Summary: In a pause between client work, I found some time to design and build a new website for my employer, Dynamic Zone. The most important goal was to present our creative work to potential clients so I included the portfolio immediately on the home page. Having watched how users tend to immediately start playing with their mouse scroll-wheel when coming to a site, I took advantage of this to implement a playful scrolling navigation for the portfolio.
I implemented a Twitter feed as an easy way for clients to keep up to date with what we’re busy doing. Previous attempts at news sections and blogs had failed because in the midst of client projects, we found it difficult to find time to update our own site. A simple Twitter feed that filters employee’s tweets containing a #DZ hashtag makes it quick and easy to post comments, interesting links and connect with our clients.
I built the site using pure ActionScript 3.0 using Flash Builder 4 and created a solid framework using SWFAddress and XML loaders to populate the content, again making it as easy as possible to keep the site up to date and expand on it in the future. Flash was chosen for it’s ability to realise a rich experience in a limited time and alternative content is provided in HTML for devices without Flash support.
The site is only a first step and I’m working on creating more content and experiences to demonstrate how we can help solve problems for our clients communication and branding.
Role: Concept, visual design, branding, Flash development
Tools: Adobe Fireworks, Flash Professional, Flash Builder, SWFAddress, Google Maps API
