Project Background
Insomniac Sparrows, a student band from Algonquin College and University of Ottawa, needed an official website to promote themselves and secure local performance opportunities.
As a newly formed band with no prior web presence, they lacked clear requirements beyond "needing a website."
Problem
What purpose does a band website serve in today's social media-dominated landscape?
Design Process
Research & Discovery
To understand the value proposition of modern band websites, I analyzed several independent artists' official sites including Peach Pit, KT Tunstall, and Maggie Baugh.
Official website of KT Tunstall
Official website of KT Tunstall: lives and performance announcements
Official website of KT Tunstall: videos
Official website of Maggie Baugh
Official website of Maggie Baugh: albums
Key Insight:
Band websites serve as content aggregation hubs, directing fans to distributed platforms (streaming, social media, ticketing) from one central location.
Information Architecture
Created a 5-page sitemap addressing band needs:
Home: Overview with latest updates of other pages
Videos: Performance content showcase
Gigs: Show listings with ticket links(Designed for outreach )
About: Band story and member profiles
Contact: Booking inquiries
Wireframing & Prototyping
Designed lo-fi wireframes with "summary-style" homepage featuring content highlights from all sections.
Built clickable prototype for stakeholder testing.
Lo-fi wireframes
Feedback & Iteration
I received feedback from the band members and implemented the improvements:
1. Added photo gallery section to homepage
2. Enlarged video thumbnails for better visibility
3. Moved social media icons to header navigation
Visual Design
1. Created custom band logo（Illustrator, Photoshop, chatgpt 4o）
2. Established blue-black color palette
3. Developed consistent typography system
Final version of band logo design
Final version of band logo design
The logo's design was inspired by a bird-like mark on the wall, as described by the band's lead singer.
The initial logo design was inspired by a wide-eyed, sleepless bird.
Style tile
Solution
The final design creates a centralized platform where users can discover the band's content, upcoming shows, and booking information while seamlessly connecting to external platforms for streaming and purchasing.
Impact & Reflection
Outcome: Complete website design ready for development. Band highly satisfied with promotional capabilities.
Key Learning: Competitive research proved essential for defining unclear project requirements and translating client goals into actionable design strategy.