inspired networks concept

The design firm I do contract work for occasionally is looking into renovating their own website. I find it a little incredulous that a design firm does not have the time to make their own home look presentable because they're too busy helping other clients. I would have thought it was the other way around. But anyway, I'm working on a couple concepts that I'm pitching to my dev buddy to see what he thinks.

The logo I went with had an "inspired" kind of idea behind it. Yeah it's a little cliche, but I wanted to freshen up their identity. It was very pre-2000 feeling, and there had to be a change made.

http://www.flashadvocate.com/cliente...ed/in-logo.png

This particular layout makes use of minimalism. The firm itself does a great job of presenting its abilities. Mainly composed of developers, the amount of work put into their customers is something I think speaks much louder than the design could. So I expect their portfolio to do the work for them. The layout here reflects that, and centers on their work.

http://www.flashadvocate.com/cliente...red/inlay1.jpg

This particular design may change over the next few days so I'll keep it updated. I want to start coding it, but I want to wait at least 1-2 days so if there needs to be any major shift in the design, I can do it before anything is set in stone.

i like it its simple and straight to the point :)

Is this who you contract for? http://inspirednetworks.com/

If so, the site itself is a huge improvement, but the logo doesn't scream a brand. It's generic and doesn't really "inspire" anything. I think I'm stretching here when I think about how a leaf could possibly represent networking, design, etc.. something a full service creative boutique would offer... but i'm looking forward to your justification.

Well personally speaking, it's just a concept. Obviously it's nothing solidified, and it does need some actual inception. But when I thought of "inspired" I thought of growth. You know how derek hates the cliche of growth in comparison to foliage, but it was something that stood out to me. I almost want to say that "inspiration" can go hand in hand with "growth", hence the reason I felt like a green leaf fell into place so easily. The networks aspect of the identity fit moreso with the actual schematic of a leaf, with the stems and root lines acting as "networks". As I gather from scott, they do mostly IT stuff, so it felt natural to me that the structure of a living green leaf could personify the services this particular company offers. Leaves are still pretty vague, haha.

I do think it needs some defining, although the vast majority of experience I've had with IN is through an old buddy of mine who does mostly backend. So I get a narrow view of their dev side. I'm going to experiment with a few other ideas I had scribbled down, but your mentioning it does bring its ambiguity to light. Thanks.

(and yeah, that's the hideous creature they call their site) :P

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Originally Posted by Solaris

The networks aspect of the identity fit moreso with the actual schematic of a leaf, with the stems and root lines acting as "networks". As I gather from scott, they do mostly IT stuff, so it felt natural to me that the structure of a living green leaf could personify the services this particular company offers. Leaves are still pretty vague, haha.

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That is basically what I was thinking. The structure of the leaf, the tree, the roots, representing the networking.

As long as we're on the same wavelength, definitely refine and refocus the brand and make it unique. If you stick with the leaf, or anything natural maybe make a bit more mechanical since most of the stuff they do is backend, IT, etc. Instead of green, pick more a more neutral grey and then add in the accents of colour? I'm mostly talking out of my ass here, but if I were talented enough, I would incorporate more of the tech into your IT firm.

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Originally Posted by Bradley

That is basically what I was thinking. The structure of the leaf, the tree, the roots, representing the networking.

As long as we're on the same wavelength, definitely refine and refocus the brand and make it unique. If you stick with the leaf, or anything natural maybe make a bit more mechanical since most of the stuff they do is backend, IT, etc. Instead of green, pick more a more neutral grey and then add in the accents of colour? I'm mostly talking out of my ass here, but if I were talented enough, I would incorporate more of the tech into your IT firm.

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Thanks Matt ;)

I'll see what I can do about incorporating that. I'll let you know what I come up with.

Tbh, yea I can see where you're coming from with the design of the logo, but as you said it needs something more to define it a bit I think. As for the design of the site itself, yes as Brtadley menioned it's definately an improvement, simple, nicely laid out, and a good colour scheme. However, not sure I'm liking the choice of the main text headings like "Some things were meant to be" for example, it looks sort of crinkled at the edges, I don't know if thats because its not full size or what but... I think IMO it needs changed. But Overall, great design as i said,Ipersonally only had those problems with it^^:) Nce job Chris.

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Originally Posted by iScribble.

Tbh, yea I can see where you're coming from with the design of the logo, but as you said it needs something more to define it a bit I think. As for the design of the site itself, yes as Brtadley menioned it's definately an improvement, simple, nicely laid out, and a good colour scheme. However, not sure I'm liking the choice of the main text headings like "Some things were meant to be" for example, it looks sort of crinkled at the edges, I don't know if thats because its not full size or what but... I think IMO it needs changed. But Overall, great design as i said,Ipersonally only had those problems with it^^:) Nce job Chris.

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@ the rough edges, thats how photoshop renders aliased text. In the browser it will be clean cut.

great concept.
the design of the web should and definitely must represent the ideology, mentality and goals of the firm/group.

in this case, the logo is a bit 'classic' to say so. the leaf is - no offense - used a bit too much. however, it looks really good with the web design..

the simplistic sheet of the website impresses me, it's very simple yet it has a lot of information and options to display and offer.
i'ts crystal-clear you know what you're doing.

just an extra advice: the green PHP, JS, AJAX icons should in my opinion be circled, not edgy.

Thanks for the critique crozer, I was thinking of changing those project icons when I started coding it, so I'll keep in mind that it's probably a good idea :)