Custom Squarespace Web Design for Mínima, an Ecological Architecture Studio

Web Design on SquarespaceWeb Design Process for Clients

June 13

Written by Mónica Durán

In this post, I’m sharing a case study of the project I worked on in 2022 for Estudio Mínima.

Let's see:

What was the status of the study when we started?
The complete design process: from strategy to design and SEO optimization of the website.
And what were the main results less than a month after the website went live?

In this case study, we’ll walk through the entire design process: from strategy to design and SEO optimization of the website. We’ll also look at the key results achieved less than a month after the website went live.

Table of Contents

Client:

Mínima, an eco-friendly architecture firm in Madrid.

Service:

Essential branding + custom web design + Instagram templates

The design project

When Estudio Mínima contacted me, they didn’t have a website or branding, so we worked on a comprehensive project that included designing the brand identity, their Instagram presence, and the studio’s website. The goal was for the brand identity and online presence (Instagram + website) to connect with Estudio Mínima’s target audience, in order to communicate its brand values, improve its online visibility and positioning, and streamline the booking process for stays at Casa Mínima.

In this case study, we will focus on strategy development, visual identity design (branding), and web design.

The research and strategy phase

Before beginning the design phase (for both the brand identity and the website), we developed a strategy that included:

Refine Mínima's mission and brand identity.
Clearly define your ideal customer (using different customer personas based on the various points at which they might come into contact with Mínima).
An analysis of the customer journey on the website across the various traffic channels they planned to use.
Define website conversion goals, as well as the sitemap and navigation (i.e., the website's information architecture).

We develop the strategy in two phases: first, by reviewing and discussing a comprehensive questionnaire that the client must complete; then, using all that information, I prepare a brand and web strategy document. This document will serve as a guide for all design decisions made, ensuring that they are consistent with one another and aligned with the established objectives.

In Mínima's strategy, we define branding and conversion goals:

On the one hand, the goal of the branding initiative was to build credibility and set the firm apart from other eco-architecture firms in Madrid, through a carefully crafted visual identity that aligns with Mínima’s personality.
On the other hand, the website’s primary conversion goal was to encourage potential clients to contact the firm via a contact form to request a consultation call. As a secondary goal, we focused on encouraging sign-ups to a mailing list, with the aim of gradually building a list of people interested in the topic of green architecture.

Visual Identity Design

Once the research and strategy phase of the project is complete, we move on to the design phase. And in this phase, the first step is to design the brand’s visual identity.

For this project, we developed a core branding strategy that I can incorporate into web design projects that require it, consisting of:

Select a range of fonts for the brand.
Define the color palette.
Select additional graphic elements (in the case of Mínima, we add illustrations, but they can also be icons or patterns).
Determine the visual style of the photographs to be used.
Create a logo (i.e., a strictly typographic logo) along with its corresponding sub-brands (monograms, etc.).

This branding approach is ideal for service brands, where the primary focus of the visual identity lies in the colors, typography, and the overall design itself, rather than on the logo (as would be the case with a product brand, for example).

In the case of Mínima, as the name suggests, it was important to create a visual identity that conveyed its minimalist essence. In cases like this, attention to typography becomes even more important, so we explored various options, looking for one that was minimalist, legible, and modern, but also had a touch of character to give it a bit of personality and a distinctive look.

In the end, we opted for sans-serif fonts for the logo, a different one for the headings, and yet another for the body text. These fonts complement each other very well and add visual variety to the brand without overwhelming it or making it feel heavy. We complemented the typographic palette with a color palette of organic tones, so it would feel natural and consistent with the palette of the photographs we would use on the website. Finally, we incorporated hand-drawn illustrations to add a human touch and warmth.

This minimalist and organic approach was reflected on the website as well as in the Instagram templates, which followed the same overall style: minimalist, simple, and natural.

Website design and development on Squarespace

Building on the branding we developed and the objectives defined during the website strategy phase, we moved on to the design and development phase: we explored two layout options—one more open and fluid, and the other more conventional—and the client chose the latter. Overall, we created a minimalist, streamlined layout focused on a specific call to action (encouraging visitors to contact them via the form).

To reinforce the sense of calm and tranquility, we’ve kept animations on the site to a minimum, limiting them to just a few microinteractions—such as when you click a button or link—or in the images within the project galleries.

To emphasize the goal of building trust and establishing Estudio Mínima’s brand presence on the website, we created a projects section that showcases some of the studio’s most representative work. This section includes details about each project, such as the location, type of construction, intended use, and a photo gallery. We also added a section featuring testimonials from the studio’s clients.

Another key aspect of the website design was the integration of SEO optimization into the design process itself, ensuring that the site’s headings and subheadings followed an SEO-friendly hierarchy and incorporating keywords (defined during the strategy phase) to help the site rank for specific search terms. Additionally, once the website was published, we submitted it to Google and Bing to ensure it would start appearing quickly in search results. Subsequently, the client continued to refine their SEO strategy with a specialist, but the essential optimization needed to begin ranking on Google was completed as part of the custom web design service.

Tangible results of web design

As a result of the work carried out, and in the first month since the website went live:

They began to attract qualified traffic from people searching for the keywords we were targeting, thanks to their content creation and SEO optimization efforts.
They received their first contact form submission through the website, despite the traffic volume still being quite low (remember that the site had been live for less than a month), which indicates that the strategic design work aimed at converting qualified traffic was paying off.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this case study, and that it helps you better understand how a solid strategy can guide the design process and deliver results in the short term—which is exactly what I do with my web design service for architects and interior designers.

If we had focused solely on making the website look nice, that’s all we would have achieved—nothing more. And ultimately, the purpose of a website isn’t just to look nice; it’s to help you move forward and grow your business: it’s a marketing and sales tool—if done right.

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