De-construct to rebuild Crafts Council site

The Crafts Council has appointed De-construct to redesign its website, following a two-stage unpaid creative pitch.

Intro, which refreshed the council’s logo, was among the five contenders seen off by De-construct in the second round.

The redesign will let craft-makers upload their own profile pages to the Crafts Council site. It will feature podcasts and create commercial opportunities.

‘At the moment the website is technically limited, and [is] not serving the council’s purposes,’ says its director of external communications, Sue Davies. ‘It is going to become much more information-heavy,’ she says. ‘As part of our new strategy, we are going to undertake much more research on the part of the sector. The website will be the primary platform for disseminating that information.

De-construct creative director Fred Flade reveals that the new website will be given a ‘simple, fresh and modern’ look, and that there will be an emphasis on ‘fun and interactivity’.

Phase one of the site’s development will be rolled out in December, constituting ‘a news site with lots of information about the broader crafts sector and how it links to the creative industries,’ says Davies. Phase two will be rolled out during 2008 and will introduce interactive features to the site, including audio downloads, ‘to make crafts seem more fun, which is a primary aim of the site,’ says Flade.

De-construct is in discussions with the council about what the site could be doing in years to come.

Last month, the Crafts Council unveiled its new corporate strategy.