What’s this Channel 4?

The brief

We were commissioned to re-design an existing site for Channel 4 which was made entirely in Flash. Part of the brief was also to look at the overall architecture of the site: make it easier to find things; group the content so it was in a more logical order and create clear user-journeys across pages.

The existing website was produced completely in Flash and so was not search engine friendly. A lot had changed at the channel (E4, More 4 and 4OD had come online) since the website was released, so Channel 4 commissioned some new content from Available light to bring the story up to date. Stylistically, it was all looking a little tired too.

We were also asked to port the new site into Channel 4′s content management system so it could be updated easily.

What 72 dots were among the first to notice is that great design is not a decorative add-on but essential to your content. They do the simple stuff brilliantly, and the brilliant stuff simply. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

Darren Pangbourne, Editor, New Media Factual (History), Channel 4

Design challenges

The brief specified that we had to re-use the existing flash games which had been extracted from the original site. This posed the crucial design challenge – how to marry the new site design (modern, reflecting current branding guidelines and ‘on-message’) with legacy content executed in a completely different style?

An aspect of having to use the channel’s CMS was that the templates come with a fixed-with vertical navigation area down the left-hand side. Many of the legacy flash games utilised the full width of the screen so we had to design the new site with this very much in mind. The answer to this question was to scale the flash movies down in the HTML rather than re-engineer them so that the navigation could fit too. A simple answer, but it resolved the issue. We also set the background colours of the flash games to be transparent so they would merge more sympathetically with the new design.

Other challenges lay in making the old-school site standards-compliant; we introduced a CSS-based layout (data tables were marked up properly for increased accessibility) and employed some DOM-scripting to recreate the rich functionality that was present in the flash version.

The Outcome

The new design is much more than a lick of paint. Channel 4′s brand identity is fully expressed and the uncluttured approach makes the content much more clearer.

By grouping content more logically and (crucially) renaming section titles so they are more explanatory makes content easier to find. Re-ordering navigation items to delineate the information hierarchy gives context and meaning to end-users. You can find things, you can see what there at a glance. In our opinion, the website is a much more enjoyable and rewarding experience for the viewer.

About Me

5 reasons why you should hire me

1. My core skills

Design & technical abilityI can design, plan, craft and create most things you see on the web
Interface & visual designI focus on simplicity and clarity and know how to work with brands
Interaction designMaking things simple to use isn’t necessarily simple to do, you need an expert
ExperienceI’ve been around longer than most. I know a whole lot of good stuff most designers don’t
IdeasI’m up with current trends in design and technology and can inject the latest thinking into your project too

2. Web design & development services

Business planningI can help you firm up your idea and cost it.
Competitor analysisLooking at similar products helps us define your place in the market and refine your branding and overall approach
WireframingFlat or clickable wireframes will help you work out what you’re building before you start – saves lots of time and money in the long-term
Image researchStrong imagery can make or break a project
Brand developmentI know how to work with brands online and know the difference between a Value and a Mission statement
Visual designWhat’s it going to look like? Hows that section going to work? I can show you
EditorialYou can’t expect to create engaging website experiences using lorem ipsum everwhere, it just doesn’t cut it. I work with real content so we know how it’s really going work. If you’re not hot on writing compelling calls-to-action, I can help
PrototypingYou might want to test a piece of functionality. I can storyboard, make paper prototypes, create clickable wireframes, interactive demos, screencasts & videos to show you how it could work
CodingHTML5, CSS3, PHP, jQuery, MySql, Flash, LAMP
Platform neutralI understand how interactive media can work on different platforms, not just the web. I’ve worked on web, interactive television, mobile, touch-screen kiosk, installation and CD-ROM
Take the guess-work out of design decisions.Using A/B or multivariate testing we can try out different designs to see what’s more successful
AnalyticsWe probably won’t nail it first-time round. Looking at and understanding your site analytics will remove the guesswork

3. Clients have said…

Ian was among the first to notice that great design is not a decorative add-on but essential to your content. He does the simple stuff brilliantly, and the brilliant stuff simply. Can’t recommend him highly enough.
Darren Pangbourne, Editor, New Media Factual (History), Channel 4
A fantastic design for Kew´s Henry Moore website. It manages to both communicate the beauty of the exhibition and and at the same time provide lots of content for our audiences. It is a joy to use.
Mike Saunders, Director of Digital Media, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
I love it! It’s fresh and modern and the streaming video allows my showreels to showcase both my acting and singing work.
Richard Shelton, actor and singer
The proof’s in the pudding – we’re selling music across the globe and our customers keep coming back. Ian worked really hard to make it all happen.
Gladdy Wax, Owner, Reggae Unlimited

4. My work has won awards

Moore at KewOfficial Honoree, Webby Awards 2008
Reggae UnlimitedSpecial Recognition, Brighton & Hove Web Awards 2007
The Big Roman DigBest Website (BIMA Awards 2005), Site of the Day (24hr Museum)

5. OK, how about because I work in a rickety old tree-house in Brighton & Hove, UK?

Hallworth Design Ltd was established in 2011 and is it is solely owned and run by me, Ian Hallworth. I’m based in a rickety old tree-house, close to the seafront at the Hove end of Brighton & Hove, England. I recommend ice-cream from Marrocco’s.

Tips on writing a web design brief

February 6, 2008

What do you need a website for?

It may sound like a daft question, but it is at the top of the list for good reason. Even if you have an existing website, ask yourself the same question again. What do you need it to do for you? What are your short and long-term business goals? Do you need to raise awareness of your product? Increase sales by widening your audience? Get your brand message across to a new audience? Once you’ve really know what it needs to do, we can start to think about how we can achieve it… This question will help us define what the key design and functionality needs to be.

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Hallworth Design

Tag Archives: Design