Contest Holder ID: Brat
Type_Of_Contest: Website Design
Title: Online Store Design
Deadline: Sept. 17, 2004 (MIDNIGHT PST)
Prize: $250
Company_Details: Part of our business is selling quality products at outlet prices. We are now branching out onto the Internet, and wish to open up an online / retail shop. The company name WILL NOT be used in the layout. The site will be using a shopping cart backend (in this case Zen Cart). We will primarily need three (3) page templates designed - a Main Page template, a Product Description Page template, and a Policy Page template (i.e., for Privacy Policy, Shipping Instructions, etc.). Our audience will be adult, age range 18 through early 40s, with the rough median age most probably being late 20s / early 30s.
Examples: There are really few online shopping sites we like. Among these are:
http://www.gap.com http://store.apple.com In terms of general design appeal, I like the following:
http://www.4design.tv/m_h/ http://www.instastudios.com http://www.hostinsta.com/ These are merely very rough ideas. We're open with respect to design. This site does not have a logo. However, a nice graphic in the site header that goes with the site theme (i.e. online merchandise) would be great!
Colors: No real color preferences. However for this site, we'd prefer that blue is not used, or is used minimally (just so many sites using that color primarily!). As we are selling watches and other articles for wear, we'd like that the colors NOT be overpowering. Also, we will have both male and female shoppers, so the color pallete should be fairly "gender neutral" (or at the very least not be gender exclusive).
Style: We are looking for: 1) "Clean" design - one that is not overly cluttered or busy. 2) Ease of navigation for the average computer user is very important. 3) Subtlety - the design should complement, not compete with, the goods being presented. "Class" and "taste" are key here. 4) Fast-loading - the site cannot be "graphics heavy". Also, as a plus, we'd like to see a wee bit of "fun" in the design without being juvenile or kiddish. Again, I leave this to the designer's discretion. Just as an additional note: our online store does not really have a name, and our company name will not be used for this. So, the designer is free to come up with whatever catchy name (s)he wants. If we like it, we'll run with it!
Comments: I’m very open to ideas, suggestions, and recommendations by the designers. I’m far from being an expert in this area.