A Tack Sharp Redesign for Hammer & Hand

A modernized portfolio for timeless builders

For twenty years, Hammer & Hand has thoughtfully crafted iconic, über-efficient homes and renovations, guided by an ethic of quality, durability and beauty. In redesigning their website, we had a dual focus of giving the website a facelift and to rearchitect the visitor experience.

Founded in Portland and recently extending to Seattle, Hammer & Hand has emerged as a thought-leader in their field not only for groundbreaking projects, such as the ambitious Passive House, but also by generously sharing the meticulous details of their findings and process.

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This was far beyond a visual refresh; we engaged in a comprehensive structural overhaul. Pouring over hundreds of web pages and a three-level-deep menu system, we stripped the site back to the basics and let the photography take front and center.

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While their logo was to remain intact, we had the flexibility to explore mood and colors. We introduced a updated visual language (fonts, colors, icons) that considers Hammer & Hand's phenomenal work and wealth of resources a focal point.

Hammer & Hand works seamlessly with both modern and traditional designs. As such, their website needed to visually support portfolio pieces in a variety of styles, much as we would with an artist's portfolio.

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Our challenge was to harness the wealth of information they had amassed over the years and transport it to a modernized system that would not only put Hammer & Hand in the driver's seat, but also compliment their wide-ranging talents and portfolio.

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As noted, Hammer & Hand is generous with sharing their vast storehouse of knowledge. So, we made sure that crucial landing pages are interconnected to videos, blog posts, and similar projects. This is a website built to serve this bustling studio for years to come.

Even a month after launch, the redesign produced staggering results. Bounce rates improved immensely;  the ever popular home page bounces rates are down nearly ten percent. The most incredible return has been on service pages where, for example, Basements are seeing an over 67% drop in bounces. This means more people on the site and more readers engaging.