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Experience
Why Wendy Peck?
Books by Wendy PeckI have written a number of books on Web design. See the Books section for full details.
Wendy Peck ©wendy peck 1998-2003 |
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Anglo Diamond |
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Redesign: This is the third time I have worked with Anglo Diamond to create a new look for their site, starting in 2001. This business has grown, moving to a new location in Des Moines, IA. A fresh look is important for retail businesses. This rendition of the site reflects a new product line, world-famous Ebel watches, and also visually represents the new location. One of the unique features of this upscale retail location, built by the owners of Anglo Diamond, is a light spectrum show on both the street sign, and the top of the building. High-tech lighting provides a changing spectrum of colour. The Web site reflects this change, using a very small file to create the effect. Claudia Schiffer is featured in the Ebel product pages. Flash appears throughout the site, and CSS is heavily uses to create this clean site. |
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Wild Clay Studio |
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In my spare time ... That statement is a standing joke with self-employed people, but at times, we actually do have time for serious hobbies. Pottery is one of mine, and this site reflects the fruits of my labours. I was most concerned that the work and information was easy to read, and had a starring role. At the same time, I wanted the site to reflect the simplicity and drama of these ancient forms and techniques. I'm happy with the result. |
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You can't see much of this site, as it is an extranet site (password required), but there are a few pages available. This site services a wholesale audience with a strong utility focus, but the owners wanted the site to reflect the quality and innovation of the company. Using a soft, professional blue palette, brightened with tiny touches of gold provided the answer. The entry Flash movie was created quickly and within a modest budget by customizing a commercial template. There are many great commercial products available, which save a great amount of time, and often allow features that would not otherwise be affordable.
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Diamond Bureau |
No link (Intranet) |
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Unfortunately, you will not be able to even peek at this site, as it is an intranet site available only to a network of buyers. The page shown at the left is an example of the search return pages. This site demands hundreds of return listings that can be easily scanned, along with every-page navigation capabilities. Users are in a hurry. I used several shades of blue and grey through the site to divide content without adding too much clutter to the listings. Small search forms appear on many pages to help refine searches, or to prevent the need to return to a special search page. The programming for the site was completed by an in-house programming team.
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Jack Rabbit Tool |
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The Jack Rabbit Tool is a well-recognized, professional drill and drive tool (Norm Abrams, New Yankee Workshop uses the Jack Rabbit on most of his shows). But the company is proud of the exceptional service and product support they can offer as a small company. Although the company has done well with Internet sales, the site had been pieced together over several years. It needed a new, cleaner and more professional look. Yet it was important to retain a friendly face to represent the company's true advantage over all competitors -- personalized service. A completely new layout was required. Any item on any page that did not help visitors navigate or understand the product went out. Content language was redone, and new navigation aids were added to some pages. Buttons were retained rather than moving to pure text navigation ("this is a tactile industry," says the owner), but were changed to a neutral color and tone to both stand out (when required) and fade to the background when visitors were reading the content. Product images also underwent renovation. A consistent style was implemented for photographic images, and drawings were chosen over photos of packaged products for clarity in many cases. The result is a site that features more pages, reduced the page size by almost 70%, yet offers visitors an intuitive path through the site.
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I.J. Schecter |
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A simple but elegant site. I.J. is a successful freelance writer, who wanted a very professional look for his site, but was also concerned that it be clean and very easy to navigate and scan content. Depending on grey as a main colour helped to keep distraction from the text to a minimum. When the message is the product, as for writing, it is essential that reading the text is effortless. Large margins and generous line spacing delivers exactly that quality. The site is also designed to provide easy updating of the samples selection, as I.J. is continually adding new pieces to his completed file. A PHP interface for a simple mySQL database was the perfect solution. I.J. simply pastes new articles into the database, and new content is displayed instantly when a visitor requests his samples. |
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Calavista |
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Calavista is an exciting software company in Austin, Texas. This project included logo development, as well as creating a template for their Web site. They were especially concerned with a clean presentation for their message, to reflect the order that the products bring to their client's work pattern. Working with a clean white background, bits of neutral gray and bright primary color though the site help to guide visitors. The logo was designed to represent the artistic side of software development. Calavista products look after the detail work so that the developers can concentrate on the artistry. Please note: My portion of this project ended when the site templates for the main page and interior pages was delivered. Calavista staff created the site and maintain it. |
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Wendy Peck |
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That's me! I also do a lot of writing, and this site is devoted to that aspect of my business. The challenge was to present a professional image, without ignoring that my trademark style is clean, clear and energetic. That style must be reflected visually, as well as with the word choice. I'm happy with the results. The site is understated, but the bright touches of colour and small photos create a lively look. I'm trusting that visitors will catch both my professional presentation and my style. |
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Spectrum Ingredients |
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Spectrum Ingredients is the bulk division of Spectrum Organic (see next feature). They were so impressed with the improvements in the parent company site, that they decided the time was right for a redesign. Spectrum Ingredients customers are busy manufacturers and restaurant managers. The site had to be fast, well organized and present information instantly. Although the site is visually interesting, that look is accomplished by using CSS background images. Once the images are loaded once, the information flies onto the page for each subsequent page. Data is also very important, with most customers interested mainly in a few parameters. We placed the frequently used information for each product on the page, and rather than have visitors wade through all data, placed a link to a PDF file containing full information for each product. As a result, visitors can browse through the surface details to locate the best product, and then click through for full details. |
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Anglo Diamond |
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Note: This site has been redone. See here. To celebrate a new location in a prime location in Des Moines, IA, Anglo Diamond needed a new logo and a fresh new site. This site is very clean, almost subdued except for the occasional dash of bright green. Color was important to deliver the mood, and we chose the muted, but unusual shade of purple to accomplish the right mood. A tiny bit of Flash adds just a bit of spice to the entry page without compromising download time, or any function for the site. This company is always moving forward, so it was essential that the site could be easily expanded and changed. CSS text control and menus provided unlimited flexibility ... in house. |
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12851 University |
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This site is a simple, brochure-style site providing building and lease information for potential tenants in a new, commercial building in Des Moines, Iowa. The function of the site was not difficult to conceive and create, but it was essential to balance information access with an attractive look. This beautiful, custom designed building is in a hot growth area of Des Moines, and image is an important part of the value to a potential tenant. The project also included a print component for a direct mail initiative, with the look for the print portion borrowed from the site design. |
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Aris Global |
Confidential Intranet Site: No site view available. |
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Syentis.com is an information portal for software customers. This is a no-nonsense, information only type site, containing many pages. The look had to blend with the parent site as well. The challenge for this project was definitely organization, as the content requires an unusually high number of topic divisions. It was also essential to keep the site easy to edit, including the menu portion of the site. The site is maintained in-house, and drastic changes are common. CSS was the solution for all menus. Easily edited and fast to load, CSS menus are the most flexible menu solutions. One Dreamweaver template provides the look for the entire site, and makes site-wide changes quick and easy. The entry page, the lower image at the left, features a site map in the left column for visitor convenience. The interior pages look like the entry page, but each page required unique content layout planning. Classic three column layout provided the flexibility to include tables and charts as required. The right column on all pages contains short descriptions of the popular pages, with links for another navigation route. |
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Mobyz.com |
Mobyz.com |
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Mobyz is a leading provider of wireless solutions, with offices throughout the US. In a competitive industry, Mobyz needed a site that would load quickly, be easy to navigate, yet provide visitors with an understanding that this is a leading company in the wireless industry. We accomplished the quick loading by using CSS to control all text, and using text menus where possible. Demos for wireless solutions are linked throughout the site, and you can reach any section of the the site from any page. The result was a deceptively simple site image, that answers any questions visitors may have with very few clicks. |
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Diamonds.com |
Diamonds.com |
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Diamonds.com, located in Las Vegas, Nevada, required a beautiful site and excellent navigation for this new site. The project involved working with a team of programmers in NY to create an elegant, uncluttered and very accessible site for diamond shoppers. We focused very hard on excellent product shots and usability. This project was an excellent example of how teams should work together. |
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Competitive Edge |
Competitive Edge |
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The dynamic owner of this business can make things happen for client businesses with his creative ideas and attention to detail. He needed a site that could present all of the above, without overwhelming busy business owners with miles of text. This is possibly the simplest site I have done, though we worked hard and spent a great deal of time on details to accomplish the task. The response to this site has been very positive and it is working well for them. |
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Wendy Peck ©wendy peck 1998-2005 |