Unit+Sofa

Initiate

We established in early sessions that this site should work best for users of a widescreen notebook (most notoriously the Apple Macbook Air and MacBook Pro) which forms a large part of the audience. The website needed to hold an expanding array of videos in an archive (currrently around 50) whilst putting a selection of new and featured projects at the forefront of the site. We wanted to keep the interface precise and fast so that a potential client could quickly view a selection of videos without much fuss or gimmicks. This was very much in keeping with the new brand identity that strives for clarity and simplicity in it's usage.

Design

Both the previous companies had a 'grid' system for viewing portfolios (we developed Unit's previous website so understood their needs and goals) and it was decided that the design should take the best of the existing site and be updated (rather than re-invented) to reflect the new brand and the additional functionality of the archive. We created a bespoke video 'layer' to the site whereby you could quickly launch a video from any screen with thumbnails, again with simple controls and minimal use of additional branding.

Produce

The site was built using Flash technology to reflect the sleek offering but also to allow us to create little sparks of animation. These include the loading screen and the loading of thumbnails, creating the overlay buttons with a 'plus' along with the client name, and helped finesse the overall feel of the site. We also created a detection method whereby users with smaller screens would view the site at a smaller resolution to make the experience a pleasure for a broad range of the audience.

Unit+Sofa have an internal team to produce the videos for web so Friends created a simple way to update the site and move projects from 'Featured' to 'Archive' with minimal fuss. Ultimately the site has helped strengthen Unit+Sofa in the marketplace by showing them to be professional, experienced and having a touch of finesse!