Textile Mania

Weaving a winning website for a textiles specialist – an online fabric reference with update-ability and plenty of style.

The client
Textile Mania is a wholesaler and exporter of some of the most sought after contemporary fabric collections available to the corporate and hospitality markets in Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The trigger
Textile Mania continuously reinvents its fabrics and works closely with it’s A&D client base to develop all collections to ensure that it stays at the leading edge of corporate fabric design.
To reflect this online, they needed the functionality of a fully-editable website combined with an edgy look and feel that suited their design-focused market. With a growing international client base, a 24/7 online service had become a “must-have”.

The journey
DDG and Textile Mania worked closely to identify the challenges and the opportunities the technical and design development presented.

There were many including; a sizable and ever-changing fabric range (that needed interpretation from both a visual and spec’s perspective), a local and international audience, a reluctance to divulge IP to competitors and a target market with intrinsically high expectations in terms of design.

The solution
The DDG solution weaves the technical and design imperatives into a single streamlined experience that is as attractive to site visitors as it is to site administrators.

The website flaunts an array of more than 250 textile options organised into various categories and colour stories.

A Members Only area takes authorised visitors to a whole new level of information and interactivity – price list, fabric images and specifications, manufacturer’s guides, care and maintenance tips, archives, discount offers and more.

Transitions are effortless via a clear menu systems and extensive cross-linking. Customers can explore the full range of fabrics by colour then order specific fabric samples without leaving their keyboard. Email addresses are captured at Member Registration, forming a database for promotional e-communications.

For administrators, there’s a Content Management System that makes product or content updates as easy as populating a spreadsheet. Changes are automatically reflected on the website, including the re-sizing and positioning of images to maintain the site’s critical design integrity.

The contemporary, almost-black-and-white design template offers no distraction to the vibrant fabric imagery and satisfies the client appreciation for minimalist style.



Benefits:
Informative and Interactive – Access to spec details and fabric images on the same page creates a workbench to copy and paste images into emails, rendering or 3D modelling.

Versatility and flexibility– a Content Management System designed to enable frequent and effective update of product data and images

Accessibility – no matter what their time zone or location, visitors have 24/7 access to the full fabric range and online sampling service

A satisfying experience – visitors can get to their target information effortlessly, with only two or three clicks required to most destinations

Confidence – access to certain areas is member restricted, helping protect Textile Mania’s IP

Brand building – projects a positive, professional image for Textile Mania

Alignment – the product focus and information architecture are congruent with Textile Mania’s “transactor” business model

Results:
Jim Frame, Textile Mania’s Sales & Marketing Director, reports that since going live in late January 2009, the site has attracted positive feedback. “The market just love the new site,” says Jim. “In particular they refer to the fast loading, easy navigation and the convenience of having our complete collection at their finger tips.”

“One of the elements we were really after with the website development was an online sampling service and the Architectural &Design community have already embraced this option and are making great use of it.”

Testimonial:
“We based this project brief on survey results from our clients, who wanted faster loading, easier navigation and true-to-life product representation. DDG excelled in this area and the results from this website project are clear. We love it!

DDG worked with us to really understand what we wanted from the project and were prepared to use new ways of thinking to make sure our aims were achieved.

They are a very creative team who delivered us the look and feel we needed to market our corporate textiles. The combination of our photography and DDG’s technical architecture has given us a fully functional easy to operate site, with a sophisticated visitor experience that fits our market perfectly.

This site needed to be our 24/7 online sales representative, and it certainly fulfils that role.”

Jim Frame, Sales & Marketing Director, Textile Mania