[Project Complete] Due Mar 5th - Fun, simple surfing website redesign - $500

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Admin code added by Abby - 1HG61928C4218303B

1a) Name of Company
FunSurfAlert.com

1b) Company Tag Line or slogan
Never miss a swell again!

1c) Do you have a company logo?
No, this company is only on the web, so just do up a stylized text logo to match the site.

1d) Do you have a corporate visual identity (a customized (non stock) logo and color scheme carried out throughout your office, stationery, business cards, etc.)?
Just the color orange. See the site for the exact orange.

1e) What is the nature of your business? Briefly describe your products or services.
We send out text alerts to surfers when the surf's up!

1f) Who is your target market? Who are you hoping to reach with your site?
Target market is surfers ages 12-85. The majority will be ages 16-26

Website Details

1b) Do you have an existing website? If so, what is the URL?
http://funsurfalert.com

2b) IMPORTANT: Please list at least 3 URLs (web addresses) of high quality sites that you like the look of (these do not have to be sites who’s business is similar to yours. It aids us in determining what your design style is.) Please consider layout, colors, navigation, graphics, and typography.
1. http://mochikit.com/
2. http://surfingthemag.com/
3. http://dropsend.com/
4. http://fluxiom.com/
5. http://box.net/

3b) What colors or color schemes would you like?
black/charcoal and orange, maybe some "ocean blue"

4b) List the Navigation links for your Site.
1. Find Your Beach (should be a dropdown box where I can add links to pages for each individual beach...it's in list format now and it's too long)
2. Add your Beach - should just be a for with a place for the beach name and a place for their email, and a submit button.
3. Q & A
4. Contact Us


5b) What type of look are you trying to achieve? (e.g. clean, high-tech, conservative, warm, flashy, etc.)
Clean, but very modern, young, surfer feel.

6b) Please provide the addresses of competitors' sites, if possible.
There are no major competitors.

7b) Do you have any images for use in the design of your site? If not, do you have images, can you offer suggestions of what you type of imagery you feel would be most suitable for your website:
No images, but photos of surfing would be fine. I really like illustrations for this purpose, too (see the current header on our site)

Deadlines and Deliverables

1c) What is the deadline for the design of your project?
March 5th

2c) What is required breakdown of the files you require our designers to supply you with on finalization of your project?
I need a home page ready for me to put online and an inside page that I can make into local beach pages, the q & a page, and the contact page. IMPORTANT: On the inside page, there should be a specific place I can embed my subscription widget. This is what the embed code looks like:


<(SAMPLE)embed src="http://flash.textmarks.com/flash/widgets-01/desc-sub-01.swf?v=2.13d-BETA" flashvars="tm=FUNSURFALERT10&Tint1Col=f06224&Tint1Pct=100" quality="high" bgcolor="#ffffff" wmode="transparent" width="150" height="230" align="middle" name="TM-Flash-Widget" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" />

Every beach page (inside page) has a different code, but the size and color of the embedded widget is always the same. I need the inside pages to have a dedicated space for this!




Are there any other comments/specific ideas we should keep in mind while designing your project?
Make it fun!!!

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Does anyone have any questions about this? Please let me know if you are interested and if you have any questions.

[Fabian]

Hey

Hope you like this take on your project. All photos used are personnel shots taken by me on a good day at little spot hidden on a little island of the WA coast.

Great day, except for the reef rash I scored on a bad drop :)

Cheers
Fabian

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Fabian:

Great start... it has all the elements I'm looking for, and I think I like the way it's laid out.

As for the overall look, keep in mind that a large part of the audience will be teens. I'm looking for some more "hard-hitting" fonts and graphics. I'm not sure how to explain it, I hope you understand!

I'd like to see the site in black instead of white... see these sites for example of the dark colors with reverse text:

surfingthemag.com
mtv.com

Also, when you're on surfingthemag.com check out the ad link for nike6... I'm not interested in the flash aspect, but I like the gritty feel of the illustrations and type styles.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Fabian]

v2

Added a little edge to it, a bit of grunge and some disjointed typography :cool:

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Definitely liking the look better.

I like the direction we're going with the fonts but I don't like those particular fonts. Can I see some different options?

I like the quality of the photos but I'm looking for something, again, a little more in your face, like a close up of a surfer smacking the lip (that's when you see a surfer at the top of the wave with spray flying up, for others who may be reading this who don't surf) or heavy barrels.

The header is a little plain. I know we don't want crazy fonts everywhere, so we can stick with that style, but can we make it look less "flat"?

Finally, the main focal point of the page should be the "find your beach" area. As it is now with the circles, it kind of draws my eye to the price... and people might look at the page and wonder "what do I do next?" I want to guide them naturally to the "find your beach" section, which is the next step in signing up.

Please let me know if you have any questions.


Also, if anyone else is working on this, please let me know. Fabian's is looking good, but one of the reasons I use designoutpost.com is to get designs from a few different perspectives.

Thanks, it's going great!

[Zoe]

Hi there,

I have made a start, but before I go any further I wanted to see what you thought so far.

[NobodyYouKnow1]

demex,

I really like it. Gritty, but still clear. Here's my thoughts:

Starting at the top, the header, funsurfalert, let's try FunSurfAlert.com.

Let's remove "sign-up" from the top right.

Where the photo on the right is now, we need two crucial items... "sign up now...click on you beach below!" with a drop down box of beaches.

then... "Don't see your beach? let us know and we'll add it!" with a form with spots for the beach name and email address, and "send" button.

Then at the bottom let's see a big action photo of a surfer that runs the length of the page under all the text.

Obviously from the detailed changes you can tell I like the overall concept. I'd like to see what it looks like with the details added in.

Thanks! Keep 'em coming!

[NobodyYouKnow1]

I wanted everyone to see what I meant by action shots:

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/nature/elements/water/1358911_backlit_surfer.php?id=1358911

The photos you use should make you feel like you're right there, they should feel very exciting to a surfer.

[Zoe]

That's great feedback. Thanks. I will get back to it. :)

Thanks to the link of the photo. Really helps us non surfers. Although living on the Sunshine coast in Sunny Brisbane Australia I really should take up surfing. :)

[Zoe]

here are the changes. The photos at the bottom can be changed to any photos you select should you decide to chose this design.

[Fabian]

Revised mine a little :)

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Demex. I'm liking it. Do you have any ideas for the inside page?


Fabian: I'm not sure what's keeping me from loving this, but something's just not sitting well. I think maybe the look is just a little "flat"...??? Does that make sense? Can you sahke it up a bit and see what we come up with?


Also looking for anyone else to jump in, I like seeing several options! Thanks! Looking good!

[Fabian]

Ok one last shot at this,my aim is to capture a more extreme sports hardcore image that is in with the grommys and x generation :cool:

[Zoe]

Thanks. Here is an idea for the inside page.

Images of course can be easily changed at a later stage. :)

[Trifolic]

I'm working on something for you.

[Anne]

"EDIT"

[Anne]

Here is my design

Anne

[Anne]

and

[Severner]

Hey,

You can expect something from me in a few days if not sooner.


Thanks very much,

Sev (:

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Fabian: Just not feeling the overall design at this point. Not sure what to say, I hate that I don't know how to give you more direction, I just don't. It's good, just not exactly what I'm looking for. Any other ideas?


Demex: I like the inside page, but I would like some room for a few text Questions, like those that are on the inside pages at funsurfalert.com now.


Anne: I like the first design with the sign-up area in orange. It draws your eyes to the sign-up area better. Ideas for the inside?

[Anne]

Thank you for the feedback. I'll make the inside page later today.

Anne

[Anne]

It seems that your site is down and I need to see the inside page.

Anne

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Try it now. It's up for me.

[Anne]

Here are 3 versions of the inner page

Anne

[Severner]

Hello,

Here is my entry;

Let me know what you think?

[Fabian]

Ok,that design has gone in the trash.

I'll be posting something new on the weekend.

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Severner: This is really interesting, can I see an inside design?

[Zoe]

Thank you for the feedback. I can't believe I didn't look at your inside page! I grabbed the code for the flash insertion and that was it!

I will make some revisions tonight or first thing tomorrow. :)

Thanks

Zoe

[Severner]

How is this for the inside page?

[Fabian]

Homepage :)

[Fabian]

inside page :)

[Zoe]

Sorry for the delay. :)

[Fabian]

v2 inside :)

[NobodyYouKnow1]

OK, today's the day. I have one tweak I would like to see then I'll make a final decision.

Severner: The header looks a little too, um, feminine? The text for FunSurfAlert.com and the fish are a little too soft. Can you show me a different option? Not too crazy, just maybe a stronger image. Thanks!

[Severner]

Hey,

I will have this update for you tonight.


Thanks very much,

Sev (:

[Severner]

Here is one option;

[Severner]

Also;

[Severner]

Another;

[NobodyYouKnow1]

Severner: I actually like the original one best still. We're getting colder, I think. Can we use the same header but instead of prints of fish can it be a wave?

Also, the font is still not right. Message 37 is in the right direction, but the color needs to match the orange from the sign-up widget, and the font needs to be a little grittier. Maybe a tad smaller.

If we can get this right I think we'll have made our decision.

[Severner]

Hey,

Blended a photograph of a wave into the header.

Let me know what you think?

[NobodyYouKnow1]

That's it! The one with the outlined title.

We have a winner! Sincerest thanks to everyone who worked so hard at this! I'm actually starting a new contest for a different website later today, and I'd love to see everyone involved, you are all very talented and it was very hard to decide!

Severner, please let me know how to get the files and all.

Thanks again!

[Severner]

Fantastic, I have sent you a Private Message. (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/private.php?)


Thanks very much,

Sev (:

[Severner]

Files and message sent through Private Message. (http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/private.php?)

As stated in the message if you think anything is wrong, missing or just need assistance please contact me via private message.


Thank you.

Warm regards,

Sev (: