Case Studies September 12, 2025

356% Increase in Engagement Time

The Bonanno Concepts website failed to capture the vibrancy of their acclaimed restaurants, resulting in low engagement. A strategic redesign focused on rich media, storytelling, and an intuitive user journey boosted engaged sessions per user by an incredible 356% and grew total sessions by 438%.

About Bonanno Concepts

Blacksmith transformed Bonanno’s digital presence through a data-driven web redesign

Bonanno Concepts is a celebrated restaurant group renowned for its diverse culinary experiences. They offer different services, including fine dining, casual pizzerias, Italian trattorias, bars, and a cocktail-lounge under the leadership of Chef Frank Bonanno. They emphasize local sourcing, design-driven environments, and preserving great dining experiences as part of Denver’s food culture, and their website allows their patrons to explore menus, discover new restaurants, and make reservations.

Services Rendered

UI/UX Design

This is the heart of our design process. We focus on creating an intuitive and logical user experience while forging a beautiful interface that they’ll love to interact with (UI).

Custom Web Design

We move beyond generic templates to create a custom look and feel, factoring in everything from colors and fonts to page layouts so that they perfectly match your brand’s personality and goals.

Responsive Design

We ensure your site looks and works beautifully regardless of the browser or device, guaranteeing a flawless experience for all your visitors, no matter how they find you.

A Bland Brand Implementation

The primary problem was a weak visual brand identity that didn’t match the vibrancy of their restaurants. The use of dull color palettes, unoptimized images, and stock icons created a poor first impression and failed to convey the group’s culinary expertise and creativity.

A Disjointed User Experience

A key challenge was the odd page setup and content that wasn’t optimized for online reading. The lack of a strategic information architecture created a confusing experience. Visitors struggled to connect with the brand’s story, leading to extremely low user engagement.

Lost Conversion Opportunities

The page had no clear cut CTAs and the only form to capture potential leads was placed at the very bottom of long pages. This problem forced interested patrons to scroll past all the content without an immediate way to take action, leading to a high-friction user journey and countless lost conversion opportunities.

The Solution

A Unified Brand Experience

We deployed a cohesive visual strategy for the Bonanno Concepts brand. We used a new, vibrant color palette, art-directed rich media, and designed custom iconography to create an intuitive and professional digital presence.

An Engaging Content Experience

We fixed the disjointed experience by completely redesigning the page layouts. We implemented a clean, custom design with a strong visual hierarchy and pictures to make the content more engaging.

An Intuitive Navigation Journey

To address the siloed feeling, we executed a plan to build a custom “sticky and smart” menu. This new navigation system provides constant access and visual cues, allowing users to effortlessly journey between the various restaurant concepts and streamlining the user flow.