* work completed whilst working at Fanatic
41 Portland Place
Using dynamic elements to showcase a premium events space in Central London
project type
website design
year
2024
The brief
41 Portland Place is a premium events venue in central London, part of the Searcys Group. Following a full venue refurbishment, the client approached Fanatic wanting a new website that reflected their updated brand, and improved their SEO performance.
The brief was to design a website that showcased their spaces and events, communicated the tailored, premium nature of their offering, and used dynamic elements to elevate the experience beyond a standard venue listing.
my role in this project
UX & UI design, design presentation, responsive design, figma file preparation developer handover
The brief was to design a website that presented 41 Portland Place as a blank canvas for any event, whilst communicating their premium offering, from catering to interior styling.
The challenge
The venue's primary message is one of a blank canvas. It’s a space with character that can be entirely shaped around your event, supported by expert planning and catering. The challenge was to communicate that feeling of possibility and flexibility through the design, while ensuring the site remained functional, SEO-ready, and capable of hosting the strong photography that needed to lead throughout.
The design also needed to balance two things at once: the light, airy aesthetic of the physical space, and punchy brand moments that could dial up impact when drawing attention to a callout, or offer.
What I was tasked with
I was assigned as design lead for this specific project at Fanatic, and I was responsible for the end-to-end design process, from initial concept through to developer handover. This included:
Presenting concepts using the new brand
I translated the client's new brand into initial website concepts, exploring how the colour palette, typography and visual language could work across a full site through different activations and approaches. I presented these concepts to the client, gathering feedback, and leading the creative side of the discussion.
Design rollout and consistency
Once a direction was signed off, I rolled out the design across all pages, ensuring the brand was applied consistently throughout. I developed a flexible content row system that could adapt across different page types while maintaining a cohesive look and feel throughout the site.
Responsive layouts ready for developer handover
I produced fully responsive designs for all breakpoints, working closely with the development team to ensure a smooth handover and accurate build. Throughout the process, I collaborated with the digital marketing team to ensure SEO requirements were built into the structure and design decisions from the start.
My approach
The in-person experience of 41 Portland Place is defined by its interlocking, free-flowing spaces and I wanted the website to reflect that.
The content rows were designed to flow naturally from one to the next, allowing the user to move through the site seamlessly, just as a guest would move through the venue.
A premium aesthetic
The aesthetic was kept deliberately light and airy, giving the photography space to breathe and remain the focal point.
The pink and dark green accent colours, used against a foundation of lighter greens, were selectively used to create punchy call-out moments without overwhelming the softer and detail-led sections.
An elevated experience
Subtle motion and interactive elements were introduced to engage the user and elevate the experience.
The home hero carousel uses a gentle animation to immediately communicate the breadth and variety of events hosted here, while also introducing the site's primary message: that 41 Portland Place is a beautiful, characterful space ready to be shaped entirely around your vision.
The result is an elegant, responsive website that gives the venue a digital presence that matches the quality of the physical experience.
