Apex, North Carolina
On the web: http://planaarchitecture.com
David Prestrud and Sara Grover had been collaborating as architects for twenty years, and married for longer, when they finally decided that it was time to set up a website for their firm. An intentionally small architecture firm best known for elegant restaurant designs, Plan A takes pride in working closely with a few clients to accommodate their specific needs, rather than sacrificing personalized customer service for the sake of expansion.
But Plan A is more than just a business; itʼs a central part of David and Saraʼs family. They designed their own home together, with Plan Aʼs studio right on the premises, and have raised their two sons there, seeing them off to school every day and then heading up the stairs to the studio to work. Because the business is so personal and important to them, finally choosing a web developer to create a website for the firm in early 2010 was a major personal and professional decision.
Thatʼs why we were so honored when Plan A chose The Creative Media People to build their site. They wanted a photo-intensive site that would let their work speak for itself: a showcase for twenty years of visually striking work. When they first came to us, their entire web presence consisted of a portfolio on the photo-sharing site Shutterfly — a convenient way to show off some of their past work, but hardly the kind of professional representation that an experienced, well-thought-of firm deserves. We played with the concept of the portfolio site, and decided to create a site that would invite visitors to explore an extensive, easily-navigable portfolio right on the homepage.
We needed great photography for the site, since the images were going to be the centerpiece of the whole project. So our photographer took a number of photos that show off the teamʼs distinctive, elegant work as well as their warm personalities and the quirky little details that make each project unique and fabulous.
Our team found all kinds of ways to say without words what makes a Plan A building so special. Building from our photographer’s work, we fleshed out the site to show even more personality, by creating a subtle and clever background based on one of Davidʼs blueprint sketches, choosing a black-and-rust color scheme to complement the wood tones featured in the buildings themselves, and of course, adding personal biographical information about David and Sara to let potential clients “get to know” their new partners. Plan A already had a logo that David had hand-drawn many years ago, so we helped to create a new treatment of the same logo that would stand out perfectly against the colors of the new site. The result? A site that looks impeccably professional without losing any of David
and Saraʼs unique personality.
After creating the site, we were lucky to have the opportunity to continue to work with David and Sara on establishing a social media presence. We built a blog into the site so David could share advice and musings on the architecture business, including useful tips on subjects from the importance of accessible architecture for people with disabilities, to how restaurants might change their design to cope with a statewide ban on indoor smoking.
David and Sara are still designing breathtaking spaces, and their website is still up-todate and making them, and us, very proud. Working with Plan A Architecture was a great opportunity to show off a portfolio thatʼs especially worthy of being shown off, and a case study in when to just stand back and let a clientʼs work speak for itself.
