UPDATE: In February 2022, Van Enk underwent a Valorous Circle redesign
Image, as some say, is everything. Woodworking websites should be rife with photo galleries and portfolios showing all the work that makes their business attractive to potential customers.
Van Enk Woodcrafters had an image problem.
Or rather, they had imaging problems. To start, Van Enk needed a new logo.
After a few months of testing designs and colors, Valorous Circle could link the woodworkers to a designer that gave them a broader sense of legitimacy. A logo will often highlight what we want to present to the world. The Van Enk logo went from a generic typeface to a bold, yet classic statement in gold and black.
Imaging problem No. 1 solved. Now for the website.
Crafting wood into works of functional art is a tough task. Yes, you can view a few DIY videos on YouTube, but there’s a stark contrast between homemade hobbies and decades of experience with lathes and awls.
A website works in the same way. Quick fix websites with helpful platforms are fine for novices, but when you need to make a statement, both bold and classical, you need to hire experts. The old Van Enk site featured four main photos zooming by on a slider set against a gray backdrop with an even darker gray wood finish.
Font and color often mesh when one is dark, and one is light. A quick look at the old site reveals several flaws, including lighter fonts on white and gray menu header than you can see above. The photo galleries options at the bottom of the page followed a similar route, although that choice was gray on gray.
Valorous Circle knew the best way to showcase woodcrafting websites was to simplify getting a customer intrigued about finished products enough to buy one themselves.
The new Van Enk does away with countless menu options and sticks to the basics. Updates to the old design include a full-screen landing block. The is Van Enk Woodcrafters. This is our work, and this is how to reach us.
Whether your interests lie in something for the home or the office, Van Enk is now proudly displaying what their business can do for you without having to strain your eyes in pursuit of a handful of images.
The adage says a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s true, then Van Enk’s website is rich with ways to guide its customers from scraps to sawdust, paint to prestige, and varnish to Valorous.
