The Fleming Collection

The Fleming Collection, the finest collection of Scottish Art in private hands, comprises over 600 works from the seventeenth century to the present day.

The new website puts this collection online for the first time and gives the Fleming Collection team a forum on which to discuss their work and mission.

They are able to display the creativity of their collection in their exhibitions, events and publishing strategy; and their desire to become a resource on Scottish art can be fulfilled by publishing news, events and educational material as well as created curated content in connection to the collection.

We gathered insights from the collection’s current audience, which has followed them since the days of their London-based gallery, and also defined user profiles for the audiences The Fleming Collection wished to reach, such as younger, contemporary artists, policymakers and educational institutions.

These user profiles guided our decision-making throughout the design process. The client asked us to ‘let beauty reign’, so the idea underpinning our design was very clear from the outset: an image-led website, bringing the art collection to the forefront.

We also wanted the site to have a unique identity, to give the brand a contemporary feel without losing their heritage. In order to do this, we dived into the history of the Fleming family for inspiration. Our logo based on a weave pays homage to the founder of the Fleming bank, Robert Fleming, who gained success as a jute manufacturer.

The distinctive ‘Fleming green’ was kept as the core colour, but it was refreshed and updated to match other colours based on a painting by Samuel People.

Not only can the Fleming team display the events and exhibitions they’re organising or participating in, but they also have the ability to recommend external events via the ‘The Fleming Collection recommends’ section.

A single artwork page includes precise details about the work, as well as the artist and other works from the same artist. Browsing is encouraged by the ability to conduct a search by subject; and also see the other artworks by the same artist.

The new website has given the Fleming Collection the ability to showcase Scottish art and artists outside Scotland, and its brand has a unique feel that aids in making it stand out amongst their peer group of brands. Embarking on a redesign for an established family brand is always a challenge, so managing the expectations and preferences of a large group of stakeholders, and careful and considerate communication was key in guaranteeing the success of the project.