Hyde + Hyde Architects were looking for a web design company to help them convert their flash based website into a more search engine friendly version which was content managed via an admin control panel.
This presented quite a few challenges not only due to them being self confessed perfectionists, but because the Flash site had been designed in such a manner, it was not simply a case of creating regular separate pages - we had to try to match the quiet elegant in which the flash site delivered content, yet the site had to be set up with search engine optimisation in mind. This meant having search engine friend urls to cleanly separate all the sections. In order to get around this problem we used the mootols and jquery libraries to use fading effects to make text sections fade away as users clicked through to other sections.
The other challenge was to build a content management system that could do exactly what Hyde Architects wanted it to do and that could be achieved within the layout constraints specified by Hyde. Firstly they wanted to be able to control the content across the whole site. This included a News and Projects section that would allow them to add multiple images per project. More specifically, they wanted the ability to be able to manage the background colours of the website. Their idea was to be able to add and take away colour to a list which would be picked at randon and would be kept for the session that a user is on the site. But they also wanted an override system that would allow them to just run with one colour. Another similar aspect was for them to manage the background images that the user first sees when going to the site. As with the background colours, they also wanted to be able to have an override function that would just show one image instead of picking one at randon for those they had uploaded.
Being very hands on and interested to see what other features can be incorporated into their website, this is an ongoing project which will no doubt move in an interesting direction.
We approached Calm Design with the idea of launching a very simple and elegant website that reflected hyde + hyde's approach to architecture + design. To make something look simple is deceptively complex; Calm Design's attitude of 'anything is possible' was a breath of fresh air that took us through from conceptual ideas to a finished product that we feel perfectly represents our contemporary philosophy. Coris was excellent in his manner and open attitude. He explained the pro's and con's of every route, it was a great collaboration, one that we at hyde + hyde architects look forward to continuing.
Click here to read some of our other client testimonials
