Fresh From The Field: Simon Lewis Wards – By Studio South
Fresh from the Field: Studio South shatters glass artist’s expectations by strengthening brand assets and increasing online revenue.
Fresh from the Field is a weekly article series sharing fresh and inspiring work from the Design Assembly community. Want to submit your work to Fresh From The Field? Fill out the form here.
The brief
Simon Lewis Wards is an established New Zealand glass artist, and sculptor. His works are well known for representing Aotearoa New Zealand candy nostalgia, along with fine art pieces that include Twisted Glass, and the Bubble Wrap Glass series. Lewis Wards’ profile as an artist had been steadily growing and he wanted to capitalise on this with an updated e-commerce website to drive his art direct to consumers.
The key objective was to clearly promote his range of art with a website that had the ability to fast-track buying single items, make desired bundles of items in a cart, and even make your own custom big spill arrangements online. He wanted to grow his online sales by 50%, increasing monthly orders to revenue.
The Design Response
The art was photographed within a series of wonderful sets that connect the art to different interior moods and spaces. Through deeply considered art direction, set design, construction, and finishing, these worlds helped showcase the ability of Simon’s art to enhance any environment. This approach to brand imagery promoted the art to a wider range of consumers for more mass appeal and was showcased throughout the new e-commerce website.
The brand tools and overall design for Simon Lewis Wards were refreshed during the undertaking of the new e-commerce store upgrade. Bold typefaces were chosen for greater impact. An abundance of colour and imagery was interjected to liven up the store for a totally immersive world of art for everyone. A bespoke ‘Big Spill’ feature was custom-coded into the site. Here you can select and arrange a collection of your favourite candy art into a bespoke wall arrangement as it spills from a ceramic bag. This is then captured upon purchase and installed in your home to your exact specifications.
Economically, since the launch of Simon’s new website, the company has achieved a considerable increase in revenue % and is still growing. Simon has hired 2 more glass artists to meet the demand for his products. Simon also contributes workshops and community programs to young glass artists and sculptors, by promoting these events in his news feature on the site.
The Design Team
Amy Matthews
Maisie MacDonald
Sam Southwell
https://studiosouth.co.nz/
https://www.instagram.com/studiosouthnz/
Collaborators
Dexter Edwards – Developer
Luke Foley-Martin – Photography
