Half Moon Empire
Half Moon Empire is an upcoming, family-owned wedding venue in Shiner, Texas. They came to me to establish a brand identity and website, so they could start promoting their venue during the construction process. Their dream was to build a luxury resort-style event venue in the country, so we had to make sure the brand aesthetic aligned with their vision.
THE CLIENT
Brand Intensive
Web Intensive
BRAND TONE
Swanky, Sophisticated, Moody, Bold
SERVICES
To add visual interest, the two “O”s in “Moon” were intertwined, which was also reminiscent of wedding rings.
We used a semi-bold serif font for the primary logos to give them a sharp and classic feel.
We wanted to bring in the shape of a half moon somehow without it feeling tacky, so we incorporated it subtly into the “H”
The Website Challenge
The Half Moon Empire website posed a bit of a challenge. They needed a working website in order to start gaining interest and booking tours and events. But because the venue was still under construction, they didn't have any photos of the actual venue or past events.
So to make the site work for now (and leave room for growth when they DO have photos in the future), we used curated stock images where necessary, along with the beautiful watercolor illustrations they had done to show their venue plans.
Website Strategy
We rearranged the base template (”Martini” by Tonic Site Shop*) to keep it simple, and temporarily hid several of the canvases, so they could easily go back and add them when they have more photos and details.
The site’s design aligns with the brand identity as whole. The headings across the site combine a timeless serif font with a modern sans serif, for a cool and editorial feel. An elegant script font was added as an accent to soften the otherwise sharp and moody style.
*Affiliate link. Use code HOMEWARD for 15% your Tonic purchase.
WEBSITE template AFTER
WEBSITE template BEFORE
