Designed and developed the online presence for a start-up company. Built the entire site from the ground up. Customized visual design and UI for the company's unique vision and capabilities. After a 4-month development process (cross-browser CSS tweaks, content development, client input and functionality testing), the site went live on June 21, 2007. Unique considerations included:

Objectives & Considerations

User Interface Considerations

• The overall user experience should be logical, easy-to-navigate and transparent
• Render main navigation as a horizontal bar, creating easy reading and efficient use of space
• Use a "hide/reveal" UI for longer, secondary-level content

Technical Considerations

• Markup structure should be flexible enough for easy modifications, yet solid enough to outlive multiple visual designs
• Format markup with standard HTML element tags for easy modfication, content categorization and Search Engine Optimization

Artistic Considerations

• Make visual design clearly functional, yet have enough inspiration antique books, map collecting and classic New England imagery to look different from similar websites
• With no budget for stock photography, images have to be either public domain, heavily customized or clearly credited

Solutions

• XHTML/CSS built from the ground up
• Added Google Analytics to track visitor usage
• Created flexible markeup for multiple text layouts
• Applied various text and photo changes from the client
• Rebranded site with more sophisticated color scheme

Result

After an extensive testing period, content population and client feedback, the site went live in October 2007. The client is pleased with the final product, as well as the process of working with Marshall Art Studio