Design Musings

Recently we designed a website for Wonderful Bathroom Solutions, or WBS, a company that sell bargain bathroom suits and accessories online. They approached us to create a fully e-commerce shop. The brief was for eye-catching graphics and a very easy to use shopping process. So we designed a site that is full of bright, bold and chunky design, with clear sign posting, proud about its affordability without compromise on design. The home page acts as a spring board to the rest of the site, while also drawing attention to the product of the month, the catalogue and the latest deals. The products are arranged clearly with plenty of white space and clear images to help with the shopping process. We have really limited the amount of steps needed to speed up the purchasing, so buying a bargain suit online just got easier!

We recently designed a new website for The Wheelhouse, a guest  house right on the beach on St Marys, one of the islands that make up the Isles of Scilly. We started the project by designing a logo and then moved onto the website. Due to the outstanding location of the guest house I wanted to communicate that oneness of the sea, so I kept my colour palette simple with beachy blues and white space. It was important to the client to have a website that was easy to navigate and be user friendly. Images were also key, so there are two image carousels on the website and Polaroid style pictures on every page which open larger when clicked on. I drew bespoke maps for each Island and custom designed a blog which is fully integrated. The site also features a webcam so everyone can experience the sea views, no matter where they are. The gallery is also totally editable by the client. Working on this site has really has tempted me to the Scilly Isles! Website design by Pick...

This is a website we have designed for Mactech, an Apple Mac support company servicing Devon and Cornwall. The client wanted a clear and simple presence on line. I designed a site which had an obvious affiliation with Apple but also communicated a clear Mactech brand. We used white and grey with the accent colour of red as the colour scheme. The social media buttons for Facebook and Twitter were styled to match the steely metal finish of the Mac Mini image on the home. The website is informative and details the service Mactech provide, making it very easy to get in touch. A straightforward static site that uses stock imagery and clear copy to communicate its purpose. Emma Julian

Lizard Holiday Cottages came to us with their portfolio of Cornish cottages looking to create a brand and website that reflected the idyllic setting of their holiday accommodation.  First we started with the logo, drawing inspiration from the seaside, illustrating a boat and seagull while using blue tones.  When creating the website I introduced a sandy yellow and a bright post box red. The website has many features, built from scratch and completely bespoke to the client. The home page has an image carrousel, feature boxes, Twitter feed and custom social media buttons. Each cottage has its own page with a gallery, fully editable by the client, with a section for reviews. There is also a search facility on the custom designed availability checker, matching the style of the site.  I also designed galleries for the Local Area, a bespoke blog, and booking and contact forms. Our client is really pleased with the final outcom...

We are currently working with a client on a new magazine, The Southwest Magazine. It is a very exciting project that meant starting from scratch to create a brand and the look for the magazine. The new magazine will be funded by advertisers but free to consumers and will represent the whole of the South West, showcasing all that the region has to offer and tempting potential tourists. We started by creating the brand. I designed several options taking into account the brand's application across many variables. The logo that was chosen is contemporary and clean with the accent colour of bright cyan to suggest sea or sky. I also created a few variations on the logo to suit all its different applications. With the logo agreed the next stage was to produce a flyer to promote the magazine and to give an indication of the style. We designed a DL flyer working with stock images to introduce the new magazine as 'a different perspective'. Then the brand was applied ...

I just released that we hadn't mentioned the Camel Self-Storage website on our blog! A little while ago now we created a website for the local self-storage firm to go with the logo, business cards, stationery and flyer design we had completed. They provide secure self storage in Cornwall, a way to keep all manner of belongings in all sorts of quantities. I wanted to have a design that was quite blocky, substantial and reflecting robust nature of their business. The brand colours are yellow and black and I added in shades of grey and blue to lift the palette. I used illustration coupled with a photoshoot we took. The tool bar has an interlocking effect and all content fits securely in boxes around the page. The phone number is prominent on the Home as getting people to contact them was the primary objective. Each page is laid out clearly with subheadings and paragraphs in small chunks to keep it all easy to read and navigate. I have also illustrated a map on the contact pag...

Hi I’m Nelly, I’ve been doing a week's work placement with Pickle Design. I have really enjoyed myself and I have learned lots of new skills and programs. I’ve designed a leaflet and business card for Ceramics and Silver studio, an Art Deco theme wedding invite, a post card with a poem I wrote accompanied by an illustration that I did, and a website design for a cafe. I was also given the job of putting posts onto the Pickle Design Facebook page each day of things in the design world that inspire me. I have had a really good week and I feel I have improved as a designer. Thanks to all at Pickle!

An existing client asked us to turn their simple five page website with gallery into an e-commerce shop. Stargazey, a gift company with two shops in West Cornwall, initially only wanted a basic presence online, allowing potential customers to have a taster and a point of reference. More recently, though, they wanted to expand their shops online as well. The client wanted to keep the same style as the design we had originally created for them, as this seaside feel was very suited to the homely gifts they specialise in. Our challenge was to expand the site to focus on visitors being able to buy those gifts, but not to compromise the original design. I created new artwork keeping within the style, adding a quick link button to the shop, updating the fading image animation and adding a shopping cart as well as an editable section to the home page for the client to keep repeat visitors up to date. The shop itself has six categories in a tool bar which we added to the left hand si...

Andy from Wavehunters approached us in the Spring of 2011 to create a leaflet promoting their surf school. We designed and printed an A4 folded to DL leaflet packed full of their great images, explaining about the service. We have worked for Wavehunters before, using their existing brand to create letterheads, complement slips and business cards. As the focus this time was to be on the surf school, we utilised their photographs and set out to communicate the atmosphere down on the beach. The inside page brakes down the many different activities they offer and showcases the latest craze, stand up paddle boarding. The look is both laid back, Cornish and packed full of possibilities. The leaflets have been well received and you may well see them, hopefully, everywhere!