The new website
Once we get something into our heads, we see it through to its conclusion… This was one of the first ochs und junior website start pages! Does anyone remember it? The energy of the orange dots and the cartoon depicting Ludwig Oechslin is amazingly inventive. At that time we knew, of course, that Google did not have much to find, so there was not text on the page. And it could be that internet users were easily overwhelmed trying to establish a link with the horological innovations of a new watch brand… That’s the way we wanted it…
In the meantime we have worked hard on developing our principal information tool. The sheer number of stories, of content supplied by Oechslin, have left it rather difficult to navigate. Our communications will never be as elegant as Oechslin’s strokes of mechanical genius.
We have tried to map out a new and clear concept and have rejigged the website. These are the lines we’ve been thinking along:
We’ve never printed the logo, only branded or stamped it, or punched it into precious metal. That was one of our founding principles – and one we’ve stuck to! Actually, that’s not quite true: it appears in print on the website. Online visitors should know that this is perhaps the first time they have come across a watch brand that doesn’t put its logo on the dial.
The main thing is our watches! They now come in four product categories.
We are working on developing all four lines.
All four can be accessed online in parallel, with the website offering an overview at first glance. The ochs und junior story can be accessed directly under the products, the blog, Facebook and the new media section.
Each of the product categories (here, the new tinta line) incorporates a photo extract and short description for each watch.
The icons have gone, the text has been shortened and the gallery restructured and limited to nine photos per line. These can be viewed at any time and are displayed in a slideshow format.
And the cartoon of Ludwig Oechslin? In the previous website, he competed rather with our watch on the start page. It made sense to have this wonderfully drawn character there, as navigating the website was not as clear as it is now: Ludwig pointed to the links that had to be clicked. Now, however, the cartoon figure takes us through his world. He starts with a description of what’s happening at ochs und junior…
… and proudly presents the virtual workshop containing the main protagonists of the ochs story. This leads onto our story…
… including that of the maestro in his Citroën DS…
The stories unfold as a series of threads, with the watch categories in parallel, each with its own thread. It’s great for people who want a bit more background and like stumbling across hidden gems – such as the ox with Giorgio (where you can find out why ochs und junior is called what it is).
The cart is pulled directly into our stores. The DS is parked here, and you can see stacks of dials and eco-tanned leather. We are transparent – something we’re very keen on. ochs und junior lets you know what’s going on and who does what.
Sometimes, what appears unimportant is actually quite important…
As you would expect, more important than the perfect espresso is the newly created media section, where you can download high-resolution images. It took quite a lot of time fielding all the press enquiries and transferring the images via yousendit.com – and quite often the size was too big for sending via e-mail. The media gallery takes the pressure off. And who knows, a watch of ours might, at the last minute, suddenly appear on the cover of brand eins because our images are available :-). We’re currently working on an online store, so our products will be easier to get hold of abroad. The website is all very well – I personally still prefer meeting people face-to-face or communicating via e-mail, telephone or Skype. You’ll find all my details on the internet – and Facebook in the future…
The media section is available to all; there’s no login. All we ask is that you credit Bea Weinmann with taking the photo – thanks!
Those of you who follow the blog and all its twists and turns will have noticed that not one of the links in the blog texts leads to the website or the blog. I realised just a few days ago that all the links in the old website lead nowhere. I should have checked earlier!
We’re starting by fixing all the links in the blog – we’ve got as far back as November 2010… 😉
95% perfect, as we’ve often said. That’s the goal, anyway… :-))