• Douglas Laing & Co.
Website Design
Contribution
» Client acquisition
» UI design
» Art direction
» Design for web
Role
Lead Designer
D8
Established in 1948, Douglas Laing is an independent, family owned Scotch Whisky business in its third generation. They have a wide range of brands including its “Remarkable Regional Malts” range, encompassing blends from Scotland’s favourite whisky regions, as well as exclusive single cask bottlings and limited edition offerings that whisky collectors dream about.
As a key part of the successful tendering process, I designed a new website with eCommerce functionality that would channel the family’s quirky and characterful range.
Tactile & sensory
I wanted the site style to feel distinctly connected to the whisky industry, with tactile effects used throughout. Paper, watermarks, wooden barrel textures and various print styles that feature heavily throughout the Douglas Laing range, as well as the whisky world in general, were used across the site. Enjoying whisky is a sensory experience, and I wanted to try and capture and essence of that across the site.
Intrinsic detailing
As a manufacturer of so many whisky lines, each with their own distinct brand feel, it was important to allow the website style be agnostic enough to not feel too heavily similar to any one brand, whilst also feeling like everything on the site was part of one family. I added direct reference from various print-based detailing on Douglas Laing products to help tie the site to the products and brands themselves, as well as adding character and visual interest.
Bespoke design assets
Location is a hugely important aspect for Scotch whisky drinkers, and I wanted to call out these categorisations. With a key element of the Douglas Laing brand being character, I felt creating a feature of the unique characteristics of each region would achieve this.
Characters with character
Character and playfulness was a feature we wanted to be intrinsic to the site as a whole. Selecting Modesto gave us a wide array of variations to play with, naturally spanning the gap between a serious quality product with a playful side.
Brand storytelling
Creating engaging components was a key part of this project, where I wanted to encourage users to explore and learn more about the vast array of whiskies available. Their key range, Remarkable Regional Malts, is based around Scotland's six main whisky-producing regions. It was given it's own landing page, and I felt an interactive map would be an interesting and engaging way for users to browse, regardless of their knowledge on the subject.
