With the brief stating we need to choose a 'local' or known restaurant, I did a search of the places that represented themselves online and those that didn't.
Nottingham based Cumin, Chutney and Viceroy are examples of local restaurants, but have their own online presence. Certainly, I would enjoy redesigning at least the first, as it does try and gets somewhere in producing a visual style. However, the pages are too long, and information seems slightly overloaded when you first get into the site.
Whereas, Viceroys seems to display it's information in an effective small package, with easy links and efficient use of imagery and text. I applaud that particular website. Yet, having not visited these places, I thought it better to choose somewhere I had. Henceforth, Antibos.
A few devices I like from their original design - the knife and form image has potential and furthermore, the colour palette, olive greens with beige browns gives it quite a sophisticated feel. The main content however I feel lets it down.
The links for navigation seem out of place, or are not visually cohesive. Meanwhile, the images used to display the 3 different restaurantts use a variety of shaped bubbles that are unusual.This seems to be a case of a nice wrapper, but not so nice filling.
Plus, they have an eye catching Flash banner for a 2 for 1 offer, yet it uses flowers and bright vivid colours, so it sticks out like a sore thumb. Sure, you want adverts to be noticeable, but it doesn't bode with consistency at all.
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Using the Erskine design survey as a basis, I have rewritten the questions, slimmed down the whole form and shall now use it for Antibo's, responding as if I were the client filling in their wants and needs for a new website design.
WEBSITE DESIGN SURVEY
Establishing…
What is the name of your company, and your website address?
Antibo, and you can log on at www.antibo.co.uk
What date do you intend to have a completed site by?
Friday, 13th February!
Who within your company should be contacted, to liaise and confirm decisions?
We have an outsourced web design manager, Shaun Belcher. He ultimately will give it the thumbs up or down.
Currently…
Are there elements of your visual identity that must be maintained? (Colour schemes, logo, navigation etc)
We think our current look is very sophisticated, elegant. We like the green shades used, although that could be ascribed as a generic Italian colour anyway. We don't want to be over the top, flashing here and there. We want to maintain a personable feel.
What features do you wish to add/enhance to your site?
We already have the basics - contact form, map, menus, information about our restaurant. That pretty much suffices as the skeleton of our site. A fresh look to enhance all this would be nice.
What downfalls are there to your current site?
The pages are quite long when you get to the menus. Also, the restaurant information page, especially for Sheffield, looks a little higgledy piggeldy. We like to include pictures of our venues, yet they don't seem very fluid with the rest of the site, they look a little just placed there.
Do you have an existing hosting package and does it cater for your needs? Is your address suitable?
Yes thankyou, the address works fine for us. There is potential space for videos or interactive adverts on our package too?
In the future…
Business wise, what do you want to achieve from redesigning your site?
A fresh, contemporary, sleek look. Bring us well and truly up to date and encourage people to visit.
Who (age, profession) do you expect to be visiting your site? And in what volume?
We are a family based restaurant and attract the same sort of custom. One of our tag lines is "our customers can come and feel like millionaires but without breaking the bank" so our customers are made up of a full demograph of people. They like to feel a little classy yet not need to break the bank. Yet we would also like appeal to the younger generation, the young professionals.
What do you expect their primary activity on your site to be? (Contact, buy, look up info)
To check out our menus and then find out how to come and dine with us. Fortunately, dining out is not only about the food, although our's is award winning. The ambience, the surrounding, they all play a part and the website feeds into that. It can sometimes be the vital key impression in saying what we're about.
Will you be wanting to update the content of the website yourself?
If it is well set out and simple to enter, along with not being too time consuming this would be a worthwhile consideration. Our menus are the main area we update.
Hey, good looking…
How do you want your site to appear? List a few words (refined, modern, with attitude, friendly, colour examples)
Italian, contemporary, welcoming, quite refined. We like greens, and browns.
Are there any competitors websites that you admire? And what specifically, do you like or conversely, dislike?
Yes, Strada, which in house has a very sophisticated feel. However their website uses bright colours and looks modern. I think it's the font they use in the logo, that with a little tweeking could work.
Also, the likes of M&S and Waitrose. Their look is very simple and understated, particularly their food package sleeves for their Italian themed meals. The pictures often sell the product, beautiful food really whets the appetite. That will encourage customers through the door!
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