Skybound Comics needed an online presence, and they needed it to be cool.
Comics are fun and colorful – our strategy was to incorporate design elements that accentuate rather than overshadow.
We wanted the shop to be inviting and fun without feeling pushy. The result was exploding sales while minimizing buyer fatigue.
Comics are creative, quirky and fun, but our work remained mindful that increasing sales is the best route to long-term company growth.
Skybound Entertainment is one of the most exciting imprints in the comics industry today. And we’re not just saying that because they’re our client – Skybound comics are just plain good, from Robert Kirkman’s hit The Walking Dead to up-and-coming titles like Thief of Thieves or Super Dinosaur. By 2011, Skybound had several successful titles and a hit show on AMC based on their flagship book.
When they approached CommonGround, they had some unique needs for their website. They were still a small company on a budget, but at the same time their properties were exploding in popularity. We needed a way to show off the “coolness” of their products while at the same time presenting information about news, events, upcoming publications and merchandise.
Starting with design, we immediately knew that we wanted the books to stand front and center. Our design elements could accentuate, but they should never overshadow. We worked to create a home page that immediately says “serious publisher” while drawing the user’s eyes right to the books. In a way, we’re inviting visitors to jump right into the rich, colorful, exciting worlds that the Skybound creative teams have worked so hard to build.
Secondly, Skybound expressed a need to incorporate the benefits of a blog into the site, but they didn’t want their page to look like MySpace. (Sorry, MySpace, but you’re a cluttered mess and you know it.) Skybound’s site needed to keep fans engaged, exciting and sharing news, driving those all-important sales at comic shops across the nation. Our final designs provided a cost-effective way for the company to have their news feed while retaining a friendly, intuitive, professional home page.
Let’s talk about money. Believe it or not, comic creators aren’t altruistic artists looking to better society by offering their works for free. A third challenge to the Skybound site was expanding merchandising, so that fans were encouraged to view and purchase the cool gear on offer...and man do they love that cool gear. Our solution was to make the storefront fun and inviting, while ensuring that there were multiple links to it on the other pages. The results were immediate…and perhaps a little unexpected. Almost overnight, Skybound’s shipper had to face a constant deluge of orders. We were thrilled to help this growing company become more profitable, and also quite happy to help put zombie plush dolls into homes across America.
Overall, Skybound has been one of the favorite projects at CommonGround, and we look forward to working with them as that company continues to grow and thrive. (But, no, we don’t know what’s happening in next month’s issue of The Walking Dead...sorry.)
The challenge: A growing publisher needs to keep customers informed, excited and spending.