The Design Process – Behind the Scenes, Part 2

This would be the part where I explain the technical workings and how we built the new site for Express Ranches. Alas, the cutting edge web site was pulled down less than 48 hours after it launched, and was downgraded to humble tables, among other things.

Until we have a web site that comes close to the web technologies we were implementing for Express, I think I’ll hold off on the rest of this post. There is no point in talking about what we built without the reference materials handy.

The Design Process – Behind the Scenes, Part 1

Other Departments

These are the other departments and the role they play to help make our web work happen.

The Photo Department

Our Photoshop wizards digitize all printed photos, remove halters, mud, dirt and sometimes other elements from the photos as per explicit request from the client. Color and contrast levels are corrected and the appropriate settings are applied to make them web-ready: RGB color, 72 dpi, maximum 545 pixels wide.

The Proofreader

Checks for spelling and grammar errors. (Pretty self explanatory, yes?)

Related Posts:

• The Design Process – The Client’s View
• The Design Process – Behind the Scenes, Part 2

The Production Process – The Client’s View

I have been working steadily on the Express Ranches redesign for about 2 weeks now. I thought I’d share part of the process we go through with web site redesign orders.

It started when Express Ranches called my boss and asked us to take over their current site. Aside from doing the updates for them, they requested a redesign as well.

Here is a typical example of what the client experiences:

1. Rich explains our pricing system.
2. He gives an overview of the design process.
   i. We come up with three looks, also referred to as comps, compositions or mockups.
   ii. They choose one and we make any requested changes to the design.
   iii. They approve it. It is the equivalent of a photo proof. If it gets approved, it has been proofed out.
   iv. Next, we tear it apart and turn it into real web pages. The design transformed into web pages is uploaded to the test site.
   v. They see the second stage proof and approve it.
   vi. After that we add the content they supplied – sending the photos to the photo department for touchups and the text to the proofreader.
   vii. We send them a notice or call, saying their content has been uploaded to the test site.
   viii. Once they approve the final changes, it goes live (is uploaded to their site).
3. Do they have any questions? When will it be finished is usually the first.
4. Rich explains the timeline for each step.

Mostly painless, except for gathering all the materials for content. However, the clients who are on the ball begin gathering their information starting on the day they discussed the project with Rich. We are continually looking for ways to make it easier on our clients so their project appears to run seamlessly and smooth.

Remember, the Web department is relatively young compared to the company, so we do our best to act in a most proper and professional manner. Not that this is always achieved, mind you!

Related Posts:

• The Production Process – Behind the Scenes