First Impressions Count!

This is a small toy that will let you change the background image on the web pages. It demonstrates the effect of first impressions and how visual images can effect the feel of a web site when you first reach it - they cover a range of styles from the understated corporate feel to the absolute eye candy of a background that could be used for a website that young kids might be using. These backgrounds are taken from a great resource at squidfingers.com - here you will find a whole pile of backgrounds that are free to download and use as backgrounds for your own projects or simply to liven up your monitor screen. Check out the portfolio section of this site - here you will see what a real expert can do with background images to create some beautiful mainstream consumer websites - we particularly like the Lee Jeans site.

These backgrounds and basic textured surfaces for web pages are part of our everyday work process and not difficult to use effectively to create moods and better legibility. We can create websites that use complex backgrounds and backdrops if required although it must be kept in mind that they are work intensive and thus generally significantly more expensive - think carefully before you ask for a website that looks like the interior design of your store! 

Colour Matters!

We love colour and we pay careful attention to getting it just right. Many smaller companies pay little attention to the effective use of colour - in fact many people pay more attention to decorating their homes, understanding the value of colour in the domestic setting - than they do when it comes to using the power of colour to influence customers' buying decisions.

A useful resource can be found at colourlovers.com and a great introduction for those of you who are unaware of just how important careful thought about the visual impact of colour actually is. There are literally thousands of palettes and ideas here and they are sorted into useful searchable categories. Take a wander round and you will get  a good demonstration of how colours can evoke meaning - many of the palettes have descriptive names where you simply understand what the creator is trying to communicate using a three, four or five colour palette. Go check it out all you non-believers!