Studio Snapshot
This month we took half a day out to play Disc Golf, inspired by Jack, one of our developers and a World Champion Ultimate Frisbee player! The discs (which are bit like Frisbees but without that brand name!) have to be thrown into a basket through the trees into a set of nine baskets (like holes in golf), which each have a par number. We split into teams, and played the nine baskets, which generally takes quite a bit of practice, some concentration and a lot of laughing – we finished off with a good chat over a BBQ, a game of cricket and some beers in the woods.
We love this time of year as the Fanatic t-shirts, both old and new, make an appearance regularly in the studio.
This month we took delivery of this year’s finished screen printed tees. This is the first year we have printed the main design on the back of the t-shirt and we have been really pleased with the result. Annie’s striking, retro design pops from the brilliant white t-shirt and is a definite favourite in the team’s home and work wardrobe!
We have also welcomed Benny to the team, who is our new Digital Marketing Exec. She is settling in well and is proving to be a valuable addition to our team.
Design
Artfarm Website Estate
Over the last year we have been working with Artfarm on a number of their location websites from all across the country. From Mount Street and The Audley in Mayfair, to Roth Bar & Grill and Durslade Farm Shop in Somerset to the prestigious Fish Shop Restaurant & Fishmongers Ballater, in the Scottish Highlands.
Each of these projects required us to explore and understand the specific locations and their offerings from restaurant to retail, and how these would translate into a digital format. We also needed to adopt the variety of brands together with the featuring of art you’d expect given the connection with the Hauser & Wirth galleries. We love designing websites and digital marketing materials across the ArtFarm estate brands, and being part of their growth in this exciting hospitality business.
Development
Bespoke Web Development
This month the Development team has been working on creating a new microsite for Harnham’s Global Data Salary Guide. The microsite provides insights for employers and professionals within the data industry to help compare salaries across the UK, Europe and US to help take control of hiring strategies and compensation.
The goal for the design of the tool was to bring to life the data that Harnham had collected through a novel User Interface that was more than just a couple of text boxes and an output. We also had to consider the blindspots in the data and how we’d handle situations where the data is not specific enough for the query.
A tool was created to help compare salaries for particular job roles within specified countries and regions. The UI needed to be interactive and dynamic, with data within certain form fields to change depending on the selections of previous fields. The chosen technology to achieve this was Alpine JS, a lightweight JavaScript framework for building interactive and dynamic web interfaces.
Similar frameworks, such as React, Vue and Angular, usually require the application to be completely compiled in order for it to render components correctly and work as expected. But, for those who have used Angular JS many moons ago, Alpine JS works similarly whereby nothing needs to be compiled in order for your application to be rendered. This is particularly useful if you require dynamic and reactive elements to an existing website as the code can sit inline with the current code.
Digital Marketing
Harley & Mary visit K:LDN
Last month Harley and Mary attended a K:LDN 2023, a Klaviyo Conference at the Brewery London where they learnt from top ecommerce speakers about how to make businesses thrive in our current economic climate. Some of the keynote speakers included Mary Portas, Rory Sutherland as well as Andrew Bialecki and Justin Khaksar, from Klaviyo.
During our Thursday standup, the team were treated to a presentation about this conference from Harley and Mary sharing what they learnt from this day. Everybody always enjoys these sessions and we usually have very energetic discussions afterwards with lots of questions, and this one was no different. There was such a lot of content so we have just shared a few of Mary and Harley’s highlights.
Harley was really interested how Mary Portas referred to the “Kindness Economy” which is a new value system where in order for businesses to thrive they must add, not just grow. Her message was consumers don’t want to just buy from brands – they want to buy into them. Consumers are more conscious about the decisions they make when buying goods or services and don’t mind paying more if it is a sustainable business that balances commerce with social progress.
Mary was really impressed with Rory Sutherland, who emphasised to try weirder things occasionally because the opposite of a good idea can be another good idea. He related this to a story of the bees who do a dance when they come back to the hive after finding a rich source of colourful flowers. This shows the other bees to follow them back to this patch of flowers, however some bees are specifically programmed not to follow and go in the opposite direction on the chance of finding something better.
At Fanatic we believe in being brave, looking at the data, making strong decisions and mostly importantly being original with our creative decisions. We are already using what has been learnt during this conference to positively influence the work we do to help our clients grow their business.
Out and About
Out and AboutWhat we've been up to ...
Whilst camping this week in the Gower, we were lucky enough to see Chris Lewis cross the finish line, ending his 6 year walk around the UK coast, walking 19 000 miles and raising £500 000 for an armed forces charity (SSAFA). It was a great atmosphere, despite the drizzle and it was lovely to see him and his fiancée cross the finish line together.
Ian & Milly