Redesigned Recording Studio website - Site Check please

briguy33 · Post by **briguy33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:34 am

www.ihookstudios.com

A redesign I did for a local recording studio... Just wanted to see what you guys thought.

thanks

brian

Quest Poetics · Post by **Quest Poetics** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:39 am

Wow that is a really nice looking site...I was actually quite impressed...Can you do me a favor and send me an email so I can have it for the future...Also in that e-mail could you send me a price of what a website like that would cost...Thanks and like I said before, that was an awesome site!

Randy

Soundcampaign@gmail.com

you can check my current website at soundcampaign.com

Silverlode · Post by **Silverlode** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:41 am

Fantastic!

Jeremy Garber · Post by **Jeremy Garber** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:22 am

It looks good. I like the pics.

John Jeffers · Post by **John Jeffers** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:24 am

The site looks really, really good, but...

I absolutely hate splash screens. I absolutely hate Flash even more. I absolutely hate Flash the most when it forces you to load it in a new window that takes over your screen.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:46 am

My favorite is the shot of the floor tom with 2 dozen mics pointed at it.

briguy33 · Post by **briguy33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 12:50 pm

thanks for the comments...

Do the videos and the music seem
to be loading alright for everyone?

Thanks again/

brian

cwileyriser · Post by **cwileyriser** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:00 pm

I kinda hate Flash too, but I have to say that everything loaded amazingly quickly and ran well. I was particularly impressed with how fast and non-wonky the video stuff was. Kind of a cool touch. Assuming that the site will stay a Flash site, my only criticism would be of the scroll bars for the text content - it took me several seconds to figure out that there was more text to read and that I had to scroll to find it. But I don't know - I seem to have that problem with a lot of Flash sites. Maybe my eyes are worse than I thought....

thesimulacre · Post by **thesimulacre** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 12:50 am

Can you also send me an email and quote for comparable site design? You can send it to "thesimulacre AT lycos DOT com"

The site you have created here shows a superior use of minimalist attention-focusing. Is there a shorter way to say that? Say what you will about Flash, guys, but that site is the exception IMHO. If you wanna know why just look at the Flash site we paid for in studio time, and then again in cash to bring up to snuff. (the cherrysound one in my signature)

I am still trying to get the point across that the audio really counts more than some freakin' future theme, but every time we give the guy 320kBps Mp3's, he mangles the hell out of them. That is why I made the myspace page as an alternate... I am rather proud of it, because I learned HTML the same day. It's www.myspace.com/cherrysoundstudios

thesimulacre · Post by **thesimulacre** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:06 am

Oh, and the picture "speech bubble" previews are a little janky. Especially #06 for some reason. Aside from that everthing seems to be running smoothly.

John Jeffers · Post by **John Jeffers** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 6:14 am

Here is why I hate Flash:

1. Flash breaks navigation. I can't use my browser history, or the back and forward buttons on my mouse. That sucks.

2. Flash breaks my scroll wheel. For long text areas, I have to click on some stupid scroll graphic. That sucks.

3. Flash breaks my browser's ability to resize. That sucks.

4. Animation wastes my time. I didn't build a fast computer so I could be forced to wait for the page to load while it does some stupid dance. That sucks.

5. Flash designers often make bad UI decisions in order to look cool. For an example, see the "The Studio--Equipment" page on the original poster's site. Sure, it looks neat, but it doesn't tell me much. That sucks.

I suppose I should say that none of these things are really Flash's fault. It's just a tool. But people often misuse it in order to be, well, flashy. This is almost always at a detriment to usability. And that just sucks.

Brian, you are obviously a very talented graphic artist. Appearance-wise, the site is fantastic. But I really hope that your next site makes usability a priority over appearance.

Mix413 · Post by **Mix413** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:26 pm

The most important thing in a studio website is to quickly give the viewer usable information, not entertain them. The equipment page gave no specific information about the actual gear. The photos looked cool, but were lacking in the information necessary to make the potential client know if it's the right place to book their session. How large is the tracking room? What formats do they have? What mics? What instruments are available?

briguy33 · Post by **briguy33** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:36 pm

Mr. Jeffers

Thank you for you comments.

As I agree with you that often Flash designers "make bad UI decisions in order to look cool', I assure you that I have always made usability my first priority when designing a website.

That is why there are no long "stupid dances" to wait through and the navigation on the iHook site is a standard menu bar with a drop-down sub-menu.. with visual feedback on every link so you know what your clicking on.. if you or anyone else have any problem finding any information on this site please let me know.

As far as some of the other faults you mentioned.. it is not the designers that make final decisions.. for example the "Equipment" page .. the client did not want your typical equipment list.. all he wanted were logos doing something cool... I disagreed with him at the time but designed the section to his liking.. we have recently discussed going to a standard list of equipment and I think your comments will help make it so. And the "full screen" will be changing as well.. we are going to offer a choice to go "full screen" or normal (again thank you for your comments)

I believe that i made the iHook site simple enough to navigate without the use for back & forward buttons, none of the text is more than a few paragraphs so the scroll wheel shouldn't be an issue, and the site loads quickly with no over-the-top animation to slow things down.

Please remember that sites like this are used as a sales tool.. not an info sheet... there has to me some "design", some "flashy-ness", some uniqueness to it in order to draw in prospective clients.. which in this case are musicians and advertising creatives which I believe both would enjoy iHook Studios

John Jeffers · Post by **John Jeffers** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:50 pm

Hey Brian,

First off, please don't call me "Mr. Jeffers", K?

I totally understand that you need to do what the client wants. I disagree with some of the statements you made above, and that's OK. If your client is happy, that's ultimately all that matters. I'm not the one paying you, so my opinion is basically meaningless here.

BTW, my "stupid dances" comment was regarding how you have to wait for the main content window to resize when you change pages. Perhaps that was a bit harsh, so my apologies. But I still don't like it.

Again, I think the site is fabulous from a graphic design standpoint. I would have definitely made some different choices if it were my website, but it's not.

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Tue Feb 07, 2006 5:30 pm

briguy33 wrote:www.ihookstudios.com

A redesign I did for a local recording studio... Just wanted to see what you guys thought.

thanks

brian

Its a very awesomly executed and progammed site and it looks perfect for the music that gets recorded there..perfect for them as a musical institution..

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Redesigned Recording Studio website - Site Check please

Redesigned Recording Studio website - Site Check please

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