Background
BBF specialise in arranging loans and mortgages to the commercial market, predominantly SMEs. They wanted to communicate a simple but consistent message to their potential customers that focussed on a brief outline of the services they offer and which demonstrated they were open and honest in their approach to business.
Solution
IrisCreative worked with BBF to develop a simple layout that could be used throughout the site. This included a large, clear heading incorporating a tree motif to pick up on the company name, a clear definition between the menu and the content area and a limited colour palette to avoid visual distraction while still being able to emphasise key areas. A crisp but relatively unusual sans-serif font was also used to add some used further interest to the information on the page.
The limited colour palette was given careful thought by IrisCreative and we finally settled on just three colours throughout the site; blue, green and charcoal. Even the colours in the background of the page heading tie in, creating a cohesive look to each page. Green was chosen to link with the nature/tree theme coming through from the business name and logo and is used for emphasis on the site - for example the green contact number on the right hand side of the page. Blue was used for the menu headings and hyperlinks which tends to be subconsciously linked with honesty and reliability. This links back to one of the key objectives for the site, to demonstrate a trustworthy approach. Charcoal was chosen for the main information so that it remained easy to read but was less harsh on the eye than pure black, again making the company seem more approachable.
The end result
The final BBF site is clean, easy to use and allows visitors (who may not necessarily be experienced web surfers) to find information quickly and easily.
As standard, the site has been designed to comply with web accessibility legislation (in the UK that's the Disability Discrimination Act) and the information can be easily viewed using mobile media such as PDAs or mobile phones making it available to as wide an audience as possible.
To see the site in action, visit Birchwood Business Finance.