Project Overview
Web Redesign | Responsive Website | CMS Integration
Web Redesign | Responsive Website | CMS Integration
Role:
Web Designer & Developer • Visual Strategy • CMS Architecture • Responsive UI/UX
Web Designer & Developer • Visual Strategy • CMS Architecture • Responsive UI/UX
Timeline:
12 weeks strategic research + design project (Freelance partnership)
12 weeks strategic research + design project (Freelance partnership)
Summary:
A leading brand-experience agency (Cogs & Marvel) needed a modern, scalable online presence that reflected its high-profile event and experiential work. I redesigned their outdated website from scratch, building a modular, animated, and responsive site on WordPress with a CMS backend. The new site aligned with their premium brand positioning and enabled non-technical team members to manage content without manual coding.
A leading brand-experience agency (Cogs & Marvel) needed a modern, scalable online presence that reflected its high-profile event and experiential work. I redesigned their outdated website from scratch, building a modular, animated, and responsive site on WordPress with a CMS backend. The new site aligned with their premium brand positioning and enabled non-technical team members to manage content without manual coding.
Problem:
Their existing website was static, outdated, and difficult to update. It failed to reflect the agency’s creative capabilities, and content updates required HTML knowledge. The old site had been a serious barrier for a team focused on events, not web development. As a result, the online presence didn’t match the agency’s high-profile, dynamic real-world work.
Their existing website was static, outdated, and difficult to update. It failed to reflect the agency’s creative capabilities, and content updates required HTML knowledge. The old site had been a serious barrier for a team focused on events, not web development. As a result, the online presence didn’t match the agency’s high-profile, dynamic real-world work.
Solution:
Built a custom, scalable, and modular website that:
➡️ Matched Cogs & Marvel’s brand voice and sophistication through clean, minimal design and animation.
➡️ Implemented a module-based CMS, enabling content updates without coding.
➡️ Was responsive for desktop and mobile, ensuring usability across devices.
➡️ Delivered intuitive UI/UX patterns for events, case studies, and portfolio content, making navigation and content presentation smooth and visually compelling.
Built a custom, scalable, and modular website that:
➡️ Matched Cogs & Marvel’s brand voice and sophistication through clean, minimal design and animation.
➡️ Implemented a module-based CMS, enabling content updates without coding.
➡️ Was responsive for desktop and mobile, ensuring usability across devices.
➡️ Delivered intuitive UI/UX patterns for events, case studies, and portfolio content, making navigation and content presentation smooth and visually compelling.
Impact:
✅ Launched a modern, scalable web presence that aligns with the agency’s status and improves perceived credibility and brand positioning.
✅ Enabled the internal teams to update content independently via a CMS, eliminating previous HTML dependency and speeding up content production.
✅ Enhanced user experience with responsive design and animations, increasing engagement and showcasing the agency’s creative strength.
✅ Provided a maintainable, flexible website foundation that supports future growth, projects, and content updates.
✅ Launched a modern, scalable web presence that aligns with the agency’s status and improves perceived credibility and brand positioning.
✅ Enabled the internal teams to update content independently via a CMS, eliminating previous HTML dependency and speeding up content production.
✅ Enhanced user experience with responsive design and animations, increasing engagement and showcasing the agency’s creative strength.
✅ Provided a maintainable, flexible website foundation that supports future growth, projects, and content updates.
Key Contributions + Achievements:
➡️ Directed the visual and UX redesign strategy from concept through launch
➡️ Developed a custom WordPress theme and modular CMS layout for maintainable content management
➡️ Designed responsive templates for portfolio, events, case studies, and agency services
➡️ Implemented animated UI/UX touches to reflect the agency’s dynamic, experience-first identity
➡️ Supported non-technical users by simplifying content updates through intuitive back-end tools
➡️ Directed the visual and UX redesign strategy from concept through launch
➡️ Developed a custom WordPress theme and modular CMS layout for maintainable content management
➡️ Designed responsive templates for portfolio, events, case studies, and agency services
➡️ Implemented animated UI/UX touches to reflect the agency’s dynamic, experience-first identity
➡️ Supported non-technical users by simplifying content updates through intuitive back-end tools
⬇️ Read the full story to see how it all came together. ⬇️
Intro / Background
Cogs & Marvel is a global brand experience agency with a U.S. office in San Francisco, California, and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. C&M creates immersive events for some of the world’s biggest brands. However, their website hadn’t kept up.
Their old site felt dated and static. It didn’t represent the innovation or polish of their client work. Even small content changes required coding, which made updates slow and risky. They needed a complete redesign: a flexible, modern website that felt premium yet practical. My goal was to give them a digital presence that matched their creative reputation and could grow with their business.
This project explored one core question:
How can a modern, easy-to-manage website capture the sophistication and spirit of a world-class creative agency?
How can a modern, easy-to-manage website capture the sophistication and spirit of a world-class creative agency?
The Problem
The old website was outdated and built on possibly HTML3 or 4 standards, and for smaller displays. It was clunky and not optimized for mobile, either. The site didn’t reflect who Cogs & Marvel really were: Forward-thinking, detail-driven, and creative. The fix had to do more than just look better. It needed to be smarter, easier to maintain, and built to last.
The key challenges or pain points were:
❌ Outdated design that failed to reflect the brand’s caliber
❌ Disjointed layout with poor responsiveness across devices
❌ Updates required HTML knowledge, slowing down internal workflows
❌ Inflexible structure that couldn’t scale with new services or projects
❌ Disjointed layout with poor responsiveness across devices
❌ Updates required HTML knowledge, slowing down internal workflows
❌ Inflexible structure that couldn’t scale with new services or projects
My Role
➡ Defined creative direction and web strategy to align with brand goals
➡ Designed and developed the website from concept to launch
➡ Built a custom, modular WordPress theme for easy content updates
➡ Developed a responsive design optimized for both desktop and mobile
➡ Tools used: Sketch, InVision, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, WordPress, custom HTML/CSS and JavaScript
➡ Designed and developed the website from concept to launch
➡ Built a custom, modular WordPress theme for easy content updates
➡ Developed a responsive design optimized for both desktop and mobile
➡ Tools used: Sketch, InVision, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, WordPress, custom HTML/CSS and JavaScript
Challenges + Learnings
Working with another creative agency meant balancing a lot of strong opinions. My role was to guide the web vision while keeping everyone aligned around a shared goal of a clean, elevated experience that reflected their brand.
At times, that meant acting as both designer and translator. This meant I had to turn technical web concepts into visuals and ideas that resonated with fellow creative professionals. It reminded me how much clarity and communication matter, especially when blending different disciplines.
Ultimately, the collaboration worked because everyone stayed focused on the same outcome. The site not only looked good, but was scalable, modular, and easy to update.
Impact + Results
✅ Delivered a scalable, modern website that aligned with Cogs & Marvel’s brand identity
✅ Empowered non-technical staff to make updates quickly and confidently
✅ Elevated brand credibility and consistency across markets in the U.S. and Europe
✅ Increased engagement through clean animation and interactive storytelling
✅ Based on industry benchmarks, a modernized, responsive site can boost inbound leads by 15–30%, translating into meaningful revenue growth for agencies
✅ Empowered non-technical staff to make updates quickly and confidently
✅ Elevated brand credibility and consistency across markets in the U.S. and Europe
✅ Increased engagement through clean animation and interactive storytelling
✅ Based on industry benchmarks, a modernized, responsive site can boost inbound leads by 15–30%, translating into meaningful revenue growth for agencies
Interested? Let’s connect.
