Mario Madau is a Canadian photographer who specializes in architecture and interiors, as well as motion and stills for the hospitality industry. Although a seasoned photographer with plenty of great projects and clients under his belt, Mario’s site was unfortunately not up to par with what we expect to see from photographers with his level of experience.
After scheduling a chat with our marketing department, we were able to lay out a plan of action to help Mario break into 2017. That meant a streamlined new site, updated branding, and some client meetings. The first step in this comprehensive Branding Overhaul was to start with a fresh new Web Edit.
For this project, Mario sent over about 500 images for me to consider. After looking through his work and selecting current and commercially viable content, I realized we should do a few things:
On Mario’s old site, he had all of his hospitality work compartmentalized into separate galleries. Some of them were Spa, Golf, Lifestyle, and Food. Since we needed only some of this work to effectively showcase a Hospitality gallery, I got to work curating an edit that utilized the strongest content from each of those galleries. After that, I weaved them together so they highlighted the broader scope of his skills in the Hospitality specialty.
Allowing the image to load full-size and be viewed uninterrupted on a white background was key to upgrading Mario’s site:
The next gallery I worked on was a combination of his Architecture and Interior work. Previously, Mario had galleries for Interiors, Exteriors, and Architecture that included both residential and commercial work. With the new edit, it was all about consolidation and showing the strongest, most current and commercially viable content. We compressed these three galleries into one new Architecture and Interiors gallery. This gallery consolidation was instrumental in improving Mario’s site navigation and allowing for a more comprehensive and client friendly experience.
Last up on the list was Mario’s motion work. With Motion galleries, I typically approach the edit by going through and watching each piece. Furthermore, I make sure that only relevant, well-produced videos are included in the edit. The strongest, most client-focused piece of a motion reel will usually lead the gallery, then the supplemental content will follow. Here it’s important to be selective and only show what’s needed to successfully display the photographer’s skills without being repetitive.
The final phase of Mario’s web edit was to comb through his site and make suggestions and recommendations on the best way to upgrade his template, info and bio galleries, and general interface. A streamlined new template from Squarespace that would allow our graphic designer to integrate Mario’s motion work, and even use a reel on his landing page, was clearly the best choice.
Mario was thrilled with the updates to his site and the major boost this overhaul has given to his brand.
Having been a photographer for many years, I looked at my images and videos in a certain, narrow way. After many websites, promos, reps, etc., I found Wonderful Machine. When I sent them the initial batch of images and videos for consideration, I was surprised at the images they chose. They culled the herd, so-to-speak. I put myself in their hands and was happy that I did. They cut through the clutter. The other thing that amazed me was using my latest Bermuda video as the front page. I never in a lifetime would have considered that. For me, that changed everything.
Check out Mario’s full web portfolio edit below!
See more of Mario’s work on his website!
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