticity and craftsmanship. Her audience, primarily women aged 35 to 55, appreciates the story behind each piece. They prioritise quality over quantity and seek unique, meaningful items that bring warmth to their homes. They are people who are attracted to pieces with a narrative—items that reflect their personality and add character to their living spaces. Also, for many, supporting independent artists is important; for some, it represents an investment in creativity and authenticity
The new site feels so true to my work: simple, elegant, and honest. I love that I can manage it myself, and it’s amazing to see how people are connecting with my pieces, so when I first sold a bowl for £125, it felt like quiet a milestone.
It feels like everything has come together.
Gill Balfour
Ceramicist
Brandmark concepts
Four of the initial concepts we presented to Gill, each has some something to offer, but are not right.
Serendipity
Essentially, this is a carefully tweaked front, and the moment I saw this I knew it was right. I was so chuffed, it exudes confidence and authority, with a rhythm and flow that feels natural, it just looks good.
To rationalise it: the rounded forms give it a softer, arguably more feminine quality, while the initials combine to create a wonderfully distinctive and elegant monogram. The eye is drawn smoothly across each letterform, creating a sense of balance and visual harmony.
Icons
Monograms are most readable when used without a container. Enclosing them tends to shift focus to the overall shape rather than the mark itself. But when you place a mark inside a shape, the shape lens it authority as if to say this is a brand.
Colourways
There's a mantra floating around the Internet about using just three colours in a design (really it’s three core colours, I have around 10 for my site). These are Gills three; inspired by the hues found in her studio, and they do bring everything together nicely.
Imagery
Gill’s husband helped with photography, often using various backgrounds for the images. While these were OK, the diversity meant each image looked different. To create a cohesive look, we decided to present the ceramics against a black background. This choice had multiple benefits: it ensured a consistent aesthetic, allowed the ceramics to shine, and made the images stand out. We also retouched the photos to enhance the colors beautifully. It’s worth mentioning that if these ceramics had been photographed professionally in a studio, the photographer would typically have added light to achieve a similar effect.
Website
The website features a clean layout, ample white space, and intuitive navigation, creating a calm, inviting ambiance similar to stepping into a potter's studio.
We used Squarespace for the project, heavily modifying a template to make the build quick and cost-effective. The backend is user-friendly, allowing Gill to easily manage and update the site's essential elements herself.
The fonts we chose are understated, we chose a refined serif display font for the headings and teamed this with another serif text font designed for web.
Mobile Experience
The mobile site was designed with deliberate care, not simply scaled down from the desktop version but thoughtfully adapted to suit mobile use.
Given how many users discover brands via their phones, we focused on clarity, speed, and usability. The layout, typography, and image treatment were all adjusted to feel natural on smaller screens, ensuring the brand experience remains strong wherever it is encountered.
Every element was considered to maintain flow and impact, whether someone is browsing in a gallery, at home on the sofa or between sips of coffe
Outcome
Gill is thrilled with her new brand and website. Significantly, it’s not just a generic template; the design was specifically created for her, it is truly unique and focused on her work, this supports her as an expert in her field, showcases her creativity. It makes her ceramics appealing.
Moreover, the website was built at a price she could afford, and as an added bonus, she manages the site herself, albeit occasionally with a bit of help from the design fairy.