Getting Caught in the Web of Technologies
September 8, 2008 by Duncan · Leave a Comment
Well the redesigned site has been up for a week now and I have been looking through and comparing the old site statistics and have been pretty impressed with the amount of unique visitors and the length of time they have been staying on the Free Lance site.
The last five Digital Deceptions sites have either been full Flash sites or hybrids (using both Flash and HTML) which as with most technologies have their pros and cons.
Back in early 2000 when I was in college Flash was quite new and everyone wanted to use it. I’m sure you all remember those huge Flash intros; you could literally wait a couple of minutes just to see a company’s logo spin and they probably paid a fortune for it as well.
After finishing school and coming from a multimedia program I naturally used Flash to create most of my websites. I would be lying if I said that Flash wasn’t always my first choice because I definitely felt more comfortable with it as opposed to other web platforms, but if a clients website didn’t need to be animated, flashy (for lack of a better word), contain music, video or their target audience was much older I used Flash very sparingly if at all.
Most of the work I did was a reflection of my own website Digital Deceptions, clients would say “I loved what you did on this or that project” and usually to achieve what they wanted the only option was Flash, that’s why they came to me. So I guess what has made me stand out from the crowd has also kind of painted me into a corner in some respects.
To Flash or Not to Flash
I have never liked being pinned down or labeled a one trick pony and to me being the go to Flash guy was just that. Way back in college one of my teachers noticed I started all of my designs on a black background and he told me to get out of that kind of habit right away and use colours that I am not comfortable with or he would choose the colour palette for me which happened to be one of the final assignments that I already had plenty of practice at.
So once again I have come out of my comfort zone by making the latest Digital Deceptions website The Free Lance which is PHP and database driven. Just because it much more search engine friendly the traffic to my site has almost tripled and the average time visitors stay on the site has multiplied tenfold which is one of the major goals I wanted to accomplish with the latest build.
Don’t get me wrong I still love to use Flash and I’m very aware of its uses both good and bad believing it has a time and a place in certain projects, for instance I have used it for the search box in my website because I could customize the look of it much more closely to resemble the look and feel of the site’s design.
Is the Medium the Message?
In the end as with any project it is about the message and the information you are trying to get across to your audience, whatever technologies you use are just tools to support those ideas and shouldn’t in any way dictate anything different.
Being your own boss we as freelance designers sometimes get caught up in all these technologies and get lost forgetting the fundamentals, so as with any business model it is a good idea to evaluate your game plan. It is also a good idea to reevaluate your skills, equipment, what technologies you use and make any necessary adjustments before they become major changes.
Unique Auto Tinting Website
September 4, 2008 by Duncan · Leave a Comment
Unique Auto Tinting Website
Unique Auto Tinting is the first website I have done in the automotive industry and I have actually been dying to go into that direction ever since first playing Grand Theft Auto III…lol. So the idea behind this one was simple, “what if a tinting shop in GTA had a website?”
The client showed me a couple of websites from his local competitors and we took a look at what they did right and where they went wrong, what the client was really looking to do was make his competition’s websites look dated and leave them in the dust.
The website is Flash based due to some decent sized animations; some highlights of the site include an XML image gallery, custom map and Tint Simulator. Unlike the client’s competition he was very pleased with the gritty and aggressive look and feel of his new site.
Visit their website
Pumpkin Patch Play Centre Website
September 4, 2008 by Duncan · Leave a Comment
Pumpkin Patch Play Centre Website
When possible I like to go onsite not only to meet a client face to face but to also see where they do business and how I can incorporate what I see around them into their web design. Every now and then you get lucky and get to go places that aren’t just office rooms and cubicles and Pumpkin Patch Play Centre nothing like that.
Once again I was very fortunate to work with someone who believed in me and let me put a lot of creativity into the project. The website has gotten a lot of attention because of how unique it looks and how easily childlike it is to use.
From the start it was going to be quite interactive so flash was chosen has the medium, it has an XML image gallery and a neat little chalkboard navigation system as well as a few other little hidden animations.
Website is now offline but you can still visit it here.
CFACS Website
September 4, 2008 by Duncan · Leave a Comment
Commercial Finance Auditing & Consulting Services, Inc. Website
Commercial Finance Auditing & Consulting Services, Inc. (CFACS) is a perfect example of how diverse my clientele can be.
First off they are an American business where I usually do work for Canadian companies; they wanted a very clean and corporate almost minimal look which is usually the opposite of what I strive for.
It was very difficult not to throw some bells and whistles into this project but it was against the client’s wishes and I’m always up for a challenge. Sometimes you have to come out of my comfort zone every so often; I think it makes you a better designer by using skills you otherwise my not normally use.
Visit their website
Dubé Hair Website
September 4, 2008 by Duncan · Leave a Comment
Dubé Hair Website
The Dubé Hair project was another one of those awesome jobs, the owner Donn Dubé put a lot of trust in me and gave me much more creative control than what I am use to so I ran with it.
His shop has a really friendly laid back atmosphere to it and I thought we really needed to get that across on his website. You could easily see the staff enjoyed each other’s company because they were always having fun and joking around so I think that had to show in the site as well.
Donn’s only requirements were that he wanted random styling tips to load on each page, a music player and I had to incorporate a certain time piece into the design, he is a obsessed with watches…lol.
I managed to include all his wishes into the design and was even able to program the watch to work and display the actual time on the users screen. He was really happy with the final product and I enjoyed working with him and his staff at Dubé Hair.
Visit their website
