I’ll be honest. Writing about yourself is hard, and it can often feel like bragging. It is tough to find the balance between sounding credible and sounding human. And as architecture and design firms are focused so much on the creation, their About pages tend to sound generic, overly technical, or uninspiring.
They use words like ‘design excellence’ and ‘innovative solutions’ when people actually care about the story behind the work.
Your About page is often one of the most visited pages of your website. Therefore, if your target is to attract clients or new talent, this needs to showcase your practice as a living, breathing, humanised entity — as opposed to a committee of robots!
Here are five ideas on how to turn your About page into a compelling, client-winning asset.
1.Tell a Story, Not Just a Resume
Your clients aren’t looking for a company profile. They’re looking for you — Your story.
Instead of, “Founded in 1990, X architects specialise in residential design”
Share an engaging story:
“It started with a sketch on the back of an empty cereal box in our cramped student apartment, and a dream to create better living standards. In 2005, David and Anne left their corporate firms to launch X Architects to realise this dream and create both spacious and beautifully crafted homes.”
2. Showcase Personality
People buy from people — not firms.
Your content needs to reflect you and your team as living, breathing humans. Bring your personality into it, and use an inviting and professional tone. A touch of humour wouldn’t go astray, particularly on team bios.
“Anita had a penchant for drawing fish on her mother’s kitchen walls, and now she designs state-of-the-art leisure centres with competition-style swimming pools — the fish are not included!”
3. Highlight values Over Awards
Who doesn’t love external validation? And awards are great, but it is your values that make you a trustworthy firm to work with.
Why does your work matter? For example, instead of just listing your awards, weave in your values that helped you get the recognition you deserved.
“We believe affordable housing should look as good as luxury condos.”
4. Use Client-Centric Language
Look at your current About page. Count how many times you say “we” vs. “you.” Flip the script.
For example, instead of “We are proud to be an employee-owned practice, where every team member is personally invested in the success of each project.”
Why not say, “As a client, you benefit from our employee-owned structure—every team member is personally invested in delivering the success your project deserves.”
5. Make it visually engaging
Now, I know this goes without saying. And most architecture firms have stunning imagery to showcase their projects. However, think about including a curated selection of photos, utilise the layout, and make it interactive to bring your page to life.
Why not break your text into short sections with bold headings.
Perhaps use a pull quote or two or icons to highlight key ideas.
Add a short video — a quick office tour, a founder interview or a time-lapse build.
If you like this post, why not read The dreaded blank page: How to overcome writer’s block.
Need help writing it?
I offer rewrites of About pages tailored for architecture firms.