[Project Complete] Website Redesign Project For RealAdventures.com - Phase I - $350 -

[vkachoria]

(Admin code added by Palmer - 5CD03056G6679942Y)

Website: RealAdventures: http://www.RealAdventures.com

Project Description:
There is a lot of information on the site (over 50,000 pages), which needs to be presented in a way that the user feels it is being offered up to him, rather than feeling like he has to wade through all this stuff. I want to engage the visitor and get them to explore all the cool options. It should be like a buffet where everything looks good and they think, "Wow, where do I start?"

I think a redesigned site with better and more lively graphics and definitely more style, would go a long way to accomplishing this objective.

Since the site is a portal for lots of different services, it is going to have a bit of a directory/portal look & feel, but still think it can be done in a fun, exciting and engaging way. I'm not looking for wall-to-wall graphics, but just stylistic touches that make the pages feel more inviting.


Technical Details & Design Considerations:
I have tried to implement CSS throughout the site, but have run into so many display problems due to browser incompatilities & inconsistencies as well as screen resolution and operating system related issues. Need to ensure the site is visually appealing on PC & Macs, IE & FireFox, and browser resolutions 800 and up.

There is a database back end system that serves the information on the individual travel options. This part is NOT going to be redesigned at this stage.

Need to allow for a 728x90 ad at the top of the screen, a 160x600 ad on the right side of the screen.

The menu options in the header and left menu should be text based (not graphical elements).

This project is for the home page at http://www.RealAdventures.com

Once completed, will redesign other key pages.

Website Description: RealAdventures is a directory of over 25,000 travel, accommodation & vacation options in 180 countries. From romantic bed & breakfasts to luxury vacation rentals, from bungee jumping to safaris, from culinary tours to archaeological digs and from Alaska to Zimbabwe, RealAdventures is a comprehensive resource for travelers around the world. We are not travel agents or tour operators and we do not book any trips, make reservations or lead tours. We help a very large and diverse audience of travelers, vacationers and adventure seekers find the most exciting travel options..

The slogan, "Life's An Adventure, Live It!", means that every aspect of life is an adventure. Catching some rays on the beach is an adventure in relaxation, back-packing through Europe is an adventure in culture & exploration, a weekend getaway is an adventure in romance and bungee jumping is an adrenaline adventure.


Websites I Like:
SitePoint - http://www.sitepoint.com/
iExplore.com http://www.iexplore.com/
IgoUgo - http://igougo.com/
10Best.com - http://www.10best.com/


Logo (added Aug 14, 05)
jpg: http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=43939
eps: http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=43938


Deadline:
Extended to Aug 22, 2005

Output:
HTML & graphics

Prize:
$350

[vkachoria]

Any interest or any questions regarding this project?

[Lori]

Hi Vkachoria,

I have read your project over a time or two, and it looks quite fun to design for :) I am sure plenty of designers are interested - we design based on the deadline for our clients so I am sure that is the only reason you have seen nothing as of yet.

Your deadline is still quite a way off, so don't worry - you will have some choices soon.

[vkachoria]

Lori, thanks for explaining how the process works. Looking forward to seeing what your brilliantly creative minds come up with. I've looked over a number of other logo & website projects and am simply amazed with the really wonderful designs submitted. I guess I should definitely keep my day job :~}.

Vik Kachoria

[Lori]

Vik,

Can I get a .ai, .eps or a .psd of the logo you would like to use - I don't see it attached to the specification post.

Thanks,

[vkachoria]

Lori,

Sorry, all I have of the logo file is a jpg image and multiple derivatives (see attached).

My guess is that the logo will need to be redesigned after we select a new layout for the site.

This will definitely be an interative process.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Vik

[Lori]

Vik,

Thanks for the fast reply - unfortunately, there is no way that "I" can design around the logos you have provided - I would have to have a raw version to create what I was thinking of.

On the same subject of logo - I recall a project you had posted here for the logo for this site - and actually, you have never chosen your winner for it... it has been pending closure now since February...

Maybe you should go back to that project, putting this one on hold until you have finished the logo design. If you do not finalize it, it will go to public poll, and the users of DO would decide who wins - the chosen designer would be compensated, and the files delivered to you.

If you do finalize it (which I hope you will), and provide us with a raw version, I feel that you will get MUCH better result in this project. Also, your finalization means that the designers who have been waiting could finally put it to rest :)

Here is your open logo project: http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6466

[vkachoria]

Lori,

The logo project is still outstanding and something I would definitely like to complete. The designs that have been submitted are great, but I felt that they were not quite reflective of what the site has to offer. This is entirely a result of the current site design and not by any means the fault of the creative talent of the designers.

For this reason, I wanted to put the logo design on hold and work on the site design first so that the breadth of travel, vacation, accommodation, resort and adventure options would stand out better.

The logo (and brand building) is less important to me at this stage. I'm much more interested in ensuring that visitors can find the information they are looking for, enjoy the experience and explore more travel ideas.

The content, visitors, customers are all impacted by the layout of the site - not by the logo.

I don't mean to dismiss the value of a logo, it is a very important element of the company. But I think we can hold of on a 'final' verision of the logo for a bit.

I hope I'm not wrong in thinking about it this way and I welcome your thoughts if you think otherwise.

Vik

[vkachoria]

I hope that designers can work with (or around) the logo that currently exists on the site. Please let me know if it is a stumbling block to coming up with proposals/designs.

[vkachoria]

The original contest deadline of Aug 8th is rapidly approaching but I haven't seen any submissions yet nor any questions regarding the project. I'm may be forced to extend the deadline, but I do need to start seeing some ideas.

Is there anything holding up the process? Is there no interest in a redesigning a travel website?

Vik

[Anne]

I have started on a design but I don't know if I can finish it by sunday. I'll try though if I get the time.

Anne

[vkachoria]

Anne:

Thanks for your reply, I'll extend the deadline another week to give you and other designers time to submit ideas. I look forward to your creative thoughts.

Vik

[JeremeDavid]

I'll be joining as well.

[JeremeDavid]

I guess I will throw in my hat first. :-)

The whole design will be coded to stretch 100% of the browser's width. Everything is flexible. The menus, the search boxes, the listings, etc...

The top menu will be coded using CSS so that you can add or change menu items very quickly.

I moved the three search boxes from the bottom up to the top so that they catch the eye and people will start using them right away to find specific pages that they're looking for.

I liked the map you have on your site, so I kept it for my design. Actually, I based the whole color scheme on the map.

There is plenty of space in the header and on the right side for your advertisements as you requested.

The left navigation menu and the two menus underneath it will all be CSS just like the top menu so that you can add more items easily.

If you would like to see any changes or revisions, let me know.

[vkachoria]

Anne & Lori, looking forward to your ideas.

JeremeDavid, thanks for your submission. I like the over all concept and moving the search boxes to the top is a great idea.

I'm not sure how you would recommend implementing the code so that it stretches to 100% of the browser width. I know that is possible, but I wonder if that the left menu column (or other areas) would be too wide on large resolution screens. Also, would there be too much white space for browsers that are 1200+ resolution (less than 4% of my visitors).

Definitely like the ability to do it in CSS so that menu items can be changed without having to have a new image button created. CSS is not a strict requirement and need to ensure that it will work on IE, NS, Mac IE and Firefox.

Not crazy about the color scheme, perhaps you could offer ideas on other color combinations. I think it may also be a bit too boxy, any way to lessen that look?

Vik Kachoria

[Lori]

Hi Vik,

I was conversing with you above in an effort to get closure on your dated logo project here. I am sorry, but I will not be able to design for you at this time.

[JeremeDavid]

Thanks for your feedback. Making the page fit to the resolution is not a CSS trick. It is something that works in all the browsers. The other CSS that I spoke of does not include any tricks either and is something that would work in any browser. I was not talking about using CSS-p for the entire design, but rather using CSS to give certain elements more flexibility.

The left menu would be fixed, and the other content would be flexible, so when the page got wider, the menu would stay the same, but the other content would shift to conform to the different resolutions.

I don't think white space would be a big issue, as you have a lot of content. Currently, I made the design to fit 1024x and larger. I could retool it to fit 800x, but I would need to drop some content from the main page or else the page would be 2000x pixels long.

Do you need to have ALL of the content on your main page that you currently have? If you could let me know some things that could be left off to include on other pages, that would be really helpful.

The design is more "boxy" because you have so much content. In order to make space for it all, square-like shapes are most efficient. As I said though, if you wanted to drop some content from the main page, I could do something different.

[vkachoria]

Jereme, Thanks for helping me understand your ideas for using CSS. I like that approach of using CSS for the colors, fonts, etc. The positioning elements seem to be less cross-browser compatible (my implementation anyway).

Will definitely need to make the design fit 800 screens. Over 30% of my visitors still have 800 or less available screen width.

The system automatically determines screen size and displays 728x90 or 468x60 ads in the header depending on available width. I could do the same with other content.

Vik

[vkachoria]

Designers:

Per Lori's suggestion, I reactivated the logo project and found a wonderful design that I think the essence of the site and gives it a personality. I think Lori was right, the logo perhaps should have come first to better define the overall image of the site.

Attached are jpg and eps versions of the new logo (created by Paula23, http://www.designoutpost.com/forums/member.php?u=1626).

I hope this helps designers feel more comfortable working on the project and I hope to start seeing some more great ideas.

Vik

[JeremeDavid]

The logo will help out a lot.

Will you provide some direction on the content? Is it essential to have ALL of the content currently on your main page? If not, will you let me know what content is essential and what parts could be moved to subpages.

[Anne]

Here's mt first go at it :)

Anne

[vkachoria]

Jereme, sorry for the long delay in responding to your question regarding content on the home page (I've been away for a few days). You are right, there is a lot of content on the page and some of it could/should be moved to subpages.

I think the "Where Do You Want To Go" and "What Are You Searching For" boxes could both be removed since they are duplicated elsewhere on the screen. That should help clean up the page and reduce a bit of the confusion of where to start.

I wonder if the "What you want to do" box could perhaps be replaced with small icons of each of the major categories (Accommodations & Resorts, Adventures & Sports, ...). Those would link to the relevant pages.

I'd like to also incorporate a fairly prominent icon/link for travel providers to "Advertise On RealAdventures". Since all of our information is in the form of listing advertisements entered by accommodation and travel services, I'd like to make sure they understand they can add their listing.


Anne, absolutely beautiful first draft, it is crisp, clean and colorful. I like how you have used the colors from the logo as the basis for the design. I also like the image icons just below the logo, they seem to capture the variety of travel experiences on the site. But I wonder how that would appear on subpages - would the same icon images also be on those pages, would they disappear altogether, or would each page have its own set of images (that would be a lot of images & and a lot of work).

There seem to be two header menus ("Home, Where To Go..." and "Accommodations & Resorts...") separated by the image icons. This might work perfectly, but I'm wondering if we could try a couple of things:
1. Perhaps on the home page, we would eliminate the header ad. On subpages, ads would be displayed where the image icons are.

2. There would be two full rows of links in the header menu (one immediately below the other). The first would be "Home, Where To Go..." and the second would be the "Accommodations & Resorts..." This may make the site contents more easily visible (it may also make the front page overwhelming).

I'm not sure if these two rows should be below the logo & above the icon images/ads or below the icon images/ads.

3. The world map is very bright and immediately directs the visitors attention to it. In that sense, there is no doubt as to where the visitor should start. I wonder if a different color/toned-down map might work. Perhaps even a scaled-down version in the left column - I'm not sure if that would work?

Also, I'd like to add a icon/link to "Advertise On RealAdventures" (see above).

Thanks for the great work, looking forward to seeing your ideas, Vik

[Anne]

Thank you for the feeback. I'll be working on a revision.

Anne

[Anne]

Here's the first revision.

- I removed the map and added it as a icon on the left since these links are the same that was below the original map.

- I tried to put the main navigation above the images/header but I think it looks better below.

Anne

[Anne]

Here's how it can look if you put an ad where the pictures are (f.ex. on the subpages)

Anne

[vkachoria]

Anne:
Thanks for the revisions, they look good. A couple of comments:

1. In the original design, the brownish/red header menu was bordered by cyan and white, but now that it is much longer and bordered below by the deep blue menu, it isn't quite so appealing. Even the deep blue menu row looks a bit off. It seems the combination of the two in close proximity and at large scale, is what is a bit off-putting.

I'm not sure if the colors should be dark & deep, bright & bold or more subdued, but I'm looking for colors to help bring the site alive and make it exciting, reflective of the travel options.

Also, a minor issue with the left menu. It seems a bit too wide. I think this is because of the large e-mail address input field. Could you make this a bit narrower.

We are definitely getting closer and I'm looking forward to putting this design into place. A bit more tweaking and we can wrap this up.

Thanks for your help.

Vik

[Anne]

How is this?

[vkachoria]

Anne,
That looks great. Thanks so much for the revisions. Let's wrap it up. You are the winner of this design contest. How can I access the relevant html, gif/jpg, css, etc files?

Vik

[Anne]

Thank you for choosing my design :)

Now I have to do the html/css part and I will try to get it finished before monday/tuesday next week.

Anne

[vkachoria]

Thanks Anne, looking forward to the finished project. Hope to work with you in the near future on some of the other pages.

Vik

[Anne]

Hi Vik

I've sent you a personal message with a link to the files.

Anne