Red
Central
Sole‑developer build of a bold, media‑led Gatsby and Contentful website for Red Central, translating detailed creative designs into a responsive showcase for the studio's work.
In Detail
I have worked with designer Mike Etheridge on several successful freelance projects over the years. For Red Central, he had already developed the branding, strategy, and visual design direction before bringing me in to handle the website build.
The designs were bold, image‑led, and detail‑heavy, so the implementation needed careful front‑end judgement rather than generic template production. The work required close attention to layout, responsive behaviour, animation timing, and the handling of large visual assets.
I built the site with Gatsby, React, TypeScript, GraphQL, SCSS, and Contentful. Contentful gave Red Central control over website content and project pages, while Gatsby provided a static front end suited to the visual nature of the site. The implementation used CSS Grid and image‑loading techniques to preserve the quality of the studio's work without making the site feel heavy.
Homepage
The homepage was designed to create an immediate, high‑impact introduction to Red Central's work and personality. Sequenced CSS animations brought the hero content into view before moving through stylised descriptions of the agency, including 'Game Changing Creative' and 'The Pop Culture Geeks'. The first glimpse of the studio's work followed immediately below.
Services
Red Central's services needed enough explanation for new visitors without losing the site's visual energy. An animated carousel paired service messaging with recognisable project imagery, giving the studio room to explain its offer while keeping the page image‑led.
Life at Red
Bold messaging and editable imagery run throughout the site. On the Life at Red page, the client could update the hero image through Contentful, giving the team a flexible space to present its culture and personality on its own terms.
Work List
The Work page was fully customisable through Contentful and built around large, image‑led project entries. Because imagery was central to the experience, the page needed careful optimisation and staggered fade‑up loading to keep browsing smooth and consistent.
Project Pages
The project pages followed the same bold, image‑heavy pattern as the rest of the site. Red Central could manage project imagery, copy, and page structure through Contentful, allowing the studio to add and update work without developer involvement.
Contact Page
Red Central chose direct email addresses and telephone numbers instead of a generic contact form. That left space for a looping office video, giving the contact page more character while keeping the route to enquiry simple.
