We were commissioned to create a beautiful, user-focused website to serve as the brand’s main marketing and ecommerce platform. Given the level of media coverage Tom Raffield often receives, this site also needed to be reliable in sudden cases of high visitor numbers. 

To ensure that Tom Raffield’s online presence is cohesive and visually stunning, we made subtle updates to the brand’s logo and its shorthand mark. This second option, shortened to the initials TR and based on the ligature between the double F within Raffield, is also used on products with surfaces too small to feature the full logo. 

Our design process began with the Tom Raffield customer and their use of the site. The purchase of unique and customisable products should be an enjoyable experience, so we wanted to make it easy for people to find what they were looking for and place an order. We held a user experience (UX) workshop with the team to explore in depth how different customers – from individuals to trade clients and retailers – used their existing site, and what they wanted from a new one. These user journeys through the site formed the foundations of our design. 

Craftsmanship lies at the heart of the Tom Raffield brand and we wanted to create something that truly reflected this. The website needed to be attractive and versatile, and quickly convey the ethos of the company, while also being easy to update in-house. As with all of our websites, we created a responsive design that looks good on every device size, from mobile phones and tablets to large screens.

As a sales platform, the site needed to offer a straightforward buying experience for both customers and the company. Previously, staff had to manually enter orders into multiple systems, which was a time-consuming process and slowed down production. We developed a Shopify site that’s integrated with systems including Salesforce, Shopify Payments, Shiptheory and Unleashed, and allows automated order processing and delivery booking, as well as easy stock control; all while offering the level of customer service that Tom Raffield’s buyers expect. A wishlist function encourages users to save their favourite items for later and we created a login area where customers can track their order and store their information for future purchases. 

Thanks to Shopify’s scalable server architecture, the new site enjoys uninterrupted service, even during peak times. This was instantly put to the test when Tom Raffield appeared on Chris Evans’ Radio 2 breakfast show following a discussion about Chris’ favourite Grand Designs episodes. With an average of 9.43 million people listening each week, there was a sharp 1,000% increase in traffic to the website. Without the company having to lift a finger, Shopify automatically deployed extra resources to keep the site online and running smoothly, meaning Tom Raffield could simply enjoy the extra publicity. 

In the weeks following its launch, revenue made through the Tom Raffield website increased by over 150% and the customer conversion rate increased by 50%.

Product photography and styling by Sideways

Port Eliot Festival image by Sarah Louise Bennet for Port Eliot Festival

Lifestyle imagery by Tom Young and Ally Sopp