An editorial platform shaped from visual direction through launch.
OJU needed a digital home that could carry its visual identity while giving the team a practical foundation for publishing and growth. Basal House led the website design direction, developed the platform, selected the supporting technology, and iterated the experience through its teaser launch and continued rollout.
Overview
OJU is an independent digital publication centered on visual storytelling, culture, identity, and creative work.
Basal House designed and developed the website, shaped the visual direction of the digital experience, and established the technical foundation for publishing, deployment, analytics, SEO, and audience capture.
Challenge
The platform needed to translate OJU’s visual and editorial identity into a digital experience while also giving the publication a technical foundation that could support discoverability, publishing, and continued growth.
The initial teaser launch also needed to function as a real first release rather than a disposable placeholder, so the implementation had to support continued iteration as the publication expanded.
Basal House's Role
Basal House led the website design direction and development, advised on the technologies and tools used, and iterated the experience through the teaser launch and subsequent updates.
The engagement also included deployment infrastructure, CMS implementation, SEO best practices, analytics instrumentation, and Mailchimp email capture.
Approach
Design and engineering were developed together so the visual language of the publication could carry through the interface without compromising maintainability or responsive behavior.
The publishing foundation was structured around reusable editorial patterns and CMS-backed content so the site could continue evolving without requiring engineering involvement for every new piece of content.
SEO best practices were incorporated into page structure and implementation from the beginning. Basal House also established tools for monitoring search visibility and analytics, and OJU’s published pages are being indexed by search engines.
Deployment infrastructure was set up to support reliable releases, and Mailchimp was integrated for email capture so audience growth was part of the platform foundation rather than an afterthought.
What We Delivered
- Website design direction and responsive interface design
- Frontend development and production implementation
- CMS-backed publishing foundation
- Technical stack and platform recommendations
- Teaser launch development and continued iteration
- Deployment infrastructure and release setup
- SEO implementation and search indexing foundations
- Analytics setup and measurement tooling
- Mailchimp email capture integration
Outcome
OJU launched with a custom digital platform that reflects the publication’s visual direction while giving the team a maintainable foundation for publishing and audience growth.
SEO best practices and monitoring are in place, analytics is configured, email capture is connected through Mailchimp, and published pages are being indexed by search engines.