Getting Creative » dmfoto

Before & After: Part 3

Elise Spontarelli — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 13:04:07 +0000

(To see previous groups of before and after websites, click here.)

Welcome to the third group of websites that have been redesigned by GetCreative. Each before and after shot shows the progression of a client’s website…amazing what good design can do for you! The amount of change that each site undergoes varies depending on the specific needs of each client. I hope you will enjoy these transformations.

Before

After

This is the second splash page design I have done for dmfoto. A few years ago we came up with the above ‘Before’ design (see the original here), and this winter they decided to update the page again. The new look is softer and really focuses on the images, which of course is the point of a photography website. Check out the splash page design in action to see the rollover effects and pops of color live.

Before

After

This design was done for Kidd’s Cleaning & Restoration Services. The blue, red and yellow are signature colors of the company that they wanted to portray in a clean, professional manner. The logo was also original to the business and was not altered.

Before

After

The Blue Ridge Photographic Arts Society (BRPAS) is a local arts group dedicated to fine photography. As a member of BRPAS and a supporter of the arts, I donated the time spent on this project. The logo is also my design, picked as the winner of a BRPAS Logo Contest. Each month the winning image of the Monthly Photo Contest is displayed prominently on the Home page of the site to showcase the various artistic talents of the group.

Before

After

I first designed Vance‘s portfolio site a few years ago. As his career has progressed we have made a few updates to the site as well. The current site is slightly more polished and contains more well-organized content. A rotating head shot grabs your attention on the Home page, followed by recent news and updates. Other pages showcase his acting resume, writing skills, photos and head shots, and various social media contact information.

Which is your favorite website ‘makeover’? View Part 1 and Part 2 for more!

Client Profile: Baker’s Kitchen

Elise Spontarelli — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:37:26 +0000

Baker’s Kitchen is a Wedding and Special Events Bakery in Richmond, Va. As a wedding photographer in Richmond I have had plenty of opportunities to sample the products of local bakeries, and rarely does the chance for free cake get passed by. In the past it was not uncommon for the creators of these towering fondant-covered confections to remain unknown to me- until I started planning my own wedding. Then I asked brides everywhere about the details of their vendors that I found enjoyable (and those that were not so enjoyable too, in order to avoid them). Baker’s Kitchen was a top answer from brides whose cakes were a treat to both look at and devour. It was not until November 2008, when my sister-in-law tied the knot, that I became more familiar with Baker’s Kitchen.

Watching Adam’s sister Gina plan her own wedding just months before ours had numerous perks. I heard her rave about her favorite vendors, including drool-inducing tales of hour-long cake tasting sessions and flavor combinations galore. And I also heard her rant about others, like the bridal shop where the cost of alterations totaled more than half the price of the actual dress. Her cake, though, was one of the more pleasant planning tasks, and the outcome, as you can see above, was a lovely and delicious treat. So, when selecting my own wedding cake I did a Google search for Baker’s Kitchen and ended up at a website that looked nothing like the tales of grandeur and tastes of heaven that I was expecting. Thus my designer urges kicked into gear, and I offered to transform the online presence of the company to match the light and airy consistency of their cakes.

Background
(What? You thought those two paragraphs of bridezilla ramblings were background? Nope, here comes the technical stuff.)

As we all know, the cake industry has recently undergone a trendy transformation from boring-cakes-your-Aunt-makes to Holy-Cow-is-that-life-sized-dog-with-a-wagging-tail-really-edible?! Baker’s Kitchen is that kind of cake company, though with less of an inclination for pyromania than Duff over in Charm City. They craft beautifully shaped and decorated cakes for all occasions, and they needed a website to showcase this talent. Recently purchased business cards were the color inspiration for the website, though I had a few other ideas to start with (see above).

One of the main elements of this website would be photo galleries capable of both organizing and showcasing cakes of all varieties. I created a Flash gallery for this purpose, with click through navigation. Another important factor was photo editing; the bakery had a huge number of photos that could be used, many that needed editing and some that were of too poor quality to be used.

The Site
The main target market for Baker’s Kitchen is brides and other event planners, the majority of whom are women. I wanted a look that was light and whimsical but that would speak to non-brides (including, gasp! the occasional groom) in need of a cake as well. Thus the varying shades of blues and yellows accented with the dashed stitching borders was born. The white and brown accents create enough contrast to keep the text easy to read and also avoid any harsh black elements.

When sifting through the photos I recognized a number of the cakes from weddings I had photographed with dmfoto. So, I called up Daniel and had him send me copies of Baker’s Kitchen cake photos, all of which are gorgeous and make up the main wedding cake photos on the website. This made my job of photo editing much easier, and allowed me to focus on the non-wedding cake galleries. There are four Specialty Cake galleries: All Occasion, Children, Groom and Dessert Cakes. Photos on the Supplies and Contact pages are all courtesy of Baker’s Kitchen, and photos on the About page are all stock photos.

Overall this site was both fun and challenging to put together. One face-to-face meeting and a lot of emails with the employees at Baker’s Kitchen and ta-da! A new functional and in my opinion very beautiful website. This site remains one of my favorite that I’ve designed to date, and I can only hope that the wonderful and talented folks at Baker’s Kitchen agree! Have any questions about the design? In the market for a cake (who isn’t??) and want more info? Leave me a comment and I’m glad to help. And, here are a few more mouth-watering delicacies for your enjoyment.

Distractions

Elise Spontarelli — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:18:29 +0000

During my experience working from home, I have found there are numerous advantages and disadvantages to a home office. One of the biggest pros and cons is the hours: the flexibility is great, but the fact that you never really “leave” work can lead to too many late nights. When I’m feeling overworked, especially if I’ve been focusing on one large project, I welcome a certain amount of distraction to clear my head before I revisit a design.

As with any creative field, I think that taking your mind off a project for a brief time can make the editing process more effective once you return to the task at hand. I find that editing improves with this method not only for design layouts, but also with photography and especially copy writing. Ideally I like to have multiple clients at varying stages of the design process, so that I do not spend 3 days straight designing logos. But, when business is slow or monotonous I have a collection of sites that I visit to keep me from burning out. So, without further ado here are a few of my favorite distractions. (Bonus: Some of these “distractions” can actually lead to productivity on another level!)

Facebook

Of course, everyone’s #1 office distraction. For the sake of productivity I try to limit my facebook visits to evenings and weekends, however I do sometimes visit my Business Page to update blog posts, new clients and changes to my own website during the work week.

Freelance Switch

Before I started visiting this site I listened to their Podcast: Freelance Radio. Freelance Switch is part of the Envato family of sites, and is a site for, by and about freelancers. It is not exclusive to web designers, but also includes writers, graphic artists, photographers…any creative field with a high percentage of freelancers, really. I have found this site to be both amusing (I think the Freelance Freedom comics are quite funny, but that’s probably just me), as well as a helpful tool for running my small design business. The podcast features a cast of four freelancers plus guests, including a copy writer, web designer/photographer, graphic artist and social media expert.

The Kitchn

While this site is in no way related to anything web design, it is absolutely my favorite distraction. The Kitchn is part of the Apartment Therapy group of blogs, and is loaded with helpful cooking tips, yummy recipes and all sorts of advice for those with addictions to their kitchens. And, even though this blog is no help on a professional level, I do consider it a great source for my “other” job of housewife. We have had many a successful dinner here in the Spontarelli household thanks in part to The Kitchn. Not to mention, I am an even bigger fan lately since they published my photos of a recipe (I was way too excited about this!). Another fun cooking blog I like is Smitten Kitchen.

W3Schools

W3Schools is more of an educational site than a distraction, but if I can distract and educate my self at the same time then even better! W3Schools’ mission is to answer the question ‘What does a Web developer need to know?’ They cover the basics in essentially every aspect of web design, from HTML to JavaScript and beyond. I have used W3Schools as a resource throughout my web design career, especially after discovering that many of the methods of web design I learned in college were already outdated upon graduation. They provide a great foundation of knowledge, which can be followed up by more advanced tutorials at sites like Lynda.com.

Design Blogs

Blogs for designers are great in a number of ways. For one, they’re pretty much always fun to look at, and they can be a great resource for inspiration, tutorials, free downloads and more. Line25 is a blog that showcases a lot of great sites on the web; Function is a good mix of resources and advice; Web Designer Wall is gorgeous just to look at, not to mention its varied reviews and giveaways; and finally Outlaw Design Blog has a cool, functional website with great how-to articles and resources.

Photography Blogs

There are a few photo blogs that I check in with now and then, starting with the company that I work with, dmfoto. I love seeing which photos from recent weddings made the front of the slideshow (especially if they’re my photos!), and the blog is great for getting the whole picture of a wedding day from start to finish. Other photographers that I follow less regularly include The Blue Blog by StoneBlue Productions, a Lynchburg photographer and videographer with great style; Gavin Gough, a famous travel photographer whose work is often seen at Getty Images and Lonely Planet; William Neil, who is another talented photographer that really has a great eye for images and is not afraid to create his own photographic moment.

Silly Sites

There are a few sites I’ve come across that are just plain fun to visit. Wordle is a “word cloud” generator (like the one at the top of this post) that makes your words into art. Animoto is a site that takes your selected photographs and puts them to music in a really well-done way. We’ve used it for fun in the past, but it could easily showcase a portfolio of images as well. XKCD is one of my husband’s favorite time wasters and generally he’ll send me a link to one comic, which leads me to press the Random button a dozen times or so to view more “romance, sarcasm, math, and language” humor.

Based on this extensive list I’d say I am covered in the distractions department. Maybe my next post should be tips on how to stay on task! Do you have sites that are especially helpful or amusing that you visit to pass the time? Feel free to share some of your favorites

Before & After: Part 1

Elise Spontarelli — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:31:38 +0000

After getting permission from some clients I’ve worked with in the past, I thought it would be fun to show some before and after screen shots of websites that have been redesigned by GetCreative. The amount of change varies depending on the needs of each client, some receiving an entire new look while others just needed an update. Enjoy!

Before

After

Quality Calibrations, Inc. is a company that calibrates and repairs medical equipment for hospitals and universities in the Maryland/D.C. area. I liked the idea of a clean, white website for their industry, but it needed more organization. By creating lines and boxes to separate text and images I was able to better control the viewer’s eye movement and ensure that no important information would be overlooked. I used both stock and original images for this site (this page: original photos).

Before

After

dmfoto is a wedding photography company that I work for as both web designer and photographer. There are three flash sections to the dmfoto website, and they needed an updated “splash” page to showcase each section. I softened the site by moving from black to gray, and added some textured corners to the main frame. With less distracting lines there is more focus on the heart of the web page: the images.

Before

After

Amber Grove is a wedding and special events venue outside of Richmond, Va. I came across this beautiful venue while planning my own wedding, and was surprised to find that their website did not do the setting justice. I visited Amber Grove to take photos and learn some about the history of the location, which lead me to this modern layout with scrolling fonts reminiscent of the history of the house and grounds. The color palette was tweaked just a bit to create a more polished look.

Before

After

Argus Computer Services is a computer repair and consulting company in Midlothian, Va. As a company in the computer industry, it was important for Argus to portray a functional and professional website that would earn the trust of potential clients. The logo was the only element from the old website to transition to the new design, and I took the bright green and used it sparingly throughout the website with a black and white background and touches of tan. This website design was brought to life entirely via phone, email, and web conferencing, without ever actually meeting the client.

What do you think about these before and after designs? Which site had the best “makeover”? Check back soon for more before and after shots!

(To see the next group of before and after websites, click here.)