Use of Flash: Research

FLASH WEBSITES:

Macromedia Shockwave and Flash Players are free Web Players from Macromedia that are two of the most widely deployed playback technologies ever distributed on the Web. Together, they bring you the best rich media content on the Internet.
Macromedia Flash MX 2004

Macromedia Flash Player delivers fast loading front-end Web applications, high-impact Web site user interaction, interactive online advertising, and short to medium form animation.

http://www.macromedia.com/software/player_census/

Macromedia Flash Player is the world's most pervasive software platform, used by over 1 million professionals and reaching more than 98% of Internet-enabled desktops worldwide as well as a wide range of devices.
http://www.macromedia.com/software/player_census/flashplayer/

Macromedia Flash reaches 528 million users.
Macromedia Flash is the leading vector technology for designing high-impact, low-bandwidth Web sites that attract, engage, and retain site visitors—providing a richer, more compelling Web experience.
In December 2004, NPD Research, the parent company of MediaMetrix, conducted a study to determine what percentage of Web browsers have Macromedia Flash pre-installed. The results show that 98.2% of Web users can experience Macromedia Flash content without having to download and install a player.

demo site

I've linked up the layout pics just using hotspot links in dreamweaver to create a demo 'dummy' website just to show/test the navigation and get a better idea of how the product may look. I may use this in the presentation.
http://maimm.arts.ac.uk/~bom1/demo/index.htm

Layouts

I've drawn up in Fireworks layout pics for each page 'type' in the site-
Home Page
Cars Main Page
Cars Sub Page (Brands, eg.'Audi')
Cars Sub-sub page (Models, eg. 'Audi S3')
Extras Main Page
Extras Sub Page (eg 'Air Bags')
Services Main Page
Services Sub Page (eg 'Tuning')
Parts Main Page
Parts Sub Page (eg 'Tyres')
News Archive Page
About Us -more info Page
Detailed Search Page
Competition Page
Contact Page
Car Comparison Page

The jpgs are in 'Mazy bom' folder in 'Documents' on the server.
I may link these layout pics using image map links to make a Prototype of the central navigation of the site, as it may be useful for demonstrting during the pitch-what does everyone think?

Creative Jobs Breakdown for Scoping and Budgeting

1. Visual Concept- (Creative director)

-research
(target audience, competitions websites, stakeholders etc)
-creative scope
-ideas & sketching

2. Logo/Branding (Graphic Designer)

-research
-logo concept
-ideas & sketching
-creation of logo
-pixel editing of final logo

3. Creation of Elements (Graphic Designer/Web Designer)

-Photoshop photo editing
-Photoshop asset creation

4. Website Design (Web Designer)

-information architecture design
-layout (from creative directors sketches)
-website design in Flash (using elements created in Photoshop)

Visual Concept Ideas for Logo

I'm unsure how 'finished' the logo design should look for the pitch and proposal, however, I do know the reasoning for suggesting a new logo ought to be given, as well as how a new logo will benefit Elite, improving their image and giving them return on investment (as logo/branding is quite an expensive part of the proposal).

The concept so far for the logo is in keeping with the 'Journey' theme, which zooms in from the cars in the landscape-to the car accessories-then the car inner workings-and finally the car parts.
The new logo will be suggestive of a car 'part', an essential inner componant that the vechile can't function without. The implication is that 'Elite' is an essential part of any sports-car enthusiasts world. Elite is the componant that will enable them to embark and continue on their lifelong journey of luxury sports car ownership and maintainance.

Styles to suggest this could include 'chroming' of the lettering (so it looks like a metal object), strong, broad lettering that implies strengh and reliance, and some kind of 'drop shadow' to suggest movement. However, these styles will be implemented subtlely and stylishly as we want to avoid cliches!.

Logo Design Research

http://www.gdusa.com/feature/4_03/trends.php

design considerations:
- Shouldn’t be designed with so many colours that it costs you a mint every time you want to print business cards or letterhead.
- Shouldn’t be designed with a gradient (such as a picture), which is difficult to reproduce.
- Should be created so it can be easily converted to black-&-white.
- Should be created using Web-safe colours so your online logo looks the same as your printed logo.
From:
http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/logotips/a/8logoelements_2.htm

What Makes a Great Business Logo Design?
http://www.dakovgroup.com/articleview.php?id=4

Why Small Businesses Need Both a Logo and an Identity System
http://www.dakovgroup.com/articleview.php?id=67

Site Structure in Relation to Visual Concept of Website

The main navigational structure also follows the proposed visual theme of the site as a Journey, of the Car itself through the Swiss landscpe, to the journey of the parts themselves being fused together to make the car.

i.e
SECTION - PURPOSE - VISUAL PERSPECTIVE

SECTION 1: CARS - PURPOSE: to buy a complete car - VISUAL PERSPECTIVE: Pictures of Whole Cars/Cars in landscape on Journey

SECTION 2: EXTRAS - PURPOSE: To enhance your car - VISUAL PERSPECTIVE: Pictures of Whole Cars, featuring the enhancement details (such as new roofs etc)

SECTION 3: SERVICES - PURPOSE: To maintain your car - VISUAL PERSPECTIVE: Pictures of the Cars opened up and being worked on.

SECTION 4: PARTS - PURPOSE: To upgrade/repair your car - VISUAL PERSPECTIVE: Pictures of the mechanical componants within the car (Engine parts, Exhausts etc.)

Therefore this Visual Journey zooms in from the overall view of the Cars, to the details of the cars, the interior and engine of the cars and then down to the individaul componants of the cars.
This therby addresses the requirement in the breif to 'give plenty of opportunity for the visitor to see the cars and tuning products ..' whilst enhancing the simplictiy and elegance of the navigation.

Non-Linear Model & Proposed Navigational Structure

I've drawn up a rough non-linear model to assist with the creation of the navigational structure of the proposed product.
I did this because the client offers product as well as services and these are continually changing and updating, so I needed a means to help visualise a navigational stucture that would accomodate a dynamic database of products/serivces, which the client can update whilst maintaining the integrety, as well as the simplicity and elegance of the site structure.

The model is an overt star with 'Elite Cars' at its centre. Stemming from this are 2 sub-stars, 'Garage Services' (which has stemming from it services such as 'Tuning', 'Cleaning' etc, which can be dynamically added to), & 'Enhancements' (stemming from it are extras for the cars such as 'Sports Seats', 'Air Conditioning', again this can be added to via database). Also stemming from the central overt star of 'Elite Cars' are 2 trees, 'Accessories' (which includes things like 'Exhausts', 'Brakes' etc) and 'Brands' (which are the cars themselves, i.e. 'Audi', 'BMW' etc, and branching from these brands are the Models, such as 'S3', 'S4' etc). The sub-stars and Trees are linked to each other via networks, as they all related to each other in a non-heirachical level.

This model has enabled me to create a basis for the product navigation.
PAGE NAME PAGE SUBJECT / LINKS
ELITE CARS = HOME PAGE (Centre of Overt star, link in main navigation bar)
CARS = BRANDS (tree, link in main navigation bar, linking from this page will be the car types such as 'Audi' 'BMW' and then from each Car Type page will link the models such as 'S3' 'S4' etc)
EXTRAS = ENHANCEMENTS (sub-star, link in main navigation bar, linking from this page will be the Extras themselves such as 'Sports Seats', 'Air Con' etc)
SERVICES = GARAGE SERVICES (Sub-Star, link in main navigation bar, linking from this page will be the services such as 'Tuning', 'Cleaning' etc)
PARTS = ACCESSORIES (tree, link in main navigation bar, linking from this page will be accessories/parts such as 'Exhausts', 'Brakes' etc)

This structure, with the simple central navigation bar featuring HOME, CARS, EXTRAS, SERVICES, PARTS and CONTACT, provides a solid central structure for the site, all these aspects are unchanging (all these features are always on offer) so the clients updating would not invlove any changes to the central navigation or structure of the site, any additions/subtractions from the database will be on the sub-levels, and therfore wouldn't affect the overall structure.

Information Archtecture Research

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE:
Research:
‘For the client, an IA ensures that the site being developed can be easily updated and expanded -- that it is scalable. On the developer side, the IA ensures that the development team has a solid foundation on which to build and can concentrate their efforts on graphic design, strategy and content development. For the end user, the IA designs a navigation system that users can easily move through without confusion.’

From article:
http://technology.monster.com/articles/infoarchitect/

"Based on the hierarchy, you will be able to select key pages (or types of pages) that should be accessible from every other page on the web site."

Smart Agent-Best Solution

The best I've found so far for cost and funtionality is from SitePal.

Scroll down to view the package price (excluding customisable knowledge database)

http://vhost.oddcast.com/vhost_minisite/index.php?email=1&affId=15630

the technical spec & pricing for customisable knowledge database-

http://vhost.oddcast.com/vhost_minisite/index.php?email=0&go=products/ai.html&changeNav=1


Alltogether works out at around $5000 (£3000)

Quote from the site:

'Imagine an agent that represents your business on the web 24/7, is never tired, never needs to be re-trained, knows all the prices in the store, remembers each customer by name and is able to chat with thousands of people simultaneously, in any language.'