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| Bands
& Performers I'm in a band myself so naturally I enjoy doing sites for other bands. It's great to hear some new music, get a feel for the band/artist and then recreate this in a website. Music based websites are a chance to get really creative and create a site where atmosphere and feeling is just as important as usability. Plus, it's great to feel like I'm helping out like minded people... |
If
you are looking for an example of something particular the 'Features'
section under each title summarises the main techniques used on the site. The text goes into more detail regarding the design ideas behind the sites, and the screen shots link to the actual site so you can have a look for yourself. |
| Let me know what you think about the sites in my portfolio - sign the feedback book. |
Judah First - www.judahfirst.com |
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| Features: Flash Intro, Updateable Text, Streaming Audio, Updateable Photo Gallery, Mailing List | |
| Judah first is a Christian Metal band located
in Tennessee, USA. The challange here was to create a dark, metallic site, in line with the feel of the music, that would at the same time convey the positive messages that fuel the songs and the band in general. Using their existing logo I created what is definitely my favourite Flash intro. I think it really serves to add value to the site and says what the band are about right from the start - heartfelt music with lots of energy combined with good humour and feeling. The site features news and gig dates that can be updated by band members from the browser based admin section. The photo gallery is updateable from the admin section as well - Photos are uploaded via a form and the thumbnails are automatically created and placed on the site. The music section provides both Windows Media and Real Player streaming samples. |
| Bobby Taverniti - No longer online |  |
| Features: Simple Interface, MP3s | |
| Bobby Taverniti is a Sydney based solo musician.
The main goal of this site was to provide a simple online 'bio' where
booking agents and other relevant industry people can quickly get information
about the artist, listen to music samples and download press quality photos. The design of the site was based strongly on the colour and imagery create by Louiville graphics on the CD sleeve design. |
| Sydney Wedding DJs - www.sydneyweddingdjs.com |  |
| Features: Simple Flash, Animation, Form to Email, Background Music, Flash Audio | |
| Sydney Wedding DJs provide live dj services
to a variety of events, the majority of which are of course weddings. The site design was aimed at this market and the pink and grey colour choice resulted from a popular response to this combination when it was used on their stall at a trade show. My favourite part of this site is the small animations that occur on most pages, in particular the events section. I think these play a great part in emphasing the 'dj, active, pulsing' kind of feel and give the site a great fun atmosphere which is automatically then associated with the people involved. All of these animations are small in file size. The bookings section is a simple form to email set up. Each page features a loop created by the DJs, playing in Flash streaming audio with a stop/start button. |
| Rebels Production - www.rebelsproduction.com |  |
| Features: Flash, Updateable Text, Pop Ups, Shopping Cart using free service | |
| The Rebels Production site is home to reggae
artist Jahmings Maccow, located in North Hollywood. Aside from the home
page, which was modelled on a previous design, the rest of the site is
designed from scratch, based around the red/green/yellow reggae vibe.
It features a mixture of html, flash and database driven content. The Bio is a good example of a practical use of Flash where a number of different headings can be broken up into an easily navigated interface. The reviews, tour and news pages are all completely updateable via a browser based admin section. The site also features a Cafepress merchandise store. This is a free service enabling you to sell merchandise from your site without having to worry about setting up merchant accounts and credit card processing. I was able to use the links provided by cafepress to create a complete flash based catalogue of the products with links to the relevant Cafepress store. Lastly, If you feel like feeling good I highly recommend you visit the site and have a listen to his music, it's fantasic. Even if you're not a seasoned reggae listener you will definitely get something out of it. |
| Sick Puppies Members |  |
| Features: Password Protection, Message Board, Chat Room | |
| The Sick Puppies are an up and coming Sydney
band with potential to go far and a very loyal fan base. In an already
very popular site the members section was developed as a means of rewarding
those people that support the band by buying their album. I set up a password protected area of the site and new members are required to sign up using a unique serial number on their copy of the CD. They then get access to special features like a Flash chat room, a message board (there's 3 in there now.. they like to talk), previously unseen photos and a previously unreleased video clip. On occasion we hold special events like live chats with the band members, giveaways etc. It's been very successful and has developed into a close knit community of like minded people. You can have a look, but you have to buy the album first.... |
Sick Puppies Main Site - www.sickpuppies.net |
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| Features: Voting system, Updateable text, streaming audio and video, Guestbook, Forum | |
| The main Sick Puppies site was originally
designed by Ahmed Salama. Using his visual design I have extended the
site by integrating some dynamic database driven elements. The 'Latest News' and 'This Week' sections on the home page are completely updateable via an admin section, accessible from any web browser, so the fans can easily keep up to date with what's happening. I also worked closely with Ahmed to create a voting system which allows visitors to the site to listen to the new songs and vote for which one they want to be the next single. Ahmed created the visual side of the voting mechanism and I made it functional. Tallies are kept next to the songs and are updated as soon as you vote. The site includes many other features like streaming audio and video, a guestbook, and more recently, a message board forum |
| Hover - No longer online |  |
| Features: Flash Intro, Animation, Updateable text, guestbook, Flash streaming audio, Flash photo gallery. | |
| Unfortunately the band is no longer together,
but the hover site remains one of my favourites. It's a pure Flash site
and a great example of how simple Flash can be used to create a really
strong effect while still being just as efficient and easy to use. I received some great feedback from this site and it always sounded like people had a great time visting it - Not just because they liked the band, but because of the way everything was presented to them. This is what I mean about a more holistic approach to web design (see 'Background'). Rather than just using scrolling text on a page I decided to go a bit further by using metaphors. For example, the lyrics on a notepad, and the news section as a magazine that uses next/previous links to turn the pages. The audio is presented using Flash streaming audio which allowed me to set up a pop up stereo system. Songs are played by dragging cds on to the stereo. I have found that involving the site visitor like this generally results in a much more fulfilling experience for them. The photos section bends the dimensions to create a unique spin on the photo gallery theme and the news and gigs are totally updateable via an admin section. |
| Leslie Avril CD Order - https://secure.magic-moments.com.au/themy/order.html |  |
| Features: Secure Credit Card ordering system | |
| Leslie Avril is an Australian country music
performer and I was called in to add a CD purchasing facility to her existing
site. I used the shopping cart theme as people are already familiar with it and this minimises the likelihood of confusion. CD's are added to your cart and when you check out you enter a secure section of the site (when there's a padlock at the bottom of the screen and the url begins with https). Credit card details can then be entered and the order submitted. A confirmation email is automatically sent to the buyer. Orders can then be viewed via a secure admin section. I also added a currency converter (www.oanda.com) as the site was starting to get a lot of international visitors. |
| Arcade Old - No longer online |  |
| Features: Flash intro, Flash streaming, Flash photo gallery, Flash games | |
| This is one of the first websites I designed
and still one of my favourites. I even won a golden web award for it.
Due to a change in focus for the site away from the general public, towards
booking agents and music industry people, I have recently replaced the
site with faster, more streamlined version. I will upload this site to a section of my own soon as it is another example of a pure flash website and I'm very proud of it. As it was pretty much my first major venture in Flash the content could probably be more efficient but the visual effects still pack a punch. Coming in a close second to the Judah First intro, the Arcade intro still makes me laugh everytime I watch it and is well worth the wait. The bio uses a book turning page metaphore that I use later in the hover site. The songs page uses Flash audio streaming with a record player theme that you can see on this site in the Flash services section. Then there's the Arcade arcade where visitors to the site are rewarded for their patience by being given the opportunity to blow up each of the band members... |
Iris - No longer online |
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| Features: Frames navigation, external services incorporated into the site. | |
| Iris are a local Sydney band with a unique
sound and identity which I attempted to convey in the design of the site
through the use of some simple but hypnotising Flash animations. The sight uses a simple frames based navigation where the menu on the left remains and the content in the right changes. The site uses a combination of flash and standard html. The 'Buy Iris' section features a customized shopping cart that uses the free service provided by the webhost. This can often be a great alternative to the costs involved with setting up a merchant account with the bank. |
The Mystery Guest - www.themysteryguest.com |
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| Features: Flash photo gallery | |
| This is the site I did for my own band. It's
the first site I did (although I've changed it since then..) and the reason
why I ended up being a web designer. The photo gallery is Flash based and presents the images in an automatic slideshow format - 5 seconds per picture, with the ability to pause/play. The lyrics page uses one of my more imaginative Flash interfaces and the bio uses Flash to present a lot of text in an alternative way to just scrolling text. |
| Big Smack - www.bigsmack.net |  |
| Features: Fast and simple | |
| The Big Smack site is a great example of a
simple, fast loading site that serves it's purpose as the information
source on a band who people may not have heard of. Most people would be visiting because they have just seen a Big Smack gig or an add or sign or something so a simple fast website is most appropriate. People can easily dowbnload songs, see photos of the band, check out their upcoming gigs and read their bio, all with simple html and images. |
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