Interactive Work
Boone County Millwork
Project Date 07.2003
Ingredients
ASP / Access, CMS, Flash / ActionScriptDescription
The inspiration for this project came from the incredibly interactive showroom that the client has developed to showcase the various home-finishing products that they carry. The showroom allows visitors to open and close windows and doors, match up magnetized door knobs with doors and view a wide variety of interior and exterior trim. From the beginning of the project, it was clear that the website had to be able to convey the same level of interactivity in an attempt to draw customers in. It also became apparent that the site should try to convey all of the activities that take place away from public view in the client’s warehouse and workshop where they are able to fabricate custom doors and windows.
The site was developed with close collaboration between the graphic designer, copywriter and myself. Brainstorming sessions early on in the project allowed for a more conceptual but usable navigation system. The site was broken down into the three major areas that define a customer’s experience with Boone County Millwork--selecting products in the Showroom, having their order completed in the Workshop and then having it delivered to the Building Site.
To achieve a seamless interactive experience and integrate the infomercials that we later produced, it was decided that the site be developed almost entirely with Macromedia Flash. A relatively full range of multimedia was used to bring the experience of a visit to the showroom to the desktop. The beginning of each section opens with a short narrated video utilizing still photographs. Longer videos were also used to illustrate the process of building custom windows and doors. High-quality 360 degree virtual tours were also utilized to allow visitors to “stand” in the workshop and other areas that visitors to the real showroom cannot. Also, a fun interactive door builder was constructed to allow a visitor to choose a door style, doorknob, trim style and wall color.
Several areas of the site fully realize Flash’s abilities to handle live content. It was decided that for ease of maintenance, all text is held outside of the Flash movie in XML-formatted text files. Additionally, the list date, like the suppliers list, are pulled from a database and formatted into XML. The Flash movie then dynamically generates lists and corresponding buttons to allow navigation. An administration area was set up for the client to be able to update their own content.
The success of the site in displaying the areas of the business that most visitors cannot see prompted the client to commission a kiosk version of the website that they now display in their showroom.
Design by Brian Heydn
* Agency Work: This project was produced while working as Interactive Director at an agency in Mid-Missouri. All agency work that I display, unless noted, was executed by me from concept to design and code.
Recognition / Awards
- 02.2004 / Best of Interactive ADDY
- 08.2003 / American Design Awards
