---
type: plan
project: leaguelaw
title: Design direction — client's stated position
status: active — awaiting example ranking
created: 2026-08-10
---

# Design direction

**Source: a client email received 2026-08-10, relayed by Rian.** Recorded close
to verbatim because the reasoning matters as much as the conclusions.

**This is client direction, not internal preference.** That has two consequences:

1. **It is a requirement, not a suggestion.** Mockups get checked against this
   document before they go out, and departing from any of it needs the client's
   agreement — it is not Rian's call alone.
2. **The client asked for reference examples to rank *before* design starts**
   (see below). That is a gate ahead of the Phase 1 mockups, and the shortlist is
   a **client-facing deliverable**, not an internal shortlist.

> *(Attribution assumed to be Darren Williams, the principal who opened the
> thread — worth confirming, since a second voice at the firm would change who
> signs off.)*

## The organising idea: a league, not a lawyer

> "The mentality of our law firm is a league, which is a group of organized
> teams. We are not lawyers supporting clients. We are **teams** of legal
> professionals supporting clients. It would be good if that permeated the
> website."

This is the single most useful thing in the brief, because it is a structural
idea rather than a decorative one. It should show up in **how the site is
organised**, not in a metaphor graphic:

- Practice areas presented as **teams**, not as a list of services
- A matter is handled by a group with a named lead, not by a solo practitioner
- Lawyer profiles connect to the teams they sit on, so the firm reads as depth
  rather than a row of headshots
- The existing copy already supports this — "Get our lawyers on your team" is
  live on the current site, and "160 years of combined experience" is a
  team-strength claim

## Contact information goes at the top. Not the footer.

> "It bothers me when I go to a law firm's website and I have to scroll down to
> the bottom to find a fucking phone number in small print. Our contact
> information needs to be front and centre and hit you in the face from the
> instant you're on the page."

Non-negotiable. The phone number is a primary design element, not a utility item:

- Visible without scrolling, on every page, at real size
- `tel:` linked so mobile taps to call — **note the current site has this
  broken** on 6 of 13 lawyer records (`http://250-888-0002`), so it is a live
  defect as well as a design principle
- Six offices means "which number" needs answering deliberately rather than
  defaulting to the head office line in the footer

## No hero imagery. No video. No scenery.

> "I don't like large expansive introductory images and videos. I don't care what
> the Rocky Mountains look like or what a pod of orcas look like."

The space at the top of the page goes to contact information and practice areas.
**This also removes a dependency:** the November photography is then needed for
team and office pages, not for a hero that blocks the whole build.

## Practice areas as immediately clickable zones

> "I want to see our practice areas laid out in simple clickable zones that
> people will say 'yes that's my issue' and click on that without having to
> scroll down pages and pages."

The homepage's main job is triage. A visitor arrives with a problem and needs to
self-identify in seconds. The firm has a natural grouping already —
**Injury, Estates, Marine, Business, Real Estate** — and roughly 30 sub-pages
beneath them, so the zones need to work as an entry layer into real depth.

## The explicit anti-goal

> "We're not trying to impress people with a visual dynamic of our webpage,
> because that show has run its course years ago. People are no longer impressed
> by fancy websites. We are trying to get our clients to be able to match their
> issues with our practice areas as quickly as possible and get them to contact
> us, not impress them with drama."

Success is measured in matched-and-contacted, not in time-on-site or visual
impact.

## But it still has to look good

> "That being said, of course, it needs to look modern, clean, sharp, organized,
> and a little different than most websites, if possible."

**This is the real design problem, and it is worth stating plainly: the
distinctiveness has to come from information design, not decoration.** Every
usual lever for "different" — a big photograph, a video, an animation, a scroll
effect — has been ruled out, correctly. What is left is typography, grid,
density, colour discipline, and how confidently the practice-area zones are
handled. Done well that reads as sharp and unusual. Done timidly it reads as
plain.

The existing orange (`#ef6136` / `#ef6d3e`) is the brand anchor and stays.

## How this cashes out in the mockups

| Zone | Contents |
|---|---|
| Top of page | Firm identity, phone at real size, tap-to-call, offices |
| Immediately below | Practice-area zones — the triage layer, no scrolling |
| Then | Teams / why-a-league, credibility (reviews, 160 years, results) |
| Then | The rest — lawyers, articles, locations |

## The client's own ask: reference examples to rank first

> "Maybe after this description you could send me a couple of examples online and
> I can rank them for my preference as examples before you get started."

**This is a gate before mockups.** The client ranks reference sites, and that
ranking becomes the agreed visual starting point — which also protects the single
comprehensive feedback round that was sold, because direction is settled before
anything is designed.

Practical notes for assembling it:

- It goes **to the client**, so it needs to be presentable and each example needs
  a plain-language note on why it is there.
- Score every candidate against the four hard criteria above: contact at top ·
  practice areas immediately clickable · no hero imagery · modern but not showy.
- **Two candidates were checked and both failed** — ConductLaw and Velkei Law
  each bury the phone number and require scrolling to reach practice areas.
  Velkei is closest on the text-forward, no-big-hero front.
- Expect to look **outside law** for the triage-first pattern. It is rare in
  legal, which is exactly the differentiation argument — but it means insurance,
  healthcare, government and trades directories may be the better references.
- Include at least one deliberately "too plain" and one "too styled" option, so
  the ranking locates where the client actually sits rather than just confirming
  a single guess.

## Still to settle

- **Which phone number** shows on a six-office firm.
- **How the "league" idea is expressed** without turning into a sports metaphor.
- **How the practice-area zones handle depth** — 5 areas over ~30 sub-pages.
- **Who at the firm owns design sign-off** — see the attribution note at the top.