Mooncolony

A stellar website for Mooncolony

Client

Mooncolony

Scope

Brand & web strategy, Research & insight, Verbal & visual identity, Web design & development, Motion & video

Duration

2023

iPhone in hand with the Mooncolony website open

About the project

Mooncolony is a premium studio for concept art and illustration, working with renowned clients like Blizzard, Riot Games, and Bethesda.

We had the honour of designing and building a 'Kill off the average™️' premium website for Mooncolony, capturing the essence of their boundary-pushing work.

We also designed the logo for Lunar Academy, Mooncolony's online art school for digital artists and illustrators.

Compilation of pages from the Mooncolony website

Web strategy

In this phase, we worked with Mooncolony through several workshops to explore their goals, audience, unique offer, and way of working. These insights formed the basis for the website design.

With a clear strategy, original ideas, and innovative functionality, we built a website that fits Mooncolony's identity perfectly and, most importantly, drives conversion.

Artwork by Mooncolony in line with the strategy

Branding by Studio.Build

Key pillars

The design of the Mooncolony website rests on three key pillars.

'Premium but fun' is about highlighting their high-quality services without losing sight of playfulness and creativity.

'Showcase high-quality work' is about prominently displaying Mooncolony's impressive portfolio, so their craftsmanship gets full representation.

'Persona-based website flow' is about an intuitive, personalised experience that guides different types of visitors smoothly to the information and contacts they need.

Thunder god artwork by Mooncolony

Web design

The website design highlights Mooncolony's extraordinary artwork and puts it centre stage. We reinforce this by naming renowned clients like Blizzard, underlining Mooncolony's standing as the makers of the artwork for the popular game Hearthstone.

The design shows not just Mooncolony's professional side, but also their playful culture. Alongside factual information, the website includes fun facts, presented in a light tone. Our goal is to capture the full character of Mooncolony, from artistic mastery to a lively ethos.

Screen with the Mooncolony website open
Artwork by Mooncolony
Compilation of iPhone screens with the website design

Identity woven in

Even with a premium, minimalist design, Mooncolony's unique identity shines through clearly.

We wove brand elements throughout the website, using shapes from the Mooncolony logo for project thumbnails and choosing hand-drawn avatars instead of conventional photos to present the team.

iPhone in hand with the Mooncolony website open
Laptop screen with the Mooncolony team page on the website
iPhone with a visual of a project header
Artwork by Mooncolony

Web development

In this phase, seamless user interaction was the focus. We built a feature that lets visitors easily schedule direct conversations with the right person.

We also built the website with React and a headless architecture, to create a fully tailored and efficient content management experience. This approach ensures a seamless integration of every front end with Dato CMS, giving Mooncolony full control over content across different media, all from one central location.

Visual of how to schedule a call on the website
Underwater artwork by Mooncolony

Lunar Academy

Our logo design for Lunar Academy captures the essence of its mission.

The logo symbol represents the vastness of galaxies, expressed through a star-shaped element that reflects the endless creative potential of aspiring artists.

The rocket shape also symbolises the transformative journey and the launch towards excellence that Lunar Academy offers.

While staying true to Mooncolony's minimalist, premium brand, the design embodies the spirit of discovery, imagination, and growth that defines Lunar Academy's commitment to nurturing and training digital artists and illustrators.

The logo mark for Lunar Academy
Photo of Lunar Academy artwork on an iPad
Lunar Academy logo on a dark background
Design of a pin for Lunar Academy
iPhone with a visual of Lunar Academy

Enough about us

Now we'd love to get to know you.

Introduction

What are you running into, what do you want to change, and where's the real question hiding?