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View Full Version : [ProjectClosed]Due Jan 6th - Redesign of NDesigns.net - $450


Liz
12-18-2006, 11:15 AM
Admin code added by Abby - 03815097EL307214M


Just as a note - I have extended the due date on this for obvious reasons. We are looking to get some (any) entries and want to give folks a chance to recover from the holidays. Thanks!


Hi Folks...

Last year we worked through here to get a redesign done for our company website ndesigns.net. We were very happy with the quality at the time, but we've grown since then and need a new design that reflects that growth.

To be redesigned
home page and 1 sub page

Deliverables
PSDs and coded HTML templates. CSS/div layouts please, no tables.

Attached
logos and other assorted promotional materials we have.

Technical Notes
Additionally, on a more technical note, the heavy usage of inline frames and limited horizontal layout has provided some challenges that we'd like to remove. We're not looking for a fluid design, but it should be able to grow vertically as needed.

General Info
NDesigns is a multi-faceted company with three core service areas: Screen Printing, Vinyl Graphics, and Ad Specialty. We need to redevelop our existing site (www.ndesigns.net) to better present and focus on each of these markets. We're a hip, young company that has clients include record labels, clothing lines, churches, schools and corporations. It's important that our site can appeal to all these markets.

Navigation break-down:

[General Navigation]
About us, Contact Us, Client List, Testimonials, Live Help, Specials

[Screen Printing]
Subsections need to include:
Screen Printing, Creative Services, Art Submission, Bitmap vs Vector, Gallery, Vendors, Contract Printing

[Vinyl Graphics and Signs]
Subsections need to include:
Vinyl Graphics, Banners, Gallery

[Ad Specialty]
Subsections need to Include
Ad Specialty, Products, FAQ

We would prefer to structure the navigation much the way it is now, in terms of the primary navigation only including links to the 3 core sections. We would like to find a way to provide greater visual differentiation of these 3 sections.

Other Notes:

- There should be a place on every page to display a rotating testimonial from customers, as there is now.
- We need to focus on providing more content on our site, so please avoid things like: frames, scrolling divs, layouts that are vertically constricted.
- Color scheme: We'd prefer to stick with what we have now, dark purples, golds, and greys but are open to change if you can make it work and look good.

Sites for inspiration:

http://www.uthstuph.com/ This is an example of another company who is split between a few different markets. We like the way that it’s very easy to get to each different part of the company and the way that each section has the same layout, but a different color scheme. This is a great example of how we’d like position ourselves.

http://www.bakermedia.com/ Another example of a site that has 3 core focuses. We like the presentation of the 3 on the main page, but the sense of separation is lost on the sub pages.

http://www.churchartworks.com/ We like the graphic nature of this site, and the way they present the various options on the home page. Our market is broader, so we have to be careful about having a look that is only appropriate for one industry. This site is a little too hip.

http://www.nativesons.com/ graphically, this is our favorite, especially the home page. We love the rich graphics, the slightly distressed look and the sense of play.

http://altoids.com/ Love the colors, the way the subtle graphics at the bottom have been used to highlight different areas... I can see something similar to that incorporated into our home page to link to other areas of our site. The design is too graphic intensive for our needs though, as our site has more text to present.

Deadline and other info

Please let me know if you have any questions. Deadline for this project is Jan 6 but I would like to have initial entries in as soon as possible to choose a few favorites and have time to work with designers to tweak their layouts.

Liz
12-27-2006, 03:24 PM
Can I get an idea of how many people will be submitting a design?

Thanks!
Liz

V + E + R + T
01-01-2007, 06:54 PM
Hi Liz, I'll be submitting an entry soon. :)

V + E + R + T
01-01-2007, 10:33 PM
Liz, can you please attach a vector-format version of your logo, thanks. :)

Liz
01-02-2007, 07:05 AM
Liz, can you please attach a vector-format version of your logo, thanks. :)

VERT,

The attached .eps file contains the logo we'd like to use on the site.

Thanks!
Liz.

mbleigh
01-10-2007, 05:53 AM
Here's something I've been working on.

Liz
01-11-2007, 07:20 AM
mbleigh,

Thanks for the entry! I really appreciate your time in putting something together for us.

Here are my initial thoughts (just two big issues) -

... for some reason the design strikes me as big and blocky. Obviously it literally is blocky, but it also just feels weighted and seems like it's missing nuance and detail.

... I'm concerned about trying to cram ALL the sub-navigation into a single relatively small space. We're looking for a design that will grow with us. What if we add another primary service or more subpages? It's too much text all at one time.

Hopefully these will help you revise and give everyone a better idea of what we're looking for.

Once again, I really appreciate your time and efforts. :D

Luc
01-12-2007, 06:18 AM
Hi Liz,Here's my entry. Please advice if I'm on the right direction, specially on the homepage contents.

Luc
01-12-2007, 06:23 AM
Smaller..

Liz
01-15-2007, 10:48 AM
Hi Luc, thanks for the post, I appreciate you tossing your hat into the ring :)

Unfortunately... as much as I love the basic design, I think its a little too close to what we have already.

Also, the comment was made that although we want to stay a "fun" company, we also want to be able to successfully market to corporate and large business. I'm not sure this is serious enough to do that.

Hopefully that helps, thanks :)

Luc
01-15-2007, 04:27 PM
Thanks for your honest feedback. I wasn't sure of my entry either. But I wanna know, are these all the contents you will have in the homepage? Screen printing, vinyl, ad specialties, testimonials. Please advice me if there are more to add or remove so I can plan another layout.

Liz
01-16-2007, 09:26 AM
Thanks Luc -

We probably want to go with a layout that has more vertical space...

We'll want to populate the main page with more specials, promo info, about us text etc.

Suggestions (some or all of these can be used/ignored) -

Possibly use a sidebar to allow for the vast amount of subpages we have.

Condense the main three sections to smaller areas up top, ie:

[ logo and header area ]
[ navigation ]
[ screen ] [emb] [signs]
.
.
.
.
lots of additional content area here
Maybe a sidebar for expanded nav
.
.
.
.
.

Not sure if it really helps, but here's the newsletter design I've come up with to use for right now, it may give you idea of the brand we're trying to develop: http://ndesigns.net/newsletters/010807/

abby
01-19-2007, 08:52 AM
Project Update: This project has been closed and a refund will be processed. Thank you to the Designers that gave this project a shot.