Vintage

What lies behind the thinking of the new website design?

First of all the current design is temporary. HAODS want to get the new site up and running as soon as possible and the best way to do that is to get an initial design implemented. It allows us to test a design in situ and try out different elements on a real site.

The HAODS committee has set up a sub committee to finalise the web design. That committee comprises:

Now, the look and feel needs to convey what the Society is and what it stands for. Currently HAODS has no corporate image and there have been no obvious

The original look and feel - now discarded

 HAODS is the membership and it's character stems from these people, therefore the character of the society is always changing but is currently reflected in the shows that the society is putting on.  This is a very difficult character to define so what we have done is to mount a very traditional red theme on the website until we come up with a better solution.

Originally we had a transparent theme that had an underlying image, which was a deep red.We then changed it to feel more accessible to members and visiting public.

The current look and feel comprises the following components:

• o  The back ground colour - currently blue with a central off-white content pane,

• o  The font, colour and size of the website title - currently blue,  Garamond at approx. 36 pt, shaded

• o  The font, colour and size of the link text - currently blue at approx. 10-12pt, font Georgia 

• o  The font, colour and size of the body text - currently blue at approx. 10-12pt, font Georgia

• o  The images associated with the theatrical look and feel, the happy/sad face &c.

• o  The colour/shape  of the top level buttons and the module titles - currently grey with a shadow and highlight - these are temporary.

Any of these items can be changed  individually but consider that any modification will have a drastic impact on the overall 'look and feel' so they need to be considered as part of the whole.  For instance to change one item, perhaps, to stick a picture of  a dalek where the happy/sad face is would irreparably break the look and feel. So any change needs to be considered in the light of all the other elements. 

There are things to bear in mind which have guided us to this  point. From the perspective of the public the website displays the wares of the society, ie. the shows. The shows are what the  public visitor comes to the site to view. He/she is coming to see a show in a particular context, primarily in the Kenton Theatre.  The society is indelibly linked to the Kenton Theatre in most people's minds and it would be fair to say that HAODS is the Kenton and the Kenton is HAODS. In reality this is not absolutely true  but it gives an idea of the mindset of the potential punter.

Therefore, I originally created a temporary site that gave the impression, very loosely, of the Kenton Theatre, a theatrical look that suited the theatrical offerings of the society. We actually feell that the look and feel may be better suited to the Kenton's site but that is another thing altogether and so we need to concentrate on the look and feel of HAODS new site from the point of view of the casual visitor.

The temporary look and feel was appropriate for the moment but the sub-committee have since come up with a design brief that any new look and fel needs to meet. It is the following:

• 1. The site's primary aim is to promote the shows that HAODS are performing now and in the future. The front page will reflect this.
• 2.  The site will be specifically designed to be attractive to new members and to introduce theatre  and drama to new audiences.
• 3. The site must be attractive to existing members without alienating our traditional theatregoers.

An interim look and feel - now discarded

If you have any contribution to make we really do welcome your feedback and your recommendations. We prefer constructive comments and genuine suggestions for a future design. If you want to supply the design in a usable format we can see if we can translate it into reality. If you want to send in a design then you can get the conversation started by clicking on a link to the HAODS Web Administrator Ioan Havard.

The final look and feel - the one in place now

Dean Beedell Web Designer - LightQuick Web Design 

The Web Designer