Branding, web design and an annual awards night for the association representing Ireland's steel fabricators

When we started working with Irish Steel, every new event, training course or publication meant someone updating the website by hand. For all that effort, the site still fell short of the professional standard the association wanted. Membership sign-up was largely manual, with no simple way to take payments or manage member details, and social media was quiet. Irish Steel, the Irish Association of Steel Fabricators, wanted to be the body steel fabricators in Ireland turn to first. Its brand and systems weren't up to that.

A full rebrand, even though the old logo was familiar

We started with a complete rebrand, covering the logo, colour palette, typefaces and icons, because the old branding didn't convey how serious the organisation is. The team were apprehensive about moving away from their old logo at first. The new identity works across digital, print and event materials, and it quickly became the one people associate with Irish Steel.

One platform staff run themselves

Because every new event meant manual updates, we rebuilt the website as a platform non-technical staff can run, and put that need at the centre of the association website design. They add events, training courses and publications in one place, and the site lays out the pages without anyone touching code. A single booking form handles every event, so nobody builds a new form each time an event is announced. Membership moved online too, into a membership system of its own. New members choose their tier and pay on the site, renewal and welcome emails go out automatically, and members book training without any back-and-forth.

An awards night that runs off its registrations

We helped create the Irish Steel Awards from scratch, an annual ceremony recognising outstanding steel fabrication projects across Ireland. We built everything online behind it, from nominations and public voting to sponsorship and registration, on a website that changes with each stage of the cycle. Every registration feeds directly into the place names, table plans, booklets and hotel menus, so none of it is prepared by hand. Guests choose their meal when they register, which tells the hotel how many of each dish to prepare, speeds up service on the night and means less food goes to waste.

Each year we also produce the 250-page shortlist document that helps member companies attract votes and the 180-slide ceremony presentation, and we designed the physical trophy. Alongside the awards, we took over the association's social media, which has gone from minimal activity to a regular, professional presence. We also run its email marketing and press releases, and design its reports and membership documents.

The Irish Steel Awards have now run three times. Attendance has grown from 220 guests at the first ceremony to between 300 and 350, with more sponsors and more nominated projects each year.

Staff now handle events, training, publications and member sign-ups without a developer, which has taken a lot of day-to-day admin off the team.

An industry association needs more than a website, because membership, events, documents and email all have to work together. If an event already has a registration form, let it produce the place names, table plans and catering numbers, rather than preparing them by hand before the night. When staff can update the website themselves, events and training stay current without waiting on a developer.

Read more about our web design, branding, social media and SEO services, or see more web design case studies and other construction and engineering projects.