Web Development + Design | Marshall Art Studio
Front-end development and slight visual changes for the medium-sized (90+ pages) website of a legendary creative services consultant. Enhanced markup for SEO and WAI/Section 508 usability and AJAX. Reworked information architecture from the ground up.
Objectives & Considerations
User Interface Considerations
- Some text pages didn't need a second-level navigation (L2 Nav)
- Some pages had unusably long L2 Navs (Web Design, Illustration, Sketchbook/SketchCrawl)
- Masthead logo never visually changed on various link states (hover, active, etc.)
Marketing Considerations
- Needed to be optimized for SEO
- Comic Book section doesn't look like a major marketing concern
- Call to Action needed when seeking work opportunities
Artistic Considerations
- Overall design looked "too cluttered", obscuring vital content
Solutions
- Created third page template for pages with no L2 Nav
- Added an AJAX toggle for super-long L2 Nav pages
- Masthead logo now one graphic that gets moved around by the CSS (1 server trip instead of 3)
- Adhered to Google Adword suggestions
- Used META tags more strategically
- Leveraged logic from Apple.com, created larger home graphic
- Put more deliberation into overall font treatment
- Created a tighter connection between Comics and Art of the Comic Book sections
- Designed the "Hero for Hire" prompt that can be show or hidden in the CSS
- Deleted elaborate background graphics (BODY, L2 Nav, Ad Column)
Result
The client is pleased with the final product, as well as the process of working with Marshall Art Studio
Back to MAS Web Design + Development Home Page