GesWhat

The challenge

GesWhat is a graphic design agency based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, offering a comprehensive range of print and digital design services. They needed a website that would showcase their creative capabilities and the breadth of their offering — from traditional print work through to digital and web design.

The existing presence wasn’t working. Without a polished website, potential clients couldn’t easily see the range of services on offer or get a sense of the agency’s creative style. For a design agency, the website itself is the most important portfolio piece — it needs to demonstrate the quality of work a client can expect.

Service range was unclear. GesWhat offers an unusually wide range of design services — 18 distinct service areas spanning print, digital, and environmental design. Communicating this breadth without overwhelming visitors was a key design challenge.

The approach

The website needed to let the work speak for itself while making it easy for potential clients to understand what GesWhat can do for them. I focused on:

Clean, minimal design — A restrained layout that doesn’t compete with the portfolio work itself
Clear service taxonomy — An intuitive grid showcasing all 18 service areas with custom iconography
Portfolio-first navigation — Projects and testimonials given prime position in the site structure
Fast, lightweight build — Gatsby with headless WordPress for a site that loads instantly

The solution

Service showcase

The services page presents all 18 service areas in a clean grid with custom-designed icons for each category:

Print design: Logo, Branding, Brochures, Catalogues, Booklets, Flyers, Stationery, Posters

Environmental: Signage, Livery, Exhibition

Marketing: Adverts, Datasheets, Infographics

Digital: Website Design, GUI, Icon Sets, Social Media

Each service icon was designed to match the agency’s visual identity, creating a cohesive overview that communicates capability without walls of text.

Portfolio presentation

The projects section showcases completed work with large imagery and clear client attribution. Each project is presented with enough context to demonstrate the agency’s process and thinking, not just the final output.

Clean technology

The site is built with Gatsby and a headless WordPress backend, hosted on Hetzner. Gatsby generates static pages from the WordPress content at build time, delivering fast load times while giving the GesWhat team the familiar WordPress interface to manage their portfolio and content. The headless approach means the frontend is decoupled from the CMS, resulting in excellent performance and security.

Gallery

The results

Clear service communication — Visitors immediately understand the full range of design services available
Professional showcase — The website itself serves as a demonstration of clean, considered design
Low maintenance — Gatsby with headless WordPress that the agency can rely on without ongoing developer support
Effective lead generation — Clear contact pathways from every page