Ralph Steadman Shop
Published
2016
Scope
Layout design, bespoke CMS, eCommerce system, content architecture
Client location
Maidstone, Kent
When Ralph Steadman’s Shop website—the only online place where you can buy Ralph Steadman products needed to be brought into the 21st century it was only natural that they would approach us. After all, having already created their current website we have nurtured a healthy relationship since then.
Lessons learned
With Ralph’s previous website at hand, we were able to research and look at the available data to see what was working well and what could be improved.
Many studies and our own data confirmed that carousels simply don’t work and a better way to showcase their products was needed.
By giving the products themselves centre stage and reducing the copy, the goal was to give more prominence to the things people are after.
There weren’t as many devices to consider when their previous website was designed. But times have changed and we can no-longer afford to ignore the device-agnostic landscape the web has become. Like other websites, the Ralph Steadman Shop website had to work on an ever-increasing number of devices and dimensions.
The Spirit of Gonzo
No Ralph Steadman website would be complete without his signature style; Renown for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture books, Ralph’s signature style is unmistakably his.
And it needed to be prominent throughout the website.
The challenge was to infuse the website with his style and unique handwriting, without hurting usability and accessibility.
With such a image-heavy website as Ralph’s, performance is a great concern. By keeping an eye on the performance-budget throughout the development and optimising images wherever possible, we kept the average page-weight at 40% less than average websites.
Onward and upward
For the Ralph Steadman Shop team, who would be doing most of the day-to-day administration of the website, it was important that our bespoke CMS was tailored to their needs, making it as quick and easy-to-use to as possible.
We’ve launched the new Ralph Steadman Shop website just in time for the new year and we will be keeping a close eye on how it performs. By improving the website where needed we will continue to nurture our relationship for many years to come. And with sales already coming in, ‘The Year of Gonzo’ is already looking great.
Website screens
