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The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay - is Singapore's internationally recognised performing arts centre. We were invited to revamp the blog site for Esplanade Youths (EY), their initiative to cultivate youth involvement in the arts. The previous site, a Wordpress blog, had an inadequate design that did not provide a straightforward way of organising information, and graphics that no longer synced with the desired image of the EY. They also required a better gallery application and more emphasis on information pertaining to their branding. We held several meetings with the Esplanade staff, as well as the Esplanade Youths Committee, to better understand the interests and mindsets of the youthful members involved. We were pleasantly surprised by their web-savviness and understanding of web usability - Contrary to the usual youth-oriented edgey and urban feel, they opted for simpler designs that would make the site quicker to load and easier to use.

We opted for a neutral Web 2.0 inspired design - something that broke the usual templated look of a blog. We integrated the colours in the EY logo into the blog by using them as thematic sectional colours. Using the same colour scheme emphasised the EY branding as well as provided easily discernible navigation. The decision to rely on flat colours for the site also allowed us to avoid using overt artwork, creating a neutral appearance that did not lean towards any one art style. After all, our main objective is to showcase the Arts, not make an artistic statement.

Stronger branding came through in the form of an interchangeable splash graphic that greets visitors to the blog's homepage. A quick blurb informs visitors about the EY, and distinct links make finding out more and registration a simple one-click process.

One of the challenges was crafting a design around the constraints of the project. We had to retain Wordpress and rely on existing plug-ins to provide the features the EY desired. While this saved us time in application development, we were required to do a lot of script hacking in order to customise the functionality and appearance of the third party software used. We also had to prepare for the possibility of incompatibility and script clashes on installation by doing excessive testing and offering on-site debugging. The Esplanade Youths now have a new home, which even newbies to blogging will find user-friendly. Veterans will find more functionality, with more ways to express themselves. We felt young again! Back to Portfolio Home