Northlight
A structural and visual refresh of an existing agency site whose work was strong but impossible to navigate.
- Role
- Independent designer
- Duration
- 5 weeks
- Team
- Agency director, in-house producer, me
- Year
- 2025
Responsibilities
Information architecture, page design, art direction, build support
The challenge
The agency had eleven years of work behind a homepage carousel and no reliable way to send a client to one artist.
New business happened over email with attachments. The site existed but nobody in the agency used it as a selling tool.
Constraints
- The existing CMS had to stay
- No new photography budget
- Roster changes several times a month
What the evidence showed
Sitting in on two pitches showed the same three questions every time: who is available, what have they made, and what does it cost to start.
Key decisions
The roster is the homepage
A filterable index replaced the carousel, so the first thing a visitor meets is people and work.
One template, honestly sized images
A single talent template crops existing imagery cinematically instead of demanding new shoots.
Sendable pages
Every talent page carries a short shareable summary block designed to be pasted into an email.
Before and after
Before
Fourteen navigation items, a homepage carousel and no direct link to any artist.
After
Four navigation items and a roster index that links directly to every artist.
Outcome
Roster pages became the entry point rather than the homepage, and the team can add a new talent page in an afternoon.
The producer now sends roster links in pitches instead of PDF attachments.
Cutting navigation was harder to agree than any visual decision. Watching a real pitch made the case better than a deck.