'Metro-esque' Website for new product, assistance from Neowin commu

[Cute James]

Hello folks,

The company I work for will be launching a new product in the near future, and as a member of the marketing section, I'm keen that we develop a modern, content-rich, standalone website that explains it's main features etc.

We've consulted about this project with local agencies that have worked with us in the past, however I'm not terribly excited by the design mock-ups they've been pitching. While they're not terrible, the designs look a little '2005', and probably wouldn't take advantage of the latest web technologies.

An A5-sized product brochure (an in-house project) has been completed, however I'm reluctant to post a link to the PDF as this particular model has yet to be publicly unveiled. Instead, I've rendered images of the pages, to give you an idea of the layout and design.

https://www.dropbox....qrcq/ee8Qwwfs7h

We're generally happy with the appearance of this brochure, and would like a website that follows a similarly clean 'Metro-esque' design, but with more detailed explanations, and additional media content. However, with the local agencies so far failing to deliver, I believe it may be time to look further afield. I'm therefore wondering if the Neowin community can assist with this project - either by recommending a suitable agency, or perhaps freelancers offering to take on the work themselves. I believe there are some very switched-on Neowin-ers here, especially when it comes to modern web development.

I'm aware of the 'Grafix Exchange' forum, however the posts there appear to be geared more towards image/logo requests, rather than seeking assistance for a complete website. Furthermore, we're probably not quite at the stage of commissioning work immediately, rather, I'd like to enter into a dialogue with folks, and hear their suggestions/ideas etc.

My apologies in advance if this post contravenes forum rules. If there are any queries, please feel free to ask here, or send me a PM.

Many thanks!

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

I like what you have done, but I will point out that while it follows Metro's font use and geometric layout, it's not really Metro-esque.

But it is VERY clean :)

[Guest]

I think it would be unfair to your current designers to dump them. I think they've done a good job but I assume you have a contract that allows you to ask them to revise the work? Maybe you'll end up paying more but you'd end up paying more to go elsewhere.

I'd say what they've done is more... well, it's basic grid design, what you might expect in a magazine, it's pretty standard to design with a grid in mind.

If you want it to be more metro, simply state that you want some solid blocks of colour in the design, and to only stick to at most a 2 block metric. As in at most, grid blocks (of photos) of either 2x1 or 1x2 and obviously 1x1

Currently, some of the content is 1 grid block, some is 2, but at the moment, there is also stuff on the grid that is in-between/and or taller than either of these. This breaks the rules of metro.

Honestly, talk to them I'm sure they'd be (begrudgingly) happy to work with you to get what you want :)

On a side-note, the table at the end really needs some work, it feels more like something from a mac spec sheet, I haven't seen anything from Microsoft which is metro styled in a table so far but they're designers, they could thing of something better :p

I'm not sure if they've really done their research but perhaps the following resources could help them achieve what you want:

http://www.jeff.wilc...esign-guide-v1/

http://en.wikipedia....esign_language)

[Cute James]

Thanks for the prompt replies chaps.

I ought to clarify that this brochure is created in-house, by a colleague (in the company's design section) and I. We used to have agencies produce all our print materials, but gradually realised that in-house creations were more innovative and efficient. Ideally, we would develop the website in-house also, however unfortunately we do not really possess the coding skills to realise our goals.

Okay, 'Metro-esque' is probably stretching the concept a little far, however I'm keen to maintain the large headlines and neat body text, and perhaps use some modern HTML5/CSS to add interactive elements to images/illustrations.

[primexx]

Love the brochure you posted.

[Matthew_Thepc]

the brochure looks very good IMO :)

any idea how you want the site laid out? (top-to-bottom like beautyoftheweb.com, side-to-side like http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/amazing, a more 'Zune'-ey feel with categories at the top and then the info coming up when you choose one, or something else?)

in terms of designer recommendations, most of the demos on beautyoftheweb.com (sorry, I know I'm referencing beautyoftheweb.com way to much in a single post) say 'designed by Archetype' - http://www.archetype-inc.com/ and it looks like they might be able to help you with that HTML5-CSS3 goal of yours. Good luck :D

[Noir Angel]

All I can say is... why? For what it's worth I don't think the design of your site is all that bad but in my mind I believe following your own design paradigms to be better than using other people's. Especially given that the popularity of Microsoft's attempts to metro-ify everything is spotty at best.

[Cute James]

the brochure looks very good IMO :)

any idea how you want the site laid out? (top-to-bottom like beautyoftheweb.com, side-to-side like http://www.beautyoftheweb.com/amazing, a more 'Zune'-ey feel with categories at the top and then the info coming up when you choose one, or something else?)

in terms of designer recommendations, most of the demos on beautyoftheweb.com (sorry, I know I'm referencing beautyoftheweb.com way to much in a single post) say 'designed by Archetype' - http://www.archetype-inc.com/ and it looks like they might be able to help you with that HTML5-CSS3 goal of yours. Good luck :D

Thanks for the positive feedback on the brochure, and for recommending BeautyOfTheWeb.com - some very slick ideas there.

All I can say is... why? For what it's worth I don't think the design of your site is all that bad but in my mind I believe following your own design paradigms to be better than using other people's. Especially given that the popularity of Microsoft's attempts to metro-ify everything is spotty at best.

Yes, I appreciate what your saying about going with our own design, rather than simply Metro-ifying everything. Ideally, I'd like to strike a balance somewhere between the two.

By the way which site were you referring to by "your site"?

Cheers!