The Solution

The new site brings the complete offering together into one streamlined experience for the first time. An optimised mobile journey now makes browsing what’s on, booking a table, or enquiring about hosting an event easier than ever across any device.

Archival drawings and writings by Mackintosh were thoughtfully curated throughout the site design, reinforcing the brand’s positioning as an ever-evolving space where history and imagination converge.

A new suite of photography and video assets were developed to bring the refreshed brand tone and positioning to life. Designed with longevity in mind, this content can be managed internally, equipping the team to create rich, ever-evolving digital experiences.

Outcome

Since the launch in February the new site has achieved: User Engagement: Up 143% Pages Views – Up 104% Conversions – Up 80% Sales – Up 25%.

“Working with Shine on our new website has been a fantastic experience from start to finish. They took the time to really understand what makes House for an Art Lover special and brought it to life online with a modern, engaging design that still feels true to our roots. They struck the perfect balance between celebrating Charles Rennie Mackintosh and our artistic heritage and delivering something with real commercial impact. The team were fantastic to work with – creative, collaborative and incredibly organised.”

“They listened carefully, offered great ideas and kept the project moving forward at every stage. We’re absolutely delighted with the finished product and have had brilliant feedback from our visitors and clients already. It was a real pleasure partnering with Shine and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.”

Kate Kaczor – Sales & Events Manager

The Challenge

Since 1985, Little’s has provided a personal and caring family funeral service in Glasgow and the surrounding areas.

Over the years, the brand had become inconsistent and challenging to apply, with multiple logo variations and issues with legibility and tone of voice that required alignment.

With the new digital presence in mind, it was time to re-evaluate how Little’s presented itself and communicated with clients.

Approach

A new logotype was created, inspired by the heritage typography of the brands first logo. This update addressed legibility issues and introduced a modern aesthetic, while retaining a sense of familiarity with the original brand. A supporting monogram was created based on hand writing from the original founders. This personal touch reflects the highly personal and compassionate service provided by their funeral directors.

‘Trust us to take care of your family’ became the foundation of the new brand positioning. This language was developed around the core values of family and trust, with particular care taken to highlight that family members are taken ‘into care’ and will reassuringly be looked after.

Soft, hand-drawn illustrations and a new photography suite were introduced to complement the messaging, helping to communicate in a compassionate and respectful way.

New Digital Presence

Little’s new website focuses on simple messaging and ease of navigation for visitors. With subtle yet clear calls-to-action, it was important to inform users that Little’s is available to discuss requirements 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The website also serves as a platform to convey that Little’s is a family business with years of experience, introducing the team in a warm and approachable way.

Illustrations by Mireille St-Pierre
Photography by Otago.

The Challenge

The goal of the project was to differentiate Dalhousie Castle from its local competitors, while also increasing awareness among a new international market of high-end clientele. A key part of this involved building a stronger social presence to drive engagement and improving the online journey to enhance bookings.

Repositioning & Identity

Capturing a sense of place and history was essential in crafting the new identity for Dalhousie Castle. The brand emphasises the castle’s timeless tradition of warm hospitality, aiming to provide customers with an authentic castle experience.

Inspiration for the logotype and supporting monogram was drawn from architectural details within the castle, along with nods to the original Ramsay family crest. These elements were crafted to reflect the castles history, while still appealing to a modern audience.

Content Creation & Website

A new suite of photography was commissioned to highlight the castle’s unique atmosphere and support the relaunch of its website, social channels, and digital marketing.

The website aimed to create an intuitive and immersive experience, balancing modern aesthetics with a practical user journey.

The Challenge

After recently deflagging the property from a large hotel chain and tackling various post COVID issues, Ardoe needed a fresh start. The new owner’s wanted to relaunch the hotel to the local market in Aberdeen and attract a more diverse mix of domestic and international visitors. 

Repositioning

With the aim to restore the hotel’s historic reputation we focused on Ardoe’s unique selling points and confirming their target audience. The hotel has a history deep rooted in creating lasting memories. From royal visits to local weddings, over time these moments become part of the clients and the hotels story and this sentiment is at the core of the new brand positioning.

A new identity

We drew inspiration from the property’s many unique features, from the colour palette to typography the brand reflects Ardoe’s historic past now presented in a modern way. The new brand reclaims the hotel’s identity and sets the foundation for its future. A set of comprehensive guidelines were created for the hotel’s internal team to assist with the role out of the brand touchpoints.

A new suite of photography was commissioned to capture the estate and support the relaunch of the new website, social channels and digital marketing goals.

Photography by Otago.

Brand Refresh

Over the course of the last 6 months, we have worked closely with the team at DM Hall to refine the brand and introduce a contemporary visual style with the new website in mind.

An easy-to-use brand guidelines document was produced to bring consistency to marketing touch points across the business, something that had been an issue for several years.

As part of the process, we commissioned a new direction for corporate photography and video that aimed to bring a human element to the brand and showcase their expertise and key business services.

New Digital Platform

The current DM Hall site had become dated and difficult to update for users. We began by looking at the content level required on the site, using this to guide our decisions on the user journey. One of the key aspects of the project was redefining this user experience with clear navigation through the site for both customers and professionals working in the property industry.

With a high level of mobile users, this journey had to be smooth across multiple devices. Clear calls to action, stronger copy and better visibility of key services play a major role in the success of the new site.

However, it is the enhanced back-end user experience, custom built for the DM Hall team that sets the site apart. Users are now able to easily update content and create dynamic property pages that are automatically pushed to external partner websites.

“From the start, the team at Shine impressed us with their understanding of the brief. They didn’t just create a stunning website and brand refresh; they crafted a much-improved customer journey, based on their broad range of experience, mostly out-with our sector. By replacing unnecessary details with a crisp look, and clear calls to action, Shine have transformed our online presence and we’re already seeing an early uplift in enquiries and significant instructions. Their expertise, combined with a friendly approach, has made the entire process a very rewarding collaboration.”

Caroline Wayte​​​​
Marketing Manager, DM Hall

The Challenge

Our initial research and conversations revealed that the current brand messaging and campaigns lacked a clear direction and consistency that often relied on leaning into golf. From workshops, testimonials and client calls we dug into what set the Old Course apart from its competitors.

From the level of personal service the staff provide to the resort’s multi-faceted offering, it was clear that the hotel was much more than just somewhere to stay when on the course in St Andrews. We aimed to introduce an experience focused approach to messaging and content to enhance the resort’s perception and to encourage guests to extend their stay.

The Solution

The Old Course prides itself on delivering a level of unrivalled hospitality. The Old Course, St Andrews and golf go hand in hand. The messaging takes these themes and creates something unique to the hotel’s extensive offering without having to rely on the golf aspect alone. The play on the ‘home of golf’ takes the historic St Andrews tagline and utilises luxury adjectives to elude the sense of a high-end retreat.

We worked with photographer David Anderson to capture a broad range of lifestyle imagery that highlights the best of the hotel in the winter months.

The Solution

The first step of the project involved carrying out an evaluation of the existing brand identity to understand how it was received by the target audience. We made changes to the logotype, colour palette, typography and expanded on the wider brand assets. This gave the client team as much freedom as possible within a brand framework that was easy for them to apply in day to day use.

To update the aesthetic of the site, new photography and video content was created and given a key role in the site’s gallery style design. This content was aimed at creating a luxury but still welcoming feel – putting the visitors in the perspective of a Little’s client.

Photography by Otago Street Collective.

The Solution

One of the key aspects of the project was to integrate the external Grand National and Gold Cup micro sites. The introduction of a new dual navigation system separates out these events from the rest of the site in a user friendly way.

A new fixtures system was implemented to allow users easy access to key information. With over half of users visiting the site on mobile devices, the addition of an alternative list view to allows users to plan and book seamlessly across both mobile and desktop platforms.

With an ever evolving racing and events calendar it was imperative that Ayr Racecourse could take ownership of the site after launch. We developed a bespoke editing system with fluid templates that allow the team to build informative, on-brand pages in-house.

The Challenge

Having undergone a multi-million-pound refurbishment and striving for 5-star inn accreditation, it was crucial that the new brand reflected the recent investment while also fitting with the wider area’s royal heritage. We aimed to capture the authentic character of the inn that has made it so popular with both local guests and those from afar.

The Crown

The hotel’s brand mark combines two of the local area’s main landmarks: the Royal Bridge and the Cairngorm mountain range, to create a bold crown shape. This gives the brand a unique connection to its royal heritage. We chose a supporting type with strong shapes and contrasts to complement the crown mark. Its calligraphic base and character reflect the traditional look and feel of the inn.

Illustration

We collaborated with illustrator Will Freeborn to create supporting assets that could be utilized across the hotel’s touchpoints and collateral. The hand-drawn and watercolored illustrations were designed to capture the numerous points of interest in and around Ballater, as well as the quirks of the hotel itself.

Brand in hand

Balmoral Arms has two dining options each with their own unique menu. We created identities that reflected the character of the f&b outlets with paper stocks, menu covers and colour palettes chosen with each dining setting in mind.

The Challenge

The Bowfield was once an exclusive access ‘country-club’ and the current brand retained much of the traditional look and feel you would expect. Our challenge was repositioning the brand to feel special but accessible.

The Bowfield team have created a lifestyle venue with a real joy and buzz, that hosts hundreds of people from families to couples. With something for everyone, it was key that the messaging was consistent across the visual identity, tone of voice and marketing.

Repositioning

We established the naming of the hotel at an early stage, moving away from the ‘country club’ description just like the venue had over the past few years.

Bowfield is a hotel that is made to be shared with loved ones, friends and family. It is these shared moments that are at the core of the new brand positioning.

The Solution

We began by looking at the key audiences and what we wanted them to feel. We explored the venue’s many unique USPs, from its location to inclusivity. From this we created a flexible identity system that combines playful patterns and bubbly typography to create an energetic brand that could be easily applied by the internal team at Bowfield.