Hi, I am designing a site for a new office building.

 

It is a premium A+ standard office block

It has a special 'pixel' design effect

It is energy efficient

The architect describes his design as timeless, sustainable and wants a minimal approach to the website design.

It is a stylish building but it's not all form and he wants also to emphasis the functional elements of it.

 

I am restructuring the way I approach my website designs into a longer and more indepth focus on research before I start doing any construction of the site itself.

 

I'm after suggestions as to how others would approach such a project particularly capturing the timeless, sustainable and minimalist concepts into the design.

 

Any ideas appreciated

 

Thanks

 

Andy

Hi

Personally, I would try to take as much visual inspiration as possible from the building itself and its surroundings. Is there anything striking about the shapes/ lines used in the structure that you can incorporate into your design?

Also, you could add other touches like hosting the finished site on a server powered by renewable energy etc.

Hmmmm.....

 

I would start by finding out who his clients are and what types of people they are. What are the interested in, what might appeal to them? Maybe think about the colours that mark the atmosphere of your design. If it's minamalist, black or simple white is often good, perhaps with a simple background fade or pattern.

 

Take a look at some of the CSS inspiration page links on here - they are fantastic just for sparking the imagination.

 

I would guess that if you client wants to highlite function - it may require something sophisticated like a flash tour of one of his designs or facilities...?

 

The way I work after iv'e talked to the client and found out a) What they do, who their customers are - I ask them to supply me with 3-4 websites that they like the look of and tell me what they like about each. Thats an excellent starter, and makes sure you are thinking what they are - not just presuming you are. (done that a few times)

 

I think planning the site in advance is good. I tend to spend a day or two planning out the design in fireworks and get an approval before I start the site. It saves a lot of time in the long run.