Lightswitch Video’s founders Lynette Schwanger, Bryce Anderson, and Nat Seidel knew we needed a brand new website to showcase our company’s personality, and how much we’d changed since the last website update – but revamping an entire website is easier said than done! We sat down with the three of them to talk about the new website launch, and to get the inside scoop on the web design process from Rogue Studio’s design director Britton Stipetic.
What inspired the decision for a new website?
Bryce: When we built our previous website we were so excited about it - we finally had a new look and feel to portray what we did at that time. Over the course of the six or so years since our business has dramatically evolved. We’ve taken on larger and more complex projects, formed stronger partnerships with our clients, and become more of a full fledged production agency. We also took official ownership of the company in 2019 and felt emboldened to imbue it with our company’s personality and values.
Nat: We have come a long way since we started, and we wanted that to be represented when people searched for us online. We needed something that stood out online in the same way that our work and customer interactions stand out from other companies.
What did you want to accomplish with the new website that the old one failed to do?
Lynette: The old website spoke to our capabilities, but not our personality. We wanted someone viewing our site to get a sense of what it’s like to work with Lightswitch, not solely what we could do. We know our current clients and partners not only love the work we do, but most importantly they love working with the Lightswitch team. It’s cliché but true - our people are our biggest asset. The Lightswitch team’s hard work, flexibility, and talent are what keeps clients coming back to us. We wanted potential new clients visiting our site to understand that right away.
Bryce - I’d call the previous site “transactional.” It showed that we did video and had clients and that’s about as far as it went. As we’ve taken ownership of the company it’s become more and more clear to us that the culture of the company is extremely important. We want our team to enjoy working here, and to feel good about the company, and the work they do. We want to prove that you can have great, big name clients, deliver outstanding work, have work-life balance and not take things too seriously. The new site is playful and colorful, but professional. It really melds the mashup of ideas we came to the table with.
What was the first step in rebranding the website, from Lightswitch’s perspective?
Lynette: We had a lot of concepts and ideas floating around, and the first step was for the Lightswitch leadership to get on the same page. Nat, Bryce, and I had many meetings to discuss and define our brand identity.
Bryce - We had around 10 meetings to talk about the new site in various ways. We would each break, go on sites like Behance and Pinterest and then come to the table with ideas of things we liked. Each meeting went in a different direction than the previous one and at the end of they day we just had what amounted to a massive scrapbook of disconnected ideas and images we liked.
Nat: The first step was the most difficult by far, we all know how we feel and want our company to come across, but have had such a tough time articulating that balance of creativity and professionalism.
Lynette: After many conversations we decided that the most important things the new site should convey are that our team is approachable and experienced, and that every project we work on is tailored specifically for each client’s needs. Rogue Studio was able to translate these ideas into a visual design that we loved.
Bryce: If you or your company are trying to re-brand your site, you should work with professionals. Rogue was able to take our hodge podge of ideas, distill what really mattered and give us some concrete aesthetic foundations to build on.
Lynette: The hand-drawn elements speak to our team’s attention to detail, creativity, and the high-level of customization we bring to each project. The bold colors combined with a clean layout communicates our brand’s personality as approachable yet professional. We love it!
Nat: When Rogue came on board it was almost magical, like they were able to see into our brains and pull these ineffable thoughts out, translating them into thoughtful and playful site designs that truly represented our identity.
What was the first step in designing the website, from Rogue Studio’s perspective?
Britton: The first step is always strategy at Rogue, we need to understand what we are trying to achieve before we can design anything. It is super important that we talk with the client and learn about what they like and don't like but also work with them to define the goals and measures of success for the project. When we do this we can truly get creative.
What was your favorite part about designing the new website? Or favorite element of the final site?
Britton: My favorite part is always experiencing and creating something that feels new and unique. It is always a balancing act of creativity and functionality at Rogue. We want to achieve the goals of the project and help our client to get results, but in a way that is engaging and pleasurable for the audience as well. I think our favorite element of the new site is a tie between the text animations and the team bios, both are so fun and playful, you can’t help but smile when you see them.
What's one thing you want viewers to take away from the site?
Britton: That serious work can be seriously fun!
As you can see, the brand new website is up now! Since you’re already on it to read this blog post, go ahead and take a look around at the fun graphics, cool animations, and all of the awesome products we have to offer. Special thanks to Rogue Studio for working with us to create a website that we absolutely love!
