Solar Energy
Web design, web development & mobile design
Solar Energy is the best and most dynamic Greek web portal when it comes to energy matters. porcupine colors designed and developed the website in order to help it thrive.
Considering design, the layout of the page should give visitors easy access to the articles published day by day. Categories, tags, an advanced search system and other elements should be one click away.
The perplexed structure of the content lead to a similarly perplexed navigation scheme. Our mission was to make complicated things look and work simply enough. This is why we suggested a different color for each main area for the website. Each particular color is found on the navigation scheme, the horizontal bars which define the main content, the secondary navigation etc. To this direction we added some good old breadcrumb navigation below the main menu.
When we're talking about big websites we have learnt to deal with pages and text difficult to be read or even scanned. We tried to avoid this common issue. This is why we preserved white space and paid special attention to typography and specifically the vertical rhythm.
Regarding development, Solar Energy is powered by Expression Engine. On one hand such a website must be easily expandable, fast and secure. On the other hand we had to work out a multifunctional platform which would come up to the highest expectations concerning publishing.
Thankfully, Expression Engine has a very adaptable Control Panel. We decided to redesign parts of it in order to make publishing as easy as it gets. Creating and producing different types of content (e.g. articles vs. videos) is an everyday activity in Solar Energy. Thus, we added extra check inputs or drop down menus, one click access to categories, special enhancements regarding multimedia etc.
Last but not least, Solar Energy is optimised to be easily accessed from devices such as iPhones and iPads.
What do we really know about our visitors these days? They can be anywhere, doing anything and we can't predict what they are going to do next. So we need to deliver an optimal experience no matter the medium. By following the responsive design method, Solar Energy serves well any type of visitor.
More on Solar Energy
Navigation
The navigation scheme shows the selected areas of the website. Breadcrumbs enhance this perception and add to the usability of the system. The upper level of the website is clearly one step away.
Moreover, each main area of the website has its own color.
Selected Articles
There's content which needs to be pointed out. The Selected Articles area covers a very special part of each page and it is always visible.
The administrators of the website can just check a box and mark an article as important, therefore selected.
Footer
The footer aims to give quick access to all main areas of the website and prompts visitors to subscribe to the relevant newsletter.
I worked with Yiannis for Solar Energy, a very demanding project which keeps on going. And going. Yiannis never stops staying by you. He keeps listening to you and he never quits no matter how complicated is a new feature. You don't find such a partner easily.
Yiannis is someone I would like to have beside me in any professional or personal activity, because he's honest, sincere, a man with principles and great humor. He's not just a partner, he's a friend.
One more thing: Yiannis is one of the rare people who admits when he's wrong. He actually mentions it before you realize it. What's more to ask?
Role
- Information Architecture
- Website/User Interface design
- XHTML & CSS coding
- Expression Engine development
- Image editing
CMS: Expression Engine
Languages: Greek
Visit Solar Energy: http://solarenergy.gr/