Webforumz Newsletter - November 2007
WOTM Interview
WOTM Winner
Congratulations to The Matt. and his website www.repertoire-2007.co.uk on winning the Website of the Month competition for November.
What does it take to create that winning formula? We spoke to this months winner, The Matt. to find out what went into designing and developing his site.
What was your inspiration for the design?
My inspiration for the design was based upon the idea of making the website look like a rustic portfolio folder/yearbook to illustrate that the site was about the student's end of year exhibition. I have a bit of a thing for scruffy, dishevelled looking workspaces being incorporated into design.
Which section was trickiest to code?
Not coding as such, but just having to fiddle about with the open-source Actionscript for the page flipping animations and interactivity so that I could get movie clips such as the contact form working on the pages and the tab navigation correctly loading pages. However, the most time consuming flash element was making the introduction animation with the hardback cover turning over as it was all key-framed.
What was the brief for this project?
The MA arts practices students at Hertforshire University just wanted a place online where they could promote the exhibition with details about the show and with their artist statements. Also the site was intended to be a place where those who couldn't make it would eventually be able to see pictures of the work (I'm getting round to it haha).
How long did the development process take?
As the project was on quite a tight deadline because the site obviously needed to be online before the exhibition, it wasn't long at all. I did the design of the website, print material and created the flash over a couple of weekends.
How did you decide which technologies to use for this site?
Because it was only going to be a small site with minimal content, with SEO not being a priority I thought it would be quite fun creating a funky flash site that followed on from the portfolio folder/yearbook inspiration for the design. I'd used the page flipping Actionscript previously on my final year student project (the BIMA nominated Dead On Arrival – Interactive Comic) which I felt would perfectly fit with this concept.
How long have you been designing websites?
At a professional level using XHTML, CSS and Flash for only about 3 or 4 years, after commencing an undergraduate degree in Interactive Media.
What programs do you use?
Illustrator, Photoshop, 3D Max, Maya for design and then Flash and Dreamweaver for developing/coding the websites.
How do you see websites evolving over the next 10 years?
That's an interesting question. With speed being less and less of an issue, I would like to see more video, sound and useful application content, AJAX driven features such as Google map etc evolving with more user generated content, and websites becoming even more interactive. (although not just for the sake of it). I can also see user and community driven content continuing from strength to strength.
What are the next steps for this site?
As I said, I will be putting up galleries of the exhibited work and as the students will be holding this exhibition again, it will be used to promote the next show.
What is your favourite element of the site?
Although I am happy with the navigation and the page turning animations, I think my favourite element would have to the actual design of the portfolio/yearbook including the texture designs, typography (particularly how well the label style font works) and the colours.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I take a lot of my inspiration from seeing what other designers are getting up to. That means regularly checking out the FWA, checking out the BIMAs and the IMAs winners, flicking through DeviantArt regularly, reading various books that showcase web designs (Web Design Index 7 is a good one), checking out others' sites on web design critique forums (such as WebForumz ), and keeping an eye on various CSS beauty/award sites. My work colleagues and I have a folder called "Best of the Web" where we keep screenshots of all our favourite sites and occasionally scans from great print designs/branding.
What is your top tip for developing a website?
Be objective and listen to other people's criticisms and comments when designing. Occasionally a client will love the things you're not that keen on and will want to discard something you love about the design, therefore it is important to never be too precious about a design
What have you got planned for the future?
I'm currently working alongside some very talented designers and developers at London based digital agency Cyber-Duck, so I hope to learn a thing or two from them. I'm making it my resolution to improve my 3D design and animation skills in particular. In the short term I'm hoping my short listed final year student project can win a coveted BIMA award next month which would make all the work that went into it all the more worthwhile.
The Matt.'s site can be found at: www.repertoire-2007.co.uk.
Do you have the winning formula?
Why not enter your own site for Website of the Month, and next month we could be featuring you and your site!
