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Company: Aelius
Project: Xtreme Entertainment UK Website
Dates: Feb 2007 to Jun 2007
How did the project start?
Xtreme Entertainment UK commissioned me to design them a website that would appeal to their primary target audience - kids! They needed something bright and colourful, fun and playful and incredibly simple to use, even for youngsters. Their range is constantly changing too, so the entire site was to be entirely configurable via a custom CMS.
What options did you consider?
Flash was the only real option for this brief - the user experience had to move and bounce with every click, keeping children engaged and looking forward to opening every page. The use of carefully crafted vector graphics allowed me to be adventurous and playful without being too constrained by bandwidth.
What help and expertise did you receive?
The original characters where designed by local artist Jez Hunt, then scanned and painstakingly redrawn in vector format.
Did you face any challenges or learn any lessons?
Ensuring that the site ranked well in search engines despite being built entirely in Flash was a big challenge. Also, usability was a key issue - the site had to be simple enough for young children to understand and engage with, whilst being sensible enough to assert the company's brand values of high quality service and professionalism.
What are the outcomes and how has it improved your business?
The website has put Xtreme Entertainment UK on the map, and given their competitors real cause for concern - so much so that I have been inundated ever since with requests from other inflatable hire companies from all over the country! The site also recently scooped a National Fresh Creative Award at Manchester.
What are your plans for the future?
The site continues to expand with new games and user-generated content, such as drawings sent in by the children. We've also recently launched an e-commerce website in order to take advantage of the party supplies market.
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