3Sixty's approach to design is based on the understanding that we use creativity for a specific end, not as an end in itself. Design is integral to business strategy.
Digital cuts right across a business or organisation and opens up the lines of communication to a wider, external audience with increasing expectations of transparency and two-way communication. In order to create an effective design, it is important that we understand both business and user needs. People come to use a website, not just look at it.
To this end, our work is based on user experience research prior to creative expression or, to put it more crudely, we find out what people actually want before we start sketching!
Keeping it simple
Design simplicity is vital to us. In an increasingly technological age, life has become complicated. By making our websites elegantly simple we like to think we offer a refreshing change, but it has to be combined with commercial thinking. Creativity needs a purpose. It's not enough for our work to look good; it has to be useful too.
That's why this idea of useful beauty is our founding principle. It's why you won't find any fancy swirls, unnecessary gimmicks or animated gifs on anything we do; if you want that, you're in the wrong place.
Useful, beautiful, digital
What we do is different: clean lines, deceptively simple design, smart use of space. It's all there. And our clients are proof positive that this less is more approach works.
From William Golding, to Cofunds, to Denplan, our approach involves stripping back the fluff and coming up with engaging, creative solutions that give web users what they need. Design has a huge impact on how people feel about your website; the skill comes in not letting that design get in the way.
Our latest thinking about design
We have a section on our website devoted to articles on design simplicity.