EarlyBird Brand & Web Design
EarlyBird came to M.I. Design as a start-up on recommendation from another client. Initially they wanted help bringing a presentation deck alive to help attract interest from potential clients to their concept of running sample and warehouse sales online. Following this, we were engaged to create new branding and work with web developers on creating a bespoke Shopify website to run their timed, sample sales.
The Problem
One of the business partners had 25 years of experience managing warehouse sales for companies like The White Company, Soho Home, Sweaty Betty, Reiss, Oliver Bonas and Heal’s. She had the contacts, but no experience of running online sales.
They were going to be operating in a market where other sample sale sites were already established (Brand Alley, Overstock, Showcase etc.) so needed a point of difference.
We created a bold brand around their name and a graphic bird symbol which could be animated for additional brand engagement. We selected a palette of colours that highlighted their sustainable credentials (preventing stock from being binned or burnt) and we created a Shopify website which was designed to allow multiple, simultaneous, timed sales.
The Solution
With a name that had some associations with children and kidswear, we were keen to position EarlyBird Club away from the ‘softness’ that suggests and instead present them as a dynamic but inviting ‘club’ for those wanting to buy brands they love at one-off prices (whilst also wanting to buy sustainably). We used the flying bird across social media to announce the brand launch and emphasised the sense of belonging to something fun, which was different from their competitors.
Brand
We worked with the client to understand the functional needs of the website and the ensure there was a v. quick route to purchase for their timed sales. We investigated various e-commerce platforms and settled on Shopify as a robust e-commerce provider but various plugins were required in order to meet the functional requirements. We provided EB with a prototype to test with some potential users and made several amends before designing, building and testing the site before launch.
Website
UX Designs
By working within a selected Shopify template to keep costs down, we were a little restricted in the UI design, but were able add some customisation, and made the design work hard within the constraints of the site set-up.
UI of website
We created a series of animated and static templates for sale announcements and discounts to be used in the run up to each sale. This, combined with a lot of video content of the founders introducing key pieces from the sales, and their student daughter modelling the clothes, created varied and regular content.
Social
‘We love the branding and website you designed for us. You understood our goals from the get-go and we’ve had loads of compliments on everything from the packaging stickers to the website design and functionality. Thank you!’
Charlotte Orr, Founder,
EarlyBird