Site Design Portfolio - TMS Biometrics
We designed this corporate site during our work with
New New England Media Productions. Although the site isn't quite the
way we would have designed it if they would have given us a broader
range of ability in the design, it's still a fairly advanced site and
required allot of work. It was built from the ground up without anything
but initial digitized images. All of those needed some rework done to
them either in image size or image file size. Some of them required
complete retouch because of image resolution. Many of them were derived
from screen shots they took from their programs. Unlike other sites
you may have looked at here in our portfolio area, this one is actually
online. Since that is the case, we are not going to reproduce it here,
but rather give you the link to the site where it sits online. The site
will pop open in a new window so that you can look at it and follow
along with our conversation here. The site can be found here TMS
Biometrics.
The opening page is fairly plain. It consists simply
of their logo and nothing more. Initially, the only thing they had in
their logo besides the fingerprint was the words "Integrating Biometric
Solutions for the 21st Century". Our first thought on that was
that it was limiting. The first question that popped into our minds
was "But what about the 22nd or 23rd centuries. Will TMS be gone
then?" That was our first suggestion of change for TMS. They added
the "Biometric Technology Integration Solutions for the 21st Century
and Beyond" at our suggestion.
Upon clicking the image, you are brought to a welcome
page. We set the site up in a framed format to remove the need for a
header on each page to remind people where they were. As you click through
the site, you will notice that the top part never changes. That also
speeds up loading of pages because the information is already there.
If you click the "Products and Demos" option
at the top of the left nav bar you will be taken to another page where
your selection is limited. This was done to control the way that a visitor
moves through their site. It was the way that they wanted it done despite
suggestions that we made. They are the customer, and we do what the
customer wants. Clicking the "Pass System" option will take
you to another page. They all look the same so far with the exception
of the text in the main window letting you know what area you are in.
Choosing the "Pass System Demo" option will take you to another
page with text. Note that the bottom of the page leaves one link to
the next page in the demo. Again, this was used as a means to control
how a visitor navigates through their site.
Clicking the "Page 1" link will take you to
a page with some text and a picture centered in the window. That picture
required a COMPLETE make over. The resolution in the initial screen
shot image that they gave us was so bad that when we blew it up to make
it readable and viewable, it wasn't either. The text was pixilated and
illegible. We had to remove all of the text, and replace it with readable
text. We found that to be the case with all the images they supplied
us with. That is why we stand behind Adobe PhotoShop for our image retouch
uses. We spent many hours of image editing on this project because of
the number of images involved. Each of them needed to be resized, optimized,
and edited for readability.
If you click the "Main Menu" option, and then
"Who R U/ID" option, and then the "Commercial Complete
Demo" option, you will be brought to a page with a centered picture.
If you hover your mouse over the guy's picture, the fingerprint, the
account information area, the copyright information are in the bottom
left of the image, and the exit button on the image, you will notice
a help box pop open giving you more information. Taking that further,
if you click on any of these areas, you will be taken off to another
page of information. In retrospect, I would have made those links pop
open a new page so that the visitor didn't lose their spot in the site,
or need to hit the back button. The affects were accomplished with an
image map.
There isn't a lot more to say about this site. The company
is a corporation with a rigid idea of design. In our opinion, the site
looks dull, and really doesn't inspire much emotion. It is affective
in getting information across but is akin to the monotone speaker that
puts everyone to sleep during one of his or her lectures. TMS is a good
company and reputable, but I would not be inclined to want to buy anything
from them based solely on the hidden tones of the site.
We know first hand that TMS has superior goods. They are well built,
programmed, and they stand behind their designs. Their customer
support is beyond reproach, and they design their products to fully
accomplish the tasks they were designed to accomplish. Their products
are also dependable and durable.
This page last updated:
Wednesday, October 19, 2005 10:28 AM
EST
|
