Elevating Architectural Excellence:
Redefining Web Presence for ANA Design Studio Pvt Ltd
Mobile responsive business-portfolio website for an integrated architecture, engineering & construction consultancy to enhance their brand awareness & client acquisition
Overview
Establishing ANA Design Studio as a thought leader in the building industry in India
ANA Design Studio is a 26 year old Delhi-based Architecture, Engineering & Construction Consultancy firm with a mid size team of highly skilled architects and engineers working on large scale commercial projects. They were known in the industry for providing integrated design, engineering and construction services unlike conventional firms of the same size.
It was the COVID-19 pandemic that motivated ANA to focus on their digital presence to attract more clients and to hire skilled employees for future projects. The existing website was outdated and did not reflect the firm's current capabilities. It was not generating any leads and was not helping in brand awareness. They wanted to establish themselves as a thought leader in the industry and wanted to showcase their work to attract more clients.
Social Proof
Leveraging social proof & testimonials to build trust with potential clients
Even though they had worked with over 35+ clients, they still relied on cold calling, emailing, and word of mouth, to pitch for projects to potential clients. It was unorganised, time consuming and not effective.
Research phase allowed us to collect several client testimonials, numerical data, project locations, recognitions, publications, awards, and company's history. This helped in creating a strong social proof that was used throughout the website to build trust with potential clients.
Branding & Consistency
Creating a brand style guide enabled consistency across web pages enhancing user experience
Budget, time, availability of team, and the lack of content & documentation were the biggest constraints. After several unsuccessful attempts with external agencies who didn’t understand the business of architecture, we had to create an in-house brand strategy, guidelines, and design system to ensure all the marketing collaterals communicate similar brand values.
Brand colours and typography were selected based on the brand values of being professional, knowledgeable, and trustworthy. Everything had to be geometrical, clean, and convey growth. The style guide was created to maintain consistency in the design. Further this allowed us to create a design system that helped in creating the website faster.
Knowledge Bank
Project case studies helped potential clients to acknowledge ANA as highly skilled professionals
They’ve been in business for 26 years and over 100+ projects across India, Africa, Middle East, with no documented proof. Existing portfolio template website had some photos of their final buildings. Potential clients didn't understand their design process, service benefits, and what made them different.
Documenting & presenting 100+ projects was the most challenging task. Photos, drawings, and diagrams were refined. Facts and figures were collected. Case studies were created. This helped in attracting more clients and employees by establishing the firm as a thought leader in the industry.
Services & Offerings
Communicating the brand’s services effectively was most important to target the right clients
Most of their clients were high-valued professionals, usually CEOs & MDs of large organisations who would be very careful with their investments when approaching consultants for their real-estate projects. It’s one of the biggest investments of their business.
While some clients wanted complete building solutions, some only wanted architecture design, some only needed engineering services, and some only wanted construction management for an existing project. So, we emphasised on communicating all of their services in the most elaborate & impactful manner to target the right kind of client needs.
Process over Product
High-quality images & graphics demonstrated their technical expertise and attention to detail
ANA’s competitors were modern, young, and professional firms. They used images of their projects and team, animations, and videos to make their websites more engaging. They showcased their design process and thinking instead of relying on final built projects. They used simple language to explain their services because their clients were not architects or engineers.
So, we decided to extract diagrams from BIM (Building Information Modeling) models, refined architectural drawings, created 3D presentation diagrams using Adobe CC & Sketchup, collected and refined available project photographs before & after construction to create a visually impactful website. This not only showcased the final building, but also the process & design thinking behind the scenes.
Brand over Business
To trust a consultant firm, clients wanted to connect with human faces & stories on the website
The existing website had no human connection to the visitor. Existing clients considered ANA as a reliable and trustworthy firm with a lot of technical knowledge and expertise. Existing website didn't reflect the firm's current brand story. They wanted a trustworthy team. Potential clients & skilled employees wanted to know more about the firm's history, work, process, team, and culture.
So, we decided to build the About page with the company’s history, design philosophy, process, team, values, culture, latest updates, and testimonials to build trust with visitors. We also introduced YouTube hosted video content of managers narrating their stories. This helped them better connect with people who’re hungry for adventurous stories.
Media & Updates
An updated blog, media & publications helped in SEO, retention and gained 2000+ views monthly
Their existing website had close to 15 views per month because of no regular updates or SEO. To maintain relevance with time, we created a content strategy to regularly update the website with the latest informative content. Blog was included to regularly post content about the firm's work, process, and culture. This would keep the website fresh and help in SEO. It would also help in establishing the firm as a thought leader in the industry. Latest news about any national awards, speaker opportunities at public events and any projects featured in publications were also showcased on the website to showcase expertise & recognition.
Impact on Business
Increased the number of leads and conversions by attracting 5 long-term clients & 10 skilled employees in the first year
The first version of the website had to be deployed within a time frame of 5 weeks (March-April 2020) which included content design, layout and wordpress development. The second and final version was developed after 3 months of intensive brand revamp and content creation where the website took 6 weeks of work from design to development. The final version was deployed in March 2021.
The new website increased the brand awareness and credibility among clients, academicians, students of architecture, and skilled employees in the industry. The management was able to demonstrate their skills and expertise by presenting their previous projects through case studies. The knowledge bank with the updated blog attracted over 20+ skilled employees & interns in the next 3 years.
Challenges & Lessons
Showcasing 100+ projects & 26 years in an impactful and seamless user experience was the biggest challenge
We had to ensure all high quality imagery was well optimised to avoid page loading delays. One of the biggest challenges with communicating architecture business was to create content that wasn't technical jargon but was able to convey the expertise of the company to non-technical clients. We understood the importance of research and how it helps in defining the project goals and scope. We realised the value of design principles and how it can help in creating a better brand identity and design system. Finally, we realised the significance and impact of communicating the brand’s values and offerings through a website design.
