Anal Retentive About Design

Presentation is everything…from fashion, to food, gardens, to homes and yes, websites. Or may be, it’s just me—particularly about websites. I am very picky when it comes to selecting and having the right website design. (I also happen to be judgmental of every site I visit…for the good, bad or the ugly. I’m not proud of this…it’s just so happens to be my little pet peeve in life).

For over a week now, we’ve been working on getting the design for the Why Go Solo homepage and thus far, they have been off for one reason or another. I’m not the easiest person for a web designer to work with—I’ll certainly admit that. I want for them to exercise their creative design skills to produce a certain feel and emotion from the website and more often then not, that is simply not descriptive enough. Unfortunately, all I know is how I want to feel and be moved. Just like when you see and look at a piece of art.

Here is some of the guidance (not all) that was provided:

Key Words

• Trendy (colorful, appealing, teasing to the senses, attention to details)
• Fun
• Clean
  

Functionality

• Easy to navigate
• Easy to understand
• Makes good use of space
• Makes good use of the branding

Targets

• Active and professional adults
• Professional business travelers (for leisure time)
• Singles and married alike

Think the place you want to go to as a professional, educated, mature, financially stable, active, fun individual. For example, the Why Go Solo logo reminded me right away of the logo for a trendy New York martini bar. This is where our target market goes to unwind…perhaps, while still wearing their suits.

If you are a rift raft, immature, a thug, only looking to hook-up etc…then you will be intimidated by our brand/look and feel.

I also provided websites that I like and don't like and website elements that I like and don't like. Is it too much to want to be blown away?

Martin and Ruth kinda liked the last design (given some minor changes), but it wasn’t “It” for me. Chasing the “It” factor is a dangerous game…but I feel, it’s well worth it.

When people visit us, I want them to feel captivated, energized and uplifted by the site and the possibilities.

I really want to nail down the design soon. As soon as we have the design, we’ll have a new temporary homepage and people will be able to sign-up for invites for the beta. We will also be moving this blog to our own domain and branded template…PLUS, we’ll be starting a new and exciting blog.

Lets hope this all happens next week!!