Swanson Tools
Swanson Tools
Swanson Tool Co. has been making precision tools for the trades since the 1920s. Their speed square is basically iconic. The brief was a digital refresh, bringing the brand and website up to the same standard as the tools themselves: confident, no-nonsense, built to last.
Swanson Tool Co. has been making precision tools for the trades since the 1920s. Their speed square is basically iconic. The brief was a digital refresh, bringing the brand and website up to the same standard as the tools themselves: confident, no-nonsense, built to last.
Client
Swanson Tools Co.
Deliverables
Style guide Web design system UI / UX
Year
2026
Role
Lead Designer
Client
Swanson Tools Co.
Deliverables
Style guide Web design system UI / UX
Year
2026
Role
Lead Designer
The Site
In use
The final site. Here's how we got there:
A lot of Swanson's users are on a job site, on a phone. Mobile was designed first, then scaled up.
The outcome
Swanson has always made tools worth trusting. The site finally looks like it.
Before
The Site
Honestly, the old site looked like a hardware store catalogue from 2012. The tools are iconic. The website wasn't doing them any favours.
The final site. Here's how we got there:
The homepage
Before
The homepage leads with craft photography and gets you to products fast. No hunting, no confusion about where to go.
Honestly, the old site looked like a hardware store catalogue from 2012. The tools are iconic. The website wasn't doing them any favours.
The mark
The logo didn't need replacing. It needed to work on screen. Tighter spacing, refined proportions. A hundred years of brand equity, not thrown away.
The mark
The logo didn't need replacing. It needed to work on screen. Tighter spacing, refined proportions. A hundred years of brand equity, not thrown away.
The pages
The homepage
Homepage, product pages, about, FAQs, contact. The system runs through all of it.
The homepage leads with craft photography and gets you to products fast. No hunting, no confusion about where to go.
The homepage leads with craft photography and gets you to products fast. No hunting, no confusion about where to go.
The homepage
Homepage, product pages, about, FAQs, contact. The system runs through all of it.
The pages
The logo didn't need replacing. It needed to work on screen. Tighter spacing, refined proportions. A hundred years of brand equity, not thrown away.
The mark
The colour palette was rebuilt from scratch, scalable tokens, clear hierarchy, the orange refined rather than replaced. Three typefaces: Telegraf for titles, Manrope for body, TT Norms for the heritage label.
The system
A lot of Swanson's users are on a job site, on a phone. Mobile was designed first, then scaled up.
In use
Swanson has always made tools worth trusting. The site finally looks like it.
The outcome
The system
The pages
The colour palette was rebuilt from scratch, scalable tokens, clear hierarchy, the orange refined rather than replaced. Three typefaces: Telegraf for titles, Manrope for body, TT Norms for the heritage label.
Homepage, product pages, about, FAQs, contact. The system runs through all of it.
In use
The mark
A lot of Swanson's users are on a job site, on a phone. Mobile was designed first, then scaled up.
The logo didn't need replacing. It needed to work on screen. Tighter spacing, refined proportions. A hundred years of brand equity, not thrown away.
The outcome
The system
Swanson has always made tools worth trusting. The site finally looks like it.
The colour palette was rebuilt from scratch, scalable tokens, clear hierarchy, the orange refined rather than replaced. Three typefaces: Telegraf for titles, Manrope for body, TT Norms for the heritage label.
The final site. Here's how we got there:
The Site
Honestly, the old site looked like a hardware store catalogue from 2012. The tools are iconic. The website wasn't doing them any favours.
Before
The system
The colour palette was rebuilt from scratch, scalable tokens, clear hierarchy, the orange refined rather than replaced. Three typefaces: Telegraf for titles, Manrope for body, TT Norms for the heritage label.
In use
A lot of Swanson's users are on a job site, on a phone. Mobile was designed first, then scaled up.
The outcome
Swanson has always made tools worth trusting. The site finally looks like it.
The Site
The final site. Here's how we got there:
The pages
Homepage, product pages, about, FAQs, contact. The system runs through all of it.
The system
The colour palette was rebuilt from scratch, scalable tokens, clear hierarchy, the orange refined rather than replaced. Three typefaces: Telegraf for titles, Manrope for body, TT Norms for the heritage label.