Website Direction for Shire Lane Estate
Website direction and design for a former farm evolving into a multi-purpose venue.
Project Type: Website Direction & Design
Industry: Hospitality, Events
Role: Web Design, Visual Design, Art Direction
Scope: Direction Concepts, Homepage, About page, Contact page
Overview
Shire Lane Estate is a multi-purpose venue formerly known as Glenmark Farms. As the property transitioned into a new chapter, the website needed to move toward something more refined, elevated, and hospitality-driven while still honoring its history.
The Assignment
Great Page brought me in to help establish the website direction for Shire Lane Estate. The request was to design two high-fidelity homepage concepts that could explore different ways to position the brand.
GlenMark Farms website
My Role
I helped shape the visual direction of the site through typography exploration, layout, imagery, and tone. The work focused on defining how Shire Lane Estates could feel online: elegant, memorable, and rooted in the property’s history, while still supporting practical actions like reservation inquiries, touring, and availability. Once the direction was established, I extended that tone across additional pages and modules.
Approach
Explore Two Distinct Ways to Tell the Story
Because the brand was still taking shape, I approached the homepage concepts as two different but viable solutions. One leaned into emotional storytelling focused on making memories. The other leaned into hospitality, service, and reservation behavior.
Find the Balance Between Farmhouse Charm and Refinement
That combination was the core challenge. I wanted the site to feel warm, nostalgic, and rooted in place without slipping too far into rustic clichés. Texture, typography, and imagery all played a role in bridging that gap.
That combination was the core challenge. I wanted the site to feel warm, nostalgic, and rooted in place without slipping too far into rustic clichés. Texture, typography, and imagery all played a role in bridging that gap.
Design Within an Evolving Band System
The identity was not fully established yet, but the provided color palette and desired tone helped frame the direction. From there, I used typography, spacing, and imagery to help shape a cohesive experience that felt believable for the new brand.
The identity was not fully established yet, but the provided color palette and desired tone helped frame the direction. From there, I used typography, spacing, and imagery to help shape a cohesive experience that felt believable for the new brand.
Phase 1: Visual Direction
Typography Exploration
Typography studies helped establish tone early in the process. I explored different serif-led directions to reinforce the emotional tone of each concept. Rather than forcing one treatment across both, I used typography to help each direction feel distinct and fully realized.
Direction 1
The first direction leaned into romantic messaging and brand storytelling to help visitors imagine their milestone memories at the estate. An editorial layout with classic typography makes the experience feel timeless and memorable.I t feels nostalgic, elegant, and intentionally formal, like stepping into a photo album.
Direction 2
The second direction took a more service-oriented approach, pairing cinematic imagery with clearer booking cues and a broader view of the estate’s offerings. It relies on color and imagery to set the emotional tone of the homepage.
Phase 2: Page Design
Once the broader direction had been established, the next step was to build out key pages within that visual world. This phase focused on translating the chosen tone across the site and refining modules.
L-R: Homepage, About page, Contact page, Arriving Here module
About Page
The About page needed to do more than explain the venue. It needed to help familiar visitors understand the connection between Glenmark Farms and Shire Lane Estate while introducing new visitors to the estate’s broader vision. I leaned into a more narrative structure and used layered, old-photo-inspired imagery to reinforce the sense of history and continuity.
Contact Page
The Contact page was designed to reduce friction by making information accessible through their FAQ and a straightforward inquiry form at the top of the page. The "Arriving Here" module at the bottom adds another layer of clarity, helping guests feel more confident finding and navigating a property that may still be new to them by name.
Key Design Decisions
An Old-Meets-New Visual Language
I used texture, layered imagery, and emotionally-driven storytelling to balance the old-meets-new theme.
Shaping the Brand Transition
Because the property was in transition, I used the website as a tool for shaping its new identity. I leaned into storytelling, tone, and emotional atmosphere to create an immersive experience that helped carry the property’s history forward.
Outcome
This project helped define how Shire Lane Estates would present itself online during an important brand transition. Through homepage direction-setting and subsequent page design, the work established a more polished, hospitality-driven tone while still holding onto the property’s history.
