Here at The App Designer, we’re lucky to based in the small West London suburb of Maida Vale. Located only 2 miles from Oxford Street, the area leaves the big high street chains behind and instead offers a world of thriving independent boutiques, bars and restaurants. As big supporters of local business, we jumped at the chance to work with local wine and cocktail bar, the LV Lounge (not to mention it gave us a valid excuse to go wine tasting on a Tuesday afternoon!)
Having well and truly tried and tested the bar for ourselves, we sat down with the owner, Julia, and discussed her objectives. Our task was to emulate the bar’s atmosphere on the web through a stylish website which carried the same sophisticated-yet-friendly vibe Julia’s customers experience. Luckily this meant our hours spent in the bar were worthwhile after all and we would have something to show for it.
Turns out this is easier said than done after a night at the LV. We left the meeting and put our heads together, trying our best to remember the details of our afternoon-turned-evening-turned-night we’d spent there. We contemplated sending Julia a blank page to match our hazy memories, but refusing to fail we fixed up, looked sharp and got to work on a website we hoped Julia would love.
The sophistication of the bar comes across as soon as users land on the page, with a enticing video showing the intricacies of cocktail making – M&S food advert style. Set against a simple black and white theme, the stunning images of the bar’s drinks and sushi selection subtly inject colour throughout the site. On that note, the sushi is incredible; once the images came through we booked ourselves in for another visit… after all it’s important we sampled everything the bar has to offer.
As well as mirroring the look and feel of the bar, it’s a very functional site. Users can view all the bar’s menus at a click of a button, contact the bar to make a booking and register for the mailing list. We’re really happy with this site, and hope it will play some part in continuing to keep our local community thriving. In fact, we’d probably better pay the LV Lounge another visit… just to make sure!