Web Site Design Philosophy
A site's information architecture and graphic design should
proceed from its mission. This site's mission is to sell PIA's
services, and to "tell the story" of our company's design and business
philosophies to the visitor.
If visitors have to wait very long for a site to load
all its graphics, or it doesn't clearly and easily indicate how they will
find their desired information, they are likely to depart rather than
figure it out. If this happens consistently, the site will have failed in its mission to make
contact with the visitor, engage him/her in our "story", and maximize the visit as a sales opportunity.
"Cool" is not a substitute
for effective and persuasive. At PIA, we believe that simple is
usually best.
This
site and The Cat
Therapist web
site are examples of the simple philosophy. Colorful and
easy to read. Simple graphic treatments focus the visitor on
Carole's face and the
information content rather than distract from it. Pictures are
used as appropriate to convey mood or tone. Site navigation is clear and easily understood. Major categories
are organized on the left margin for easy browsing. The pages load
nearly instantly, regardless of how many network "hops"
between the visitor and the server, or how
slow the visitor's Internet access connection.
The former New
York Studios site (Now offline, unfortunately. I'm working on a newer,
better example. /DJ) had Flash animations that mimiced the experiences of
presenting a movie ticket and entering a darkening movie theatre to see
a film. What you got was information about the project, plus the excitement of
attending a film premiere, adding "show biz pizzaz" to an otherwise straightforward recitation of
facts.
Despite all
the buzz in the industry and general interest news media about
broadband access and streaming media, the reality is that many,
many people's Internet access will remain slow (56K) for some time
to come. This limits the usefulness of graphics-heavy web sites
and streaming media for many marketing applications.
If your
site concept calls for high-intensity
graphics, streaming images, animations, and other broadband approaches to
differentiate your message, PIA will gladly provide the video, audio,
programming, and animation support you need.
Quotations, RFP Responses
Contact Dick Jones,
Director, at 212-787-0700 or
dickjones AT pia.net
We
welcome all business opportunities and we respond promptly. We provide
thoughtful and well-written proposals and RFP responses that
reflect our experience and professionalism, given reasonable
time to do so.
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