Opinions sought -- website interface design concept

[Matt Holcomb]

Guys,

My company is currently designing a website for a Melbourne-based (used) Porsche dealer.

Here is design concept #1. I would love some feedback based on theses questions:

1. Does this design convey RSR's passion for Porsche?

2. Does the design successfully leverage Porsche's heritage?




Matt Holcomb
MFIWDP
PRVC
BOHICA
1974 911 Carrera 2.7 RoW
1974 Ford Falcon GT coupe
Dedicated Homepage
Engine Rebuild Homepage
Porsche Owners Gallery Profile
Pelican Gallery Profile

[masraum]

Matt, very nice, not too much red, but just enough for accent, and the photo's and background are nice. Make sure that you have license from Porsche to use them or they will be all over you like flies on ... well you know.

The rabidly attack any business using any Porsche names or images as copyright infringement. I'd hate to see so much good work go to waste.

[jk911]

That looks great Matt.

As for your questions.

Both the passion and heritage is conveyed well. Nice work.

I can't wait till its up and running. Its good to see these things happening in Australia.

[Fishcop]

Very nice Matt. I'm pretty sure that it won't infringe on Porsche so long as you don't use the Porsche font, the badge or any other "copy right" image (say from their website) and add a little bull**** disclamer about "not being affiliated" etc...

Not a lawyer, but am very experienced with sharks!

[Early_S_Man]

Matt,

An excellent design, overall! My only suggestion would be to vary the shading of the 50s behind the 906 with a gradient effect ... so that all of the numbers don't run together. Also, a sequence of 50-60-70-80 might be effective, too, as an alternative to all of the 50s ... to convey a continuous racing heritage.

[Victor]

Looks good Matt, dunno about the bit about the price of a Commodore. I bought my 911 from Rob, he's a great bloke but the price of a Commodore? More like 4 Commodores.

Maybe change Commodore to BMW?

[jbryant]

Got Flash

[Aussie]

Well 924's 928s and 944s can be cheaper than commodores

Simon

[Victor]

Simon, what about a VP Commodore?

[Matt Holcomb]

Cool. The consensus is that it's a good-looking site. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

Steve,

We're trying to avoid using the Porsche crest and the Porsche font. As John said, Porsche seem to be more sensitive to people using the crest and the font than car imagery. I'm going to suggest to RSR that they have a disclaimer, which should allow us to legally use the imagery that's part of the interface, including the old poster that I've used to create a new, online-only version of the RSR logo.

Warren,

I think the contrast is too high, which is why the 50s behind the 906 are as dark as they are. I'm going to fiddle with this. Then again, I may find a different image to use. I do like the 906, though.

Vic,

Well, our cars are more expensive to own and run than a Commodore, with the exception of most HSVs. Rob is trying to appeal to more people with no more than $40K to spend on a Porsche. The website copy is by no means final.


jbryant,

The site's intro will be programmed in Flash. There is a possibility that the entire site will be done in Flash, too.


Matt Holcomb
MFIWDP
PRVC
BOHICA
1974 911 Carrera 2.7 RoW
1974 Ford Falcon GT coupe
Dedicated Homepage
Engine Rebuild Homepage
Porsche Owners Gallery Profile
Pelican Gallery Profile

[JSDSKI]

A wonderful look that captures Porsche's history and your client's service. Really like the way the 906 grabs the eye and the way the model line-up on the bottom underscores "Specialist" services.

You might consider reworking the last line to be less passive.

But, really, it's ready to go live. Nice work.

[pulliamjs]

FWIW, I've been managing online businesses for 7 years, so I know something about this topic (unlike most topics on this board!):

Is this the Home page? If so, it's too wordy. People generally don't read sentences online. Think bullet points.

Also, the links should look more clickable. Try to "buttonize" them.

What 1 to 3 things do you want a visitor to your website to do? Whatever it is, it should pop, not get blended in with the rest of the links.

I agree about the "too much red" comment. I'd tone down the palette.

Finally, how big is the image? When I saved it, it was 200KB+. That's too big for narrowband. Try to keep all your pages below 40K. That said, I do like the way you have used images on the page. Very classy

[pulliamjs]

"The site's intro will be programmed in Flash. There is a possibility that the entire site will be done in Flash, too."

Please don't use this as the default or dump people into Flash w/an option to SKIP. My focus group testing has shown that consumers hate this.

[targa911man]

Needs a Targa.

[masraum]

Ew, I hate flash. Almost everytime I have the opportunity to skip I do.

I think the 50 is not for the decade, but is an indicater of 50 years of Porsche, but I could be wrong.

Glad that you are conscious of the copyright stuff. I've never been contacted by them, but several people on the Rennlist have, and through discussions of those instances I have read several times that the silouette (sp) of the 911 is copyrighted.

[thabaer]

Flash is heavily misused with the result of making sites difficult or even painful to use for getting at what the customer is trying to learn. It has it's place but using it for navigation only reduces flexibility in browsing a site.

No image of that nice little tan/yellow car of yours ? Good way to avoid copyright attacks from the big corporation.

[Victor]

Matt,

If the site isto appeal to people in the sub $40K bracket, maybe the models on the bottom of the page shouldn't have an average value of ~$130K?

Throw in an SC and some 928 / 924's etc!

Just a thought.

[CamB]

Chalk up another against "all flash". I wanna be able to "shift-click" a bunch of windows and if I'm ever on dialup flash sends me away...

[nigel911]

a designer's worst nightmare...

'Yeah, haven't got any amends yet but I've just uploaded the website visuals you designed onto a public bulletin board to get some feedback, I'll get back to you in a couple of days..."

aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!!!

Too many cooks etc.

As a graphic designer and the owner of an online business for 4 years, go for the lowest common denominator to get the widest audience. Example: no 'Flash' on Pelican.

[Matt Holcomb]

More good feedback. Thank you.

pulliamjs,

I haven't written the copy for the Home Page, but when I do, the word count will be a third of what it is for the About Us page.

As for the links, I'm still thinking about them. They will be rollovers. I thought "buttonized" links were a symptom of second-generation website design ... or are they now back in fashion?

And ignore the file size. The images haven't been optimised!


Victor,

This was Rob's brief:

"Graphically, all I want, apart from something attractive, is to have pictures of every generation of 911 integrated into the design. In terms of the copy, I want to appeal to people with $40K (and under) to spend on a Porsche."


Charlie,

The site might feature new in-car footage of my car at the track.


Dan,

I hear ya!


Nigel,

I should come clean: I designed this interface. Our core business is corporate videos and television commercials. We design and program websites, but we're very selective -- we only do websites for friends and special clients.


Flash. Somedays (like today!) I wish it didn't exist! It seems to polarize people. Even people with broadband connections despise it. This site will have a (skippable) Flash intro -- I see no other way to pull people in.

Now, I think if we're clever, the whole site can be programmed in Flash, and nobody -- except for people without the Flash plugin -- would know it.

However, I've got another week to sleep on the should-the-site-be-programmed-in-Flash issue.


Matt Holcomb
MFIWDP
PRVC
BOHICA
1974 911 Carrera 2.7 RoW
1974 Ford Falcon GT coupe
Dedicated Homepage
Engine Rebuild Homepage
Porsche Owners Gallery Profile
Pelican Gallery Profile