Posts Tagged ‘website’

I worked on the following projects during the month of May 2009. Note: Sesame Communications contracts with me to do web designs. They handle all the client interaction.

1. Sesame Communications – Gross web design
   Dr. Gross is a small-by-design dental practice. She had an easier time saying what she didn’t like than what she liked. She wanted a site that didn’t  look crowded with text. She wanted the site to have a boutique feel and not be too flashy or sales driven. Using samples she clipped from a magazine, I was able to come up with a color scheme that appealed to her as well as present a look she could be proud of.
   
2. Ballard Plaza Pharmacy – Brochure
   Ballard Plaza Pharmacy first came to me to design their logo and develop their brand. They wanted to start incorporating their new look  in their marketing pieces. This brochure is one that will be handed out at trade shows. Using shades of the colors from their logo, I was able to make the brochure look attractive while presenting information in smaller pieces instead of whole pages of text.
   
3. AMV – RRC web design
   Renaissance Rug Company wanted a website to showcase their carpets, but didn’t want just pictures of rugs on their site. Searching through stock photos of similar rugs with people in them was a priority. They were particular about the colors to use: gold and chocolate brown. The background of the site looks like a screened version of a rug and each page has at least two large photos of people enjoying their rugs.
   
4. Sesame Communications – Schwarcz web design
   Comfort Family Dental didn’t have a logo. The doctor was specific about the colors he wanted to use as well as wanting photos of Detroit. I searched for photos and found some that were applicable, using one as a background and the others as a rotating flash banner. I also created a simple text-based logo for the practice name using blocks of color and lines to give a little more character (quick and dirty since I wasn’t being paid to design a logo).
   
5. Sesame Communications – DDA web design
   Downtown Dental Association wanted a site that used light greens and browns and had some curves to it. I included a curve in the nav and above the main content, also using gradients to give sections more definition.
   

    

   After presenting it to the client, they decided they wanted brighter greens and darker blues. They also wanted to use a photo of Mt. Rainer in the header and the navigation moved to the left.  The following is the revised design.
   

6. Adam Smith – Web design
   Adam Smith is a politician that needed his website redesigned to look more modern. He also wanted to add a blog and social media icons. The new site is better organized. The following is a screen shot of the old site.
   

    

   This is what the new site looks like:
   

7. Sesame Communications – Russell web design
   Dr. Russell is located in the Bahamas and wanted a playful site. The trick was to do this using colors that would coordinate with his logo colors of orange and purple.
   

    

   After Dr. Russell reviewed the design, he designed that he didn’t want playful and wanted more of a boutique feel. Below is the revised design.
   

8. Confidential – Wall canlendar design
   Client wanted a wall calendar that would be attractive to display and allow enough space to write in events.
   
9. Sesame Communications – Organ Web Design
   Dr. Organ wanted his website to use colors from his logo and have a spa quality to it. Since his logo has a gradient in it, I used the same colors to create a gradient background to reaffirm his brand. The rotating flash banner shows people of all ages since his clientele has a wide variety.
   
10. Sesame Communications – Israel web design
    Dr. Israel wanted to use blues and grays on his site. Since he’s near the beach, he wanted to  include something to show that relationship. In the flash banner, I used a single photo of a beach and masked several sets of people that were placed in front of the beach scene and rotated. The background also has some elements that give the appearance of being underwater.
    
11. AMV – Columbia Hospitality landing page
    Columbia Hospitality needed a landing page to announce a wine festival they were sponsoring. The logo for the event was already created and needed to be pretty big since it included the event name. the page also needed to match the branding of the Columbia Hospitality website. To give the page more interested, I located several photos of the event location and placed them across the top of content area.
    
12. Seattle Reproduction – Patient flyer
    
13. Seattle Reproduction – Rack card
    
14. Seattle Reproduction – Postcard
    
15. AMV – Northwest Environmetrics web design
    Northwest Environmetrics wanted to redesign their website to make it more modern and to better show what they did.

     

    Below is the original site:

    

    This is the new design:
    

16. Sesame Communications – Miller web design
    
17. Sesame Communications – Steiner web design take 2
    
18. Sesame Communications – Thompson web design
    
19. Sesame Communications – Hutchison web design
    
20. Pro Bono – Twitter backgrounds
    

     

    

    

    

These are projects I have been working on during the month of December.

1. Confidential Client - Logo design; website redesign
2. Camp Fire USA - Postcard Design
   
3. National VIP Service - Web design
   
4. Evans Creek - Site Redesign
   
5. Sesame Communications – Lenk web design
   
6. Martingale Publishing – Ads
   

    

   

   

7. Stritmatter – Booklet
   
8. Molly Klipp – Web design and development
   
9. Skin and Deeper – Logo design
   
10. Skin and Deeper – Business Card
    
11. Marie Cooley – Business Card
    
12. Silvaris – e-Newsletter design
    
13. Confidential client – Web design
14. Tora Dzenis – Buisness card design
    
15. Victoria Dzenis – Web design
    
16. Val Patrick – Business Card
    
17. Sesame Communications – Griffin web design revisions
    (Sarah Guilliot was the original designer)
18. New Project News – Magazine layout
    
19. Media Services – Sterling Landscaping brochure
    
20. Sesame Communications – Kossof web design
    
21. Martingale Publishing – Magazine Ad
    

These are projects I have been working on during the month of November.

1. Bob Gress: Weight Loss Coaching - Web Development
2. Val Patrick Golf – Web Development
3. Roomaker Organizing – Web Development
4. Zango Creative – Web updates for Sleep Seattle
5. Camp Fire USA – Parent Map Ad
   
6. Amy Goetz - Web Design
   
7. Sesame Communications – Isaacson Web Design
   
8. The Fitting Room – Web Redesign comp
   
9. Soundview - Brochure design/layout
   
10. Zango Creative – Greenwood Ad designs/layout
    
11. ATZ – Web banner designs
    

     

    

12. Camp Fire USA - Oversized brochure
    
13. Kairos - Business card design
    
14. Marie Cooley – The Fitting Room Web Development
15. Haute Portraiture – Brochure Design
    
16. New Project News – November magazine layout & ad design
    
17. Family Friendly Food – Banners
    
18. Resolution Coaching – Web banner
    
19. Interiers – Magazine cover design
    
20. Colo RR – Stationary Design
    
21. Les Brown – Book Cover Design
    
22. Sesame Communications – Dunbar web design
    
23. Sesame Communications – Nelson web design
    
24. Martingale Publishing – Ad design
    
25. Amy Goetz – Revised web design
    

I don’t have quite as many projects this month since I was on vacation to Thailand during the first half. Here’s what I’ve worked on the last half of the month.

1. Sesame Communications – Stevens web design
   
2. Nightingale Companies – Executive Domestic web design
   
3. Sesame Communications – Brentwood Pediatric Dentistry web design
   

With the start of the new year and resolutions, think about your tired website. When was it last updated? Could it attract more traffic to increase business?

I do a lot of shopping online (both for products and services) and here is what I look at as I’m viewing the site:

• Does the site convey trust? If the site looks thrown-together or amateur, I wonder where else the company or person has cut corners. Will they process my order in a timely manner? Will they safeguard my credit card information? If the site doesn’t look professional, I move on.
• Is the site easy to navigate? It drives me crazy when the navigation on the home page is so long that I have to scroll and scroll to find the category I want. The best sites have main topics in the main navigation with subtopics listed in a drop-down/flyout or as a secondary topic on the main topic’s page. Large sites should also include a site map to make it easier to find what you need.
• Does the home page give me information or sensory overload? Another pet peeve of mine is the home page that tries to put all the information on one page instead of breaking it up logically. It usually results in page scroll hell: the kind that just seems to go on and on and on. I immediately leave these sites. You may have the greatest product or service in the world, but if I have to scroll forever to find it, you have just lost my business. A good site’s home page will give only enough info to grab the viewer’s attention and make them want to see more! A good site will also have “white space” to rest the eyes. Besides a good web design, I highly recommend that you hire a writer who will help you write compelling copy that will entice viewers. If you need to use animated banners or flash modules on your site, it’s advisable to have a maximum of three loops; more than that and it starts to become distracting and viewers may miss important information. If you have audio, please—I beg you—have an on/off button! And if you use animated gifs, watch the flashing text/lights…if it really bugs my eyes, imagine what it does to someone with epilepsy!
• Is important information at the top of the page? I’ve come across quite a few sites that locate their search feature at the bottom of a very long page. Not only do I have to scroll forever to get to it, but it’s easy to miss this feature if it’s at the bottom. Another good idea is the ability to view a shopping cart at the top of the page if the site is selling a product. Contact information is another feature I like to see at the top of the page, especially if it’s for a service and I want to contact the company or person to get information about my particular need.
• Are your site colors appealing? The right color combinations make your site more appealing to the eye…which in turn keeps viewers coming back instead of fleeing in terror. You also want good contrast between large blocks of text and background colors. You don’t want viewers to get eye strain and give up looking at your products or services! One of my biggest pet peeves is the use of color…specifically colored patterns. Trying to read text against a colored-pattern background makes my eyes cross.
• Can you be found in the major search engines? Many sites lack structure and/or code that makes them friendly to web crawlers (the main way search engines find new sites). If you can’t be indexed by the search engines, you’re losing business! Sure, everyone wants to be at the top of the search results…but it’s hard to get to that point. By using some key techniques, you can at least be in the first couple of pages.

These are just a few things to think of when evaluating your website for the new year. If your website could use an update in any of these areas, I can help! Just visit www.lolaludesign.com and complete the information request on the contact page to get started.

These are projects I have worked on during the month of June 2010:

1. Sesame 24×7 – Jorgensen web design
   
2. Sesame 24×7 – Pelusa web design
   
3. Sesame 24×7 – Theisen web design
   This one was quite a challenge. The client insisted on the red to purple nav area and the fall trees in the header photo. They also wanted a light “yellow” background and a polaroid picture for the main photo. Somehow, in spite of their crazy demands, I made it work.
   
4. David Drake – The Yak Book cover design & sales flier
   
5. Rachel Whalley – Twitter background design
   
6. Sesame 24×7 – Lin web design
   
7. Sesame 24×7 – Mann web design
   Client wanted a southern “homey” site
   
8. New Project News – BBH ads design
   
9. Sesame 24×7 – Olsen web design
   
10. Sesame 24×7 – Sink web design
    
11. Entertonement – The Exorcist web design & player design
    

    

12. Ballard Food Bank – Pro bono brochure design
    
13. Dave Kuhns – Business card design
    
14. Balanced Rock Healing – Logo design; business card, letterhead & envelope design