01. { Discovery }

Our first step in any project is to get to know you better. The discovery phase is crucial for setting the tone and direction of the project.

The best way to make your project a success is to find out about as much as we can about you and your goals. We'll be wanting to find out what your targets are, what you think your market is, about how you think technology can best help achieve your goals, about who your competitors are, and who your models are. Above all, we'll listen to everything you have to say about anything just as long as it helps us make you and your project a success.

Naturally, some of the discussions will revolve around visual design and your brand and image. Once we've accumulated all this information, we'll go and research appropriate subjects, markets, styles and competitors so we can have a broad understanding of what your project entails.

After we've done our homework, we will come back to you and make some common sense observations regarding technology, design direction, business application, and anything else within our expertise. At this point, we may take the opportunity to discuss some directions that you may not have considered beforehand, or confirm that you are indeed well aware of how technology can assist you.

02. Definition: (n)

Once we established the tone and general direction of the job has been set, we move on to the next step which is designed to really refine the scope and logistics of the project. The definition phase is where we really flex our organizational muscles, (and perhaps test your patience), and get right to the point: We present an estimate and agree who will be responsible for what?

The reasons for doing this are simple. We need to be able to choose the best approach and the best tools for the job. We also need to be able to establish a project budget, a time scale and a financial budget for you. We also need to establish roles for everyone. Some organizations want to enter content, others don’t. All this needs to be clear from the get go.

From a design point of view, we'll be asking precise questions such as: what are the key areas of content, what do you want a visitor to do when they arrive at a page, who is hosting the site, who is responsible for the content. There are many questions we need to go through and clarify in order to be as effective and efficient as possible.

We'll also discuss your own processes in order to integrate the final project with your current operations and way of doing things.
All this information will aid the creation of wire-frames, a visual project blueprint that will help us explain to you the processes and procedures that affect the way the product is structured, constructed, and ultimately used.

Once these key elements have been discussed and deliberated over, we then ask for you to sign off on the project requirements and budget before moving along to the next phase. The whole point is to ensure we all agree on and have the same vision and understanding of the task at hand.

When everyone is happy, we're ready to start.

03. Design *

Once the project has been defined and signed off on, and we are both aware of who is responsible for delivery of items such as the content, media and so on, we are ready to get rolling.

Wire-frames help determine where content and functionality will go. But the design stage is where the project puts on its clothes.
With the direction established from our previous discussions we then proceed to sketch out a visual style for the site using colours, textures, fonts, and photos, to create a layout. We’ll make decisions about how elements will be positioned on screen, typography, and how the site will visually move a visitor in the direction of the action.

We’ll also take into account how certain features and design decisions might affect performance, usage and other factors like SEO. The design stage considers the full goals of the project and their priority. We don't just make things pretty.

In most cases the first design delivered will be the main screen of the project and contains the overall style and feel repeated across the site. It’s at this point we ask for your feedback regarding aesthetics and functionality. From these discussions we can refine the design further based on your direction, as well as explaining any design decisions.

This process of review and revision are continued with you for each key design element until everyone is satisfied.

04. < Develop >

With the designs approved, the assets collected, and the plan in place, it’s time to bring your project to life.

In many cases the foundations for the project build will have been put in place in parallel with the design stage, and so it’s more about putting all the pieces together.

It’s during the development stage that we use the so called best tool for the job. Here the final structures are put in place, the visual designs transitioned from flat images into the site layout, and actions attached to the various elements. We also insert all functionality which will help bring all that great content and design come alive.

Once everything is functioning the project is further refined and tested. Where improvements can be made in line with any of the projects goals, we make them.

After a good round of testing, we present you the working project for your own testing and feedback. Here we make any changes or adjustments before setting the project up on the platform it'll be delivered on.

05. » Deploy «

With everything ready, it’s not going out into the wild just yet.

First we install the project on your chosen platform or host and make sure everything is working in the soon to be live environment. We may also be configuring development and staging versions that will enable us to continue further testing, maintenance, and development without the site being accessible to the outside world.

Depending on the division of responsibilities this may also be the time where you're inputting your own content, and getting familiar with your new creation. We're also on-hand at this time to support and make sure everything goes smoothly before we go live!

When everyone is happy, congratulations! We launch.

06. ( Support )

Yes we ran out of words beginning with “D”, except for Dependable, which is what we are when it comes to supporting your website or system.

Immediately after your site is launched we'll be on standby to deal with any issues or teething problems. So, don't worry, we've got you covered and will support your site for any quirks and bugs found after launch. We can also be training those looking after the project, pre-launch & post-launch as well as supplying white papers.

If you don’t have any internal IT experts, we can take care of hosting and site management, technical support, maintenance and backups, keeping everything up to date and secure. We can also continue to analyse and improve a project, manage its digital presence across the social web and its visibility on search engines.