As part of our rebrand from Female Founders Alliance to Graham & Walker, it was very important to find the right partners who would bring our vision to life digitally through our website. When we met the team at Wildern we KNEW they were the ones to do this. Holly and her team aligned with our brand ethos immediately and understood the complexity of what we were trying to achieve, the nuance of speaking to different audiences, and doing it in a way that felt authentic and true to the G&W brand.
We are incredibly proud of the result and the work that has gone in. Read on to hear from Wildern’s co-founder Holly Torneby to hear her perspective on this design project…
What made you take on this project?
There was an early meeting where we discussed the enormous challenges facing female founders. We talked about how the Graham & Walker website should be a space that serves not only the women behind these startups– but all women in business. An ambitious goal that I could not resist. I felt that with our skills and experience at Wildern, we would be able to galvanize the vision that you (G&W) had for their organization.
Your team was brought on after the Female Founders Alliance rebranded as Graham & Walker– How did your team bring the new company to life on the web?
Our agency specializes in interactive design. Using the new name, logo, and color palette as our jumping off point, our team quickly got to work creating patterns for backgrounds, pairing type styles for headlines, and curating the styled photography you see throughout the site. We took a user-centered approach for the site organization, making information easily accessible for primary users (female founders, corporate partners, and women in business).
What was the most challenging part of working on a rebrand?
The most challenging part of any rebranding project is figuring out what stays and what goes. We want to honor all the work that brought us to this point, but we also need the courage to let go of what may be holding us back. Luckily, for G&W the rebrand was a glow-up. FFA had served you well- but in order to benefit more women, the change was inevitable.
Can you talk through some design elements on the website your team is proudest of?
Okay- have you seen the 404 page yet? How about the animations on the founders page? Did you notice the bubbles following your mouse cursor!? It’s these fun extras that make a Wildern project special. We obsess over the smallest details and never miss an opportunity to make something ordinary a little more magical.
We also built a cool name generator that you may have seen.
We have a reputation for creating elegant solutions that look effortless even when they are complex and technical.
Does Wildern do more than website design? What’s the best way to reach your team?
Yes, we do! Wildern is a woman-owned, award winning, design and interactive agency in Seattle. We work with a wide variety of clients ranging from large, international enterprise companies to small, local startups. We create brands and innovative digital solutions for both B2C and B2B organizations. We work within a number of industries. You can find us at hellowildern.com, follow us @hellowildern on Instagram, or connect with me on LinkedIn.
