Website Design for west+machell Architects
Written by Peter Skitt, Creative Director of Buzz Design
west+machell is a residential architecture firm with a portfolio spanning diverse project types across the residential sector. Buzz Design was commissioned to create a website that would showcase the firm’s design philosophy and portfolio in a way that was as visually ambitious as the architecture it represented.
The design approach used a colour-coded structure to differentiate project types, high-impact black and white photography as the visual anchor across the portfolio, and a measuring tape motif as a recurring design element referencing the firm’s commitment to precision and craft.
Challenges
Architecture portfolio websites are among the most demanding design briefs in web design. The work must be the hero of every page, and the site design can either frame it beautifully or compete with it in ways that reduce the impact of both.
Differentiating multiple residential project types within a single cohesive site required a structural solution that felt like a deliberate and elegant design choice rather than different websites bolted together.
The measuring tape motif needed to be applied at exactly the right scale — present enough to be noticed and understood, absent enough not to become a gimmick. Getting this calibration right required careful visual testing at multiple stages of the design process.
Design Process
Design research established the range of project types in the portfolio and the visual language that would suit each, before the colour-coding approach was selected as the structural solution. The palette for each project category was developed with care: distinctive enough to create meaningful visual differentiation, close enough in tone to feel like parts of a coherent system rather than competing identities.
Black and white photography was selected and treated consistently across the portfolio — a deliberate decision that creates a timeless visual quality across projects of different character and scale, and avoids the colour inconsistency that plagues architectural photography taken across different lighting conditions and seasons.
Interactive portfolio elements were developed including detailed project descriptions and, for select projects, 360-degree virtual tour integration — giving prospective clients an immersive experience of the firm’s work that static photography alone cannot provide.
Solutions
The website features colour-coded project sections with clear visual differentiation, high-impact black and white photography as the unifying visual language, and a measuring tape motif integrated as a recurring graphic element throughout.
Interactive project pages provide detailed descriptions of each project, with high-resolution imagery and, for select projects, 360-degree virtual tour integration. The site is fully responsive across all devices.
Results
west+machell launched with a website that matched the quality and ambition of the architecture it represented. The colour-coded project structure made it significantly easier for prospective clients to find work relevant to their own project type and aspirations.
The combination of visual storytelling, project documentation, and a distinctive design system has positioned the firm strongly in a competitive residential architecture market.
Lessons Learned
Architecture websites are portfolio-first. Every design decision including layout, typography, colour, and white space should serve the presentation of the work, not compete with it. The moment the site design becomes more interesting than the architecture, the portfolio has been undermined.
Colour-coding project categories is effective only when the distinction is immediately obvious to a visitor encountering the site for the first time. Ambiguity in a navigation system that relies on colour eliminates the benefit entirely.
Interactive elements such as virtual tours add genuine value in architecture because they allow a prospective client to experience a space in a way that photography cannot replicate. The investment in this capability is justified by the depth of engagement it produces.
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