HarborHost.com Template $150 Prize

[Matt Ward]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 71654J)

HarborHost.com is a new Hosting Company (one of the many) that will be providing low cost, high storage/bandwidth to customers.

I need a template, but do not currently have a logo. Please feel free to use your creative juices to come up with a logo that enhances the site and calls to the visitor "Hey we are legit, professional, and care about you." A logo is not required, but would add a nice touch.

The company motto is "Your ship has finally come in"

The only requirement for the site is that it be yacht based...installing a high class view in the minds of the visitors and customers. This yacht should be one of fine class, not a cruise ship, and not a rowboat.

Initially I wanted some small flash in the header, but as I browsed this site I found the work to be so good that I don't think I need that.

There must be:
a domain search
a client login area
area for 3 plan types
Live Help Clickable Image (I have not chosen a live help software as yet, so this should be a custom graphic that ties in well)
All the form areas need to be in place when delivered, I can code the destination in afterward.


I don't want the standard "Girl on the headset" since that is used everywhere. If you choose to use a photo that must be purchased, I will buy the rights if your design is selected. I don't have any files for review or help at this time.

I don't have the plan names set yet, so if you have any ideas for that, please mention them or put them on your entries.

I would like the deadline for this to be on Monday June 16th at Noon, however I may extend it or end it depending on the entries and the feel of things.

I hope I have covered enough area, I will be checking back often, cause I can't focus on my day job at all :tup:

Let the entries begin B)

[motiveX]

You aren't expecting the winner of this contest to provide the code for the following are you?

a domain search
a client login area

Please advise.

:)

[Matt Ward]

No, I have the code, and will code the action after delivery.

[motiveX]

I will have a design in like 30 mins.

:blink:

[Matt Ward]

Thank goodness, because I don't want to do any work here today. :lol2:

[motiveX]

Here is something to start you off...I just made this from scratch, wasn't a design I already had done and just customized it.

http://www.placidminds.com/harborhost/_03.html

:whistle2:

[Matt Ward]

xteriormotive I thank you for your work...and for breaking the ice.

A couple comments...

search box - this needs to be a domain search to allow the customer to see if their domain is available. There is no submit button for the search box.

Plans should be prominent and entice the user to sign up with price. Price should be text so that I can change it and don't have to reslice anything.

I think that the boat should be larger, in this version it looks almost like a Pirate ship, (Ahoy matey we are coming to steal your gold) :P Just Kidding. Although this boat would look great as a backdrop for a larger more bountiful yacht in the foreground.

The statement in the graphic "answers to all our hosting needs..." seems blurry to me, perhaps it is the font, or the size...not sure how this could improve.

The white target box in the middle...I feel as though this was put there to draw my eye to the boat in the picture, I don't think this would be necessary if the boat were in the foreground of the image.

The lines that you use are interesting, they seem techy, and although I would have never requested them, they seem to pull the tech and the boating theme together. Not sure if I like them just yet, but they may grow on me.



LOGO....
The logo is nice, but doesn't sell that ritzy yacht feeling that I am going for.


Overall, I don't think that this is what I am looking for, but hopefully I have helped describe better what I am looking for.

[Victoria]

Just to let you know I hope to enter this one in the next couple of days. :)

[motiveX]

Originally posted by Mattman@Jun 10 2003, 01:33 PM


Overall, I don't think that this is what I am looking for, but hopefully I have helped describe better what I am looking for.
Oh well, was worth a shot...off to file another design away for use elsewhere.

:tup:

[Matt Ward]

Victoria ---Thankyou, I look forward to your design.


xteriormotive --- I am going to call one of my customers to see if he would like a new design. He does some sailing as a hobby and I think this would suit him fine. I don't expect him to bite, since he isn't looking, but if he does, I shall send him your way. I surely do appreciate the time that you did spend on this design.

[lang]

This took me a little longer than usual... but I hope I covered everything you asked for.

Picture removed to save bandwidth. Please refer to later posts.

[Palmer]

Very nice Lang :tup:

[Matt Ward]

LANG = :notworthy:

That is very nice...I was shocked and awed! My coworker (sits next to me at my boring day job testing software) says "very nice"


Things I Like---
Use of the Life Ring in the Logo...nice idea (Come to Harbor Host, we will save you!) :lol2:
Use of compass (Check out our compass, with it you can find your way to great hosting!)
The use of the different color buttons....not something I thought of but it certainly adds some color (Please don't use red though - that sorta signafies...STOP don't buy me!


Things that could use some improvement---
The red button (as stated above)
The boat...it is nice, but one thing seemed to stand out to me....it looks as if the boat was placed there on the water, and my eye is not convinced that it is IN the water. Don't know how to improve that maybe some blurring (I am sure you will find a way).
Chat Live Graphic - it stands out - but is not convincing...it really don't fit the scheme of things...how bout trying the use of an anchor with this graphic or the wheel that steers the boat?


Thanks for the great submission, I look forward to your revisions and to the inherent competition that has apparently RAISED THE BAR!

[lang]

Hi Matt (can I call you Matt?),

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions. You're right about the boat - it's not really in the water but I'll spend a bit more time on that, as the initial attempt was on a raging, empty stomach. As for the chat graphic, that's only a filler because I assume that the chat script that you'll be using will supply you with a graphic, correct? Can you please confirm that? I'll have your revisions done shortly. :)

[Matt Ward]

Well, I am currently undecided for my Live Chat Provider......So I would like something that ties in with the design of the site, in case I end up with a provider that doesn't have a graphic that fits, or looks good.


Plus I sorta did like the themed Idea. B)

[lang]

Ok, I'll throw together a little sumthin' sumthin'. But I should let you know first that you may not be able to use it with your chat provider. :P

[lang]

And here is the revision. Hope it's getting there! :) :

<img src='http://www.mynics.net/harborhost/HarborHost_v2.jpg[/img]

[ant1832]

Ok here's something I've been working on. Feedback is appreciated.

https://www.quickbase.com/up/8yqz5cte/g/rj/en/va/harbor_grey_thumb.jpg

Click for full size with grey background (https://www.quickbase.com/up/8yqz5cte/g/rk/en/va/harbor_grey_full.jpg)

I also made a preview with a green background in case you want a little more color.
Here's the full size with a green background. (https://www.quickbase.com/up/8yqz5cte/g/ri/en/va/harbor_green_full.jpg)

Of course if you don't like it against a background at all we can do that too.
Here's a preview with no background. (https://www.quickbase.com/up/8yqz5cte/g/rm/en/va/harbor_no_back.jpg)

[Matt Ward]

Lang --- Interesting choice for the plan color, pink...not overly opposed to that....I would just like a women's opinion....any women here, designers or viewers....does this pink entice you to buy the plan over the others based on the current plan specs...assuming you didn't care about the specs?

As for the live person chat box..... BAM! BoooYeah!!! You hit that right on the head! :clap: :clap:
I am checking with some chat providers now on the graphic requirement.

The boat seems more in the water now! But it doesn't sell RICH, in comparison to ant's boat (sorry)... We could pool our cash together to get buy your boat, but Ant's...we gotta be ballplayers with big salaries to get his! Ant's boat SELLS RICH.

Any chance on finding a larger boat?

The Compass seems too large now --- don't know why I didn't pick this up before. Could you make it a bit smaller? Then with a larger more rich boat, it wouldn't be so prominent.

The dotted lines ---- I am not sold on those as dividers.... could you try some other variations for the divider?

My friend mentioned the bouy lines strung together, similar to a lap pool for swimmers...I would like to see that, but don't spend alot of time on it cause I don't know if it would work. It doesn't have to be clear, but I am concerned about the space required for that.

I would like to see the HarborHost name over a blue or darker than current color, to see if the white letters show up better. My eye is stumbling on the Host section just after the life ring.



Now for ANT:
:tup: LOVE THE BOAT, Now that is a Yacht! That has Rich written all over it.

Nice job on the name/logo
I like the use of anchors throughout, that really ties things together.
The anchor for live support doesn't stand out, being white on a white background...the "need help" does stand out. Perhaps you could move the anchor to the left of the "Need Help?", put it on the blue, and shorten the white bar? (Just a thought)

Pricing needs to be text, so that it can be easily modified when necessary.

Your design seems very professional, clean, and concise. It gets straight to the point about the hosting. The problem with that is that I don't feel it selling the need to sign up with me. Hosting is so competitive, the site needs to grab them and capture their attention, while being able to show the pricing and packages.

Your use of the bars for water, transitioning into the smaller background color is unique, however, I really do like the real water look.


Thankyou for your entries, and I look forward to the changes and the clear competition we have amongst some very talented designers. Who else will be throwing their hat into the ring?

[Matt Ward]

I found a site with yachts that I like.....

this is just a reference site, please don't use these unless you get permission to do so.


http://www.luxyachts.com/

[Victoria]

I like the pink.

[Matt Ward]

cool, need webhosting? :lol:

[Victoria]

Me? :unsure: :lol: Fraid not no, I have a very generous free host. ;) I'll be working on your template ASAP. Though right now I have a little college work to finish off. :tdown:

[lang]

Pink?

That's strange because it shows up as purple on my computer. :)

At any rate, I will work on your changes and have a revision up shortly. And I agree, ant's yacht is better than mine. I feel... undersized. :blink:

[Mike]

navy blue here :|

[platinum]

Here's something that's fairly clean and not the "average" hosting layout.

[Matt Ward]

Thankyou Platinum for your entry!

I agree with you on the comment "Not the Average Hosting Layout" and I like that you deviated from the norm with this.

The Plan fonts seem too techy for the yacht idea. Try something more flowing.
I like the faded moring post, nice idea. I also like that you positioned the Live Support to stand out.


The Name at the top doesn't have much punch for me, and the boats don't seem "rich and classy". My first thought when analyzing the sailboat was "Geez, this guy has it good, he is out sailing all day, while I am shopping for a hosting company!"....I think I want to stay away from something with sails, unless it just overflows the page with "Class".

As for the body text, I don't think I have enough words to fill that up. I don't think my prospective clients will read what I put there, in fact I could probably put 3 paragraphs, the first legit, the second 2 I could use the current Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.... and they wouldn't have a clue.

Input fields don't show submit buttons. How would they look?

Thank you again for your submission.

[ant1832]

Ok here's an update. I tried to give it a more commercial feel per your feedback. Let me know what you think. I also updated the live support link/icon.

https://www.quickbase.com/up/8yqz5cte/g/rp/en/va/harbor_2_thumb.jpg

Click here for the full size image. (https://www.quickbase.com/up/8yqz5cte/g/rn/en/va/harbor_2_full.jpg)

[Victoria]

Still looking for a decent yacht picture... :tdown:

[Matt Ward]

Ant...I like it :tup:

Monthly special is nice, you were first to do that!
I like the new tech support, it seems clearer and I like the text you put there "captain steer"

I would like to see some minor changes....

Large Harbor Plan....needs more space to the right before the page ends...probably should be equal space between all plans and the borders.

Add pricing between each line of RedHat Linux and More Info, Text Please, with some color or boldness.

That is all... :D

But I wanted to mention that I do dig that yacht :tup:

[Matt Ward]

Victoria,

The deadline isn't till Monday, so you still have some time on this.


Mattman waits with baited breath to see another entry!

[ant1832]

Originally posted by Mattman@Jun 13 2003, 10:05 AM
Ant...I like it :tup:

Monthly special is nice, you were first to do that!
I like the new tech support, it seems clearer and I like the text you put there "captain steer"

I would like to see some minor changes....

Large Harbor Plan....needs more space to the right before the page ends...probably should be equal space between all plans and the borders.

Add pricing between each line of RedHat Linux and More Info, Text Please, with some color or boldness.

That is all... :D

But I wanted to mention that I do dig that yacht :tup:
How's this? (https://www.quickbase.com/up/8yqz5cte/g/rq/en/va/harbor_3_full.jpg)

[Matt Ward]

Looks Great!

Thanks for the changes....


We shall see what Victoria has and any others, Deadline is Monday at NOON for those that still wish to enter.

[Matt Ward]

Well that time has come! :D

Let me first say that I was remarkably please with the templates submitted, unfortunatly I only need one (for now). :( I found my friends and coworkers were partial to particular features of each template, but the ability to sell hosting fell into Lang's submission, therefore I have chosen Lang's Template. My wife found the plan colors very nice, and everything flowed well together.

Lang, there are just a couple minor changes I would like.
--I need a reverse graphic for the chat. The one you have is fine for my offline graphic. The additional one should say "Operator Online Now"

Thank you all for the submissions...to think I was worried that I wouldn't get one :rolleyes:

Palmer --- Ship the CASH :tup:

[Palmer]

Thank you Matt, I agree that they did a great job on this one. We appreciate your business, make sure you tell your friends :)

Congrats Lang :clap:

[ant1832]

Good job lang :tup:

[lang]

Hi Matt,

I'll revise your page according to the last revision request as well. I agree, we need to find you a bigger boat!

Thanks all.

[ant1832]

Well he did like mine and I don't have a use for it.

Here's (http://www.sxc.hu/browse.phtml?f=view&id=12279) where I found it.

[Palmer]

That's pretty cool of you Anthony. :tup:

[lang]

What a classy gesture! :clap: Only at Design Outpost, folks. :yes: