We Are VI
POSTED IN Front End, Portfolio, User Experience May 19, 2011
_The Brief
As part of our wider rebranding, my agency decided to upgrade our personal site to reflect much more of what was going on behind the scenes in our studio. Moving away from our video based flash site, we decided to build the new version on a robust and scalable CMS.
_The Solution
There is an intrinsic problem with web agencies designing their own sites. It is very much a personal love affair, and therefore, a lot more (in most cases too much) thought goes into making it perfect.
Having matured a lot over the past 2 summers, it was decided to re-launch the We Are VI brand, with a more sophisticated look and feel. We wanted to reflect this in our website, and so decided to greatly enhance the scope of content covered on the site.
Specific categories and areas were created on the site to facilitate the services, showreel, case studies (across various areas including web, strategy, branding and print), our blog as well as individual staff portfolios.
Furthermore, we emphasised our enthusiasm towards social media by integrating our presence on sites like twitter, facebook and flickr within the new website.
As we wanted to create a unique experience, new and innovative techniques were used for HTML and CSS, which resulted in some really cool effects for the improved interface.
_The Result
We Are VI launched a new site featuring a whole lot more interesting content, with a new look and feel that was both more mature and much more enticing to explore.
Sadly, VI has since closed for business, but you can still see some of the awesome work this agency did at www.wearevi.com
Atelier Mayer
POSTED IN Portfolio, Project Management, User Experience April 19, 2011
_The Brief
As a unique start-up, catering solely for the high-end vintage fashion market, Atelier Mayer tasked my agency with creating an ecommerce solution that would accentuate the quality and style of the brand, whilst providing a comprehensive and easy-to-use interface that would become the first port of call for users wanting to find out more about vintage fashion.
_The Solution
The emphasis of the Atelier Mayer brand is on quality. The vintage pieces showcased on this site are predominantly one off pieces from some of the world’s most desired fashion labels.
As a result, categorisation and indexing of products within the site could not rely solely on garment types, designer labels or standard sizing charts. Taking this into consideration, we conceptualised a flash based interactive dressing room, where the user can input their various dimensions, and a list of all relevant items is returned from the database.
Furthermore, Atelier Mayer also wanted to be positioned as a central resource for all things relating to vintage fashion. To this end, the site features in depth information on all designers and icons that have items featured on the site, as well as an interactive video wall, where users can view footage of the latest vintage fashion news and interviews.
A lot of attention was given to optimising the checkout process of the site, as it was established through research that the main target audience would likely be less tech savvy and need more reassurance when entering their credit card details.
_The Result.
Atelier Mayer now have a highly active and successful online store, featuring some of the most sought-after vintage fashion items. The site features a comprehensive and in depth search function, and easy categorisation allows obscure and unique pieces to be easily found on the site.
The site can be viewed at www.atelier-mayer.com
Kay Cooks
POSTED IN Front End, Portfolio, Project Management April 18, 2011
The bubbly chef asked VI to produce an exciting and interactive website to showcase her love for cooking, and travels across Thailand and South East Asia. My role on this project included Information Architecture, HTML and CSS and Project Management.
Random Bubbles of Love
POSTED IN Blog, Lab April 10, 2011
This is one of my favourite sketches so far: Random bubbles popping up all over the screen. You don’t even need to do anything, you can just sit and stare. To me this is what makes Processing so appealing. Looking forward to creating more random beauty… but better!
Color changes and fades
POSTED IN Blog, Lab April 10, 2011
So two things – the WP plugin doesn’t play nicely if you try to place to sketches in one post. That means I’ll be making lots of little posts. Oh well.
And, this sketch shows some basic color fades depending on the position of the mouse, and whether the mouse is clicked. Try it. Its fun.
Processing.js installed! It’s inline bitches!
POSTED IN Blog, Lab April 10, 2011
EDIT: Although I can’t fault the processing.js WP Plugin from Keyvan, I recently changed my WP theme to one that is very JS intensive, and since then I have not been able to run pretty much any plug-ins on the site. It’s very sad, but a sacrifice I am willing to make at this stage in light of keeping things simple. So I am moving all my processing sketches over to the HTML version of processing.js. Same thing really, you’re just not viewing it inside my WP site.
I just installed this rad plugin from Keyvan Minoukadeh. It allows you to run Processing sketches rightin your WP posts. Which is super easy, and means you don’t have to deal with the lag caused by running your processing sketches through the Java engine.
Look at Limebot take off, lights flashing and all!
LIMEBOT can move!
POSTED IN Blog, Lab April 2, 2011
Fascinating isn’t it just! CHECK HIM
Limebot is live!
POSTED IN Blog, Lab March 31, 2011
Check him out here: LIMEBOT GO!
Yay! More processing adventures coming as we speak!
Give Me Football
POSTED IN Front End, Portfolio March 13, 2011
Case study coming soon.
Not Just a Label
POSTED IN Front End, Portfolio February 23, 2011
VI was briefed to do the re-branding for this highly regarded online fashion community. My role on this project included Interaction Design, XHTML & CSS.
NYC Bike Ride
POSTED IN Everything Else February 3, 2011
(This post originally appeared on Fixed Gear Cape Town)
It’s taken me all of a month to finally get around to putting a few of my favourite pics together from the holidays, but here they are.
After some nightmare flight delays and lots and lots of snow, we finally made it to NYC in time for New years. Having seen Ian’s post go up a few days before about NYC Riders over the xmas period, I got the itch to have a ride around the city.
On 2 Jan, after having fully recovered from the NYE hangover, I ventured out in search of a bike to hire.
Staying with a friend in the Lower East Side, there were stacks of bike shops around. A friend recommended Chari & Co. on Stanton Street. Besides having loads of very desirable gear, the guys were friendly, and had me sorted in no time. I was kinda hoping to hire a fixie (which they do have), but the city streets were still a mess from the blizzards a few days before, and what with the yanks driving on the wrong side of the road, I figured it would be a bit more sensible taking a freewheel and brakes for my first ride around the island.
The snow had for the most part melted away, but a lot of streets were still quite iced up. Where there was no longer snow, there was a thick layer of caked up mud/sludge/glass/trash along the shoulder of the road (which inevitably led to me getting a puncture later in the day).
I did the round at all the big tourist sites, but highlights were most certainly the view from the Williamsburg Bridge, high-tailing it down 5th Avenue and the mirror view over the Jacky Kennedy Reservoir in Central Park. Lo-lights were the puncture and that I managed to stack it like a total fool right in front of the Flat Iron building. Staring at the building instead of the curb in front of me, I flipped over the bars. Fortunately at super slow speed, but still enough to leave me with a few good bruises. I call it NYC’s way of saying ‘hello’.
If you’re interested in seeing my whole route, you can check it out here, and use the absolutely frikkin cool 3D function to see a fly-over of the route, it’s RAD!
Enjoy the pics
Suzie G
POSTED IN Front End, Portfolio January 23, 2011
The brief was to create a fully interactive e-commerce site for this up and coming designer. The result was a full screen flash experience with tightly integrated e-commerce system. My role on this project included Interaction Design, XHTML & CSS.
Mobile test post
POSTED IN Lab November 29, 2010
I have just installed wp for iPhone. Thus will be my first test post from my phone.
Spring Mix 2009
POSTED IN Mixes December 22, 2009
Here again with a set for October. Summer is on its way, and a soundtrack to go with all the long nights ahead!
[wpaudio url="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/October2009set.mp3" text="Spring Mix 2009" dl="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/October2009set.mp3"]
Nata’s 30 Birthday Bash
POSTED IN Mixes December 22, 2009
Here’s one from the archives! Nata had a huge debaucherous mess of a 30th b-day party, and I was lucky enough to provide some of the nights aural entertainment.
[wpaudio url="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/natas_b_day.mp3" text="Nata's 30th" dl="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/natas_b_day.mp3"]
Polly VS Shark
POSTED IN Mixes December 22, 2009
This mix is a live recording of a set I played at the leaving party of our good friend Polly in May. Enjoy!
[wpaudio url="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/polly_VS_shark.mp3" text="Polly vs Shark" dl="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/polly_VS_shark.mp3"]
Easter Mix 2009
POSTED IN Mixes December 22, 2009
A mix I made over the Easter break. Was inspired by a recent trip to Berlin, and was my first mix after quite a long break.
[wpaudio url="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/EasterMix2009.mp3" text="Easter Mix 2009" dl="http://www.neongrape.com/sets/EasterMix2009.mp3"]
Hey Ho Disco!
POSTED IN IPhone, Pictures August 26, 2009
A few shots from some nights out at the disco. Reach for the lazers!!!
Panoramas
POSTED IN Blog, Everything Else | TAGS : Pictures August 23, 2009
I’ve always enjoyed the nifty panorama setting on my camera, and these are some of my favourites. Click on the thumbs below to see the BIG PICTURE 
Enjoy!
Web 3.What?
POSTED IN IA & UX, IA and UX, Web Trends July 11, 2009
What is Web3.0? It might be a little premature to start asking this question, but if we don’t start weighing up the possibilities, we’ll never know when it does actually hit us. Read More »
