Part 3 of this series (just recapping all the projects we've completed over the past couple months!) talks about the work done for My Docs Online, a secure online file transfer service that's been a success since 1999. Huddy Design created the new logo, redesigned the website, and developed a custom Flash Banner for the new My Docs Online home page.
Steve Campbell, co-founder of My Docs Online, contacted me a while back about a complete redesign of their company identity. As usual, I started with the logo (You can check out the logo redesign process here) and shortly after, moved on to redesigning the website. I'll never forget one of Steve's first comments to me about the original website design: "We don't think our website is old school, we KNOW it's old school!" too funny. TRUE at the time, but funny. ;) So, I knew my plan of action was clear: carefully redesign their website without shocking long-time clients by the completely updated look. Incorporate a modern feel to match the new logo, implementing current trends in web design to reflect their place in the market as a top competitor- bringing modernism and their long-lasting reputation together.
The old My Docs Online logo:
The NEW My Docs Online logo:
So, I got to work on the new design. I knew right away that I wanted to use a custom Flash Banner for the home page, and I'm so Glad Steve was on the same page from the start. They're a huge trend right now for a reason: Flash banners are AWESOME for getting a lot of information across without making people feel overwhelmed, and they can be used to help present the company's biggest selling points in an entertaining and effective fashion, when designed in a sort of tabbed format. And since Flash also gives developers the flexibility to build interactivity into any Flash component, this also gives users the ability to control which points they want to see and when (if developed effectively, of course). This makes any website even more user-friendly because it's just fun and more intriguing! So professional stock photography, catchy taglines for each selling point, and custom controls (pause/play, skip to a slide) and transitions all came into play for this project.
The home page design, incorporating the current trend of using a Flash Banner to communicate the company's best selling points:
concept 1a
concept 1b
concept 2a
concept 2b
Once Steve and his team decided on the new look, I got to work on the development phase of the Flash component. Aside from developing the visuals, I also wanted to build it in a way that the client could easily update himself; an XML file was developed and utilized to accomplish this part of the task, which included the amount of time each slide was displayed, image paths to read in, and all titles and captions to be displayed. So all of these are now accessible to the Client for easy updates to the content the Flash Banner displays... Images, titles, captions, timing of each slide- it’s all there for him to update whenever he wants to. A great time-saver for both of us, and ultimately, a huge money saver for him to be able to make changes himself!
the final design, live on the all-new My Docs Online website:
See the Flash Banner and the rest of the new design in action at www.mydocsonline.com and read what Steve has to say about the new look here, on the MDO blog. (Thanks for the shout out!)
Steve and the rest of the My Docs Online team were so easy to work with, it was awesome. Thanks to them for the opportunity!!! Best of luck with the new look. :)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Taking Care of Business! part 2: STORE-IT
Soon after the re-design and development of Hudson Shuffleboards wrapped up, Huddy Design signed on Charlie Koeller, Founder and President of Store-It, a large scale storage facility company based in Montana. Store-It was started to give owners of boats, RVs and other large modes of transportation, a place to keep them. Store-It also provides general storage containers as well for everyday storage needs. Given its location (Montana, right by Flathead Lake) and lack of other storage options in the area, Charlie has come up with such a smart, practical solution for a company if you ask me! The only problem he really had was his website. It had no SEO techniques incorporated, which meant the only business he was getting was by word of mouth. And the layout design was.... well, let's just say Charlie and I agreed, a major facelift was past due!! :)
Before:
If you're a graphic/web designer, I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was to completely transform his web presence. :) With Charlie's goal in mind (to keep things as simple and clean as possible), I got to work. We definitely utilized the awesome work of his photographer in the extremely minimalist design of his new website, and kept the overall tone of the design as professional and straight-forward as possible.
The result of which is this 3-page, elastic layout (content scales automatically to fit the size of the user's browser):
To see the Store-It website in action, visit www.Store-It.us.com
All the best to Charlie and the Store-It crew! Pleasure to work with you guys. :)
Before:
If you're a graphic/web designer, I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was to completely transform his web presence. :) With Charlie's goal in mind (to keep things as simple and clean as possible), I got to work. We definitely utilized the awesome work of his photographer in the extremely minimalist design of his new website, and kept the overall tone of the design as professional and straight-forward as possible.
The result of which is this 3-page, elastic layout (content scales automatically to fit the size of the user's browser):
To see the Store-It website in action, visit www.Store-It.us.com
All the best to Charlie and the Store-It crew! Pleasure to work with you guys. :)
Labels:
Graphic Design,
New Client Welcome,
Web Design,
Web Development,
Work
Taking Care of Business! part 1: HUDSON SHUFFLEBOARDS
A LOT has been going on for Huddy Design since July 15th, let me tell you. :) All great things, and I am so grateful for that. I'm hoping to do a more detailed review on some of these projects in the future, but I just want to do a quick recap for now... short and sweet!
First up: HUDSON SHUFFLEBOARDS; ECOMMERCE WEBSITE RE-DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT (V2)
As you may know, Hudson Shuffleboards is run by my brother, Will Hudson. Within just a few short years, Will has taken over the shuffleboard market and his boards are now a top commodity to some of the biggest dealers in the market, even Amazon! His tagline is "Quality Shuffleboards at an Unbeatable Price" and his target market is just about anyone who wants to have a good time. :)
So, when Will asked me to take on the redesign and development, I kept all that in mind; "Design something that reflects quality above the competitors, unbeatable but fair and respectable prices, and incorporate an easy-going and entertained lifestyle... something that people of all ages would want to be a part of."
As always, a handful of other specs came into play which I might review sometime later. I'll just say that the main goal of this project, along with incorporating the overall feel I just talked about, was converting Version 1 of the site from being in 90% Flash, into a completely more optimized layout- one that was also a lot easier and just more accessible for Client updates and faster user-navigation.
Before:
After:
Like any piece of art- no matter its form- this project will never be completely done as there are a few items we'd like to enhance a little more. But so far, the response has been great for Will. Which makes me happy too! :)
You can check out the rest of Will's site at www.HudsonShuffleboards.com
Next up: STORE-IT; WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
First up: HUDSON SHUFFLEBOARDS; ECOMMERCE WEBSITE RE-DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT (V2)
As you may know, Hudson Shuffleboards is run by my brother, Will Hudson. Within just a few short years, Will has taken over the shuffleboard market and his boards are now a top commodity to some of the biggest dealers in the market, even Amazon! His tagline is "Quality Shuffleboards at an Unbeatable Price" and his target market is just about anyone who wants to have a good time. :)
So, when Will asked me to take on the redesign and development, I kept all that in mind; "Design something that reflects quality above the competitors, unbeatable but fair and respectable prices, and incorporate an easy-going and entertained lifestyle... something that people of all ages would want to be a part of."
As always, a handful of other specs came into play which I might review sometime later. I'll just say that the main goal of this project, along with incorporating the overall feel I just talked about, was converting Version 1 of the site from being in 90% Flash, into a completely more optimized layout- one that was also a lot easier and just more accessible for Client updates and faster user-navigation.
Before:
After:
Like any piece of art- no matter its form- this project will never be completely done as there are a few items we'd like to enhance a little more. But so far, the response has been great for Will. Which makes me happy too! :)
You can check out the rest of Will's site at www.HudsonShuffleboards.com
Next up: STORE-IT; WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Labels:
eCommerce,
Flash Web Design,
Graphic Design,
Web Development,
Work
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