Swift IdeasBrand & marketing websites
Art direction that still loads fast.
We design and build brand sites for businesses whose work has to be seen: photographers, trades, specialist services, studios. Each one gets a named design system, motion that respects reduced-motion settings, and one clear path to an enquiry or booking. It is built on Next.js, so the craft does not cost you speed or search.
What clients arrive with
- Our site looks like a template, and so do our competitors'.
- The last agency's animations made the site slow and hard to use on a phone.
- We are a visual business and the site crushes our photography.
- Every copy change needs a developer.
- People say the site looks good, and then they do not enquire.
What you get
- Art direction and a written design system
- Palette, type, spacing and motion rules decided before code and written into a DESIGN.md. Darryl Snow Photography's system, Blue Hour, moves each page from daylight paper to dusk navy as you scroll, after the moment interiors are photographed.
- Motion with a reduced-motion path
- GSAP and Lenis for scroll and transitions, with a prefers-reduced-motion alternative for every animation. No content is hidden behind a reveal that might not fire.
- WebGL where it earns its place
- OGL shaders for image transitions and slideshows, as on LJ Photography. WebGL is an enhancement: the photographs are real images in the page first.
- Booking and enquiry flows
- Forms that ask for the minimum, validate as you go and confirm clearly. The Benjamin Bailey Electrics form sends through Resend, and on any error it keeps what the visitor typed and shows a reference code.
- Content your team can change
- Copy and images in a CMS or in typed content files, whichever your team will actually keep up to date. We write the first version of the copy with you.
- Search and performance foundations
- Responsive images, metadata, structured data, a sitemap and clean URLs from the first deploy, so a redesign does not reset what already ranks.
- Analytics and consent
- GA4 with Consent Mode behind a banner that defaults to denied, and named events for the enquiries and bookings that matter.
How the work runs
Brief and harvest
We collect your real photography, logo and copy, audit the current site, and write a brief that names the audience, the one action and the tone.
Set the direction
One art direction, prototyped in the browser rather than in static frames, because motion and density are hard to judge anywhere else.
Build and check at both ends
Next.js build, checked at 390 px and 1440 px, with reduced motion on and off, and with a keyboard only.
Critique, fix, launch
Each template is scored out of 40 in our own structured design review, fixed and re-scored. Then we deploy, connect analytics and hand over.
How engagements start
- Fixed-scope build: brief, art direction, build, analytics and launch as one project.
- Concept builds on request: a working site pitched before you commit, not a mood board.
- Light retained support afterwards for new pages, seasonal content and search reporting.
Built with
Where each number comes from
Each figure names where it comes from.
- photography portfolios built on the same animation tools (GSAP, Lenis and OGL)
- 2
- Source: Darryl Snow Photography and LJ Photography: the tools listed in each project's code
- Benjamin Bailey Electrics homepage score in our design review, across three passes
- 25 → 38/40
- Source: Our own score, from our design review reports, May to June 2026
The work behind it
Darryl Snow PhotographyA portfolio that waits for blue hour, then switches the lamps on.
LJ PhotographyA studio portfolio for new families, paced like a quiet session.
Benjamin Bailey ElectricsA one-person electrician's site, scored from 25 to 38 out of 40 in our design review.
SHRUBB Building ContractorsA 40-page local site for a builder that Google could not place.
SwiftGxPA consultancy site, and the training platform behind its paywall.
Questions, answered
Something else on your mind? hello@swiftideas.com
Will animation slow the site down or hurt search?
It should not, if it is built as an enhancement. Content and images are in the HTML first, motion libraries load after, and every animation has a reduced-motion alternative. We check performance on a mid-range phone before launch.
Can we edit the site ourselves?
Yes. We put the content wherever your team will actually maintain it: a CMS for frequent changes, or simple typed content files for sites that change a few times a year.
Do you write the copy?
We write a first draft with you, based on how your customers describe what they need. You approve every line, and nothing goes live that you would not say to a customer yourself.
Do you take the photographs?
No. We build around your photography and process it properly: sizes, formats, descriptive file names and alt text. Where a page needs supporting imagery, we tell you exactly what was generated.
How do you handle accessibility?
We target WCAG 2.1 AA: contrast checked on every surface, full keyboard operation, visible focus, and reduced-motion alternatives. Colour is never the only carrier of meaning.
Will we lose our search rankings in a redesign?
Not if the move is planned. We map every existing URL, keep or redirect each one, and resubmit the sitemap on launch.