WEB SITE - REAL ESTATE
the-new-homes-group.com

challenge - phase one...
Create an elegant yet simple web site as a launching pad for individual property web sites, primarily for new middle to high-end townhomes and condominium homes in and around Los Angeles.

solution...
Originally the client desired only a one-page site — more of an online ad, actually — from which to launch the individual property-specific sites. For that use, we designed the bold presentation shown at lower right. Later, we developed the more complete, flexible site shown at upper right. Both presentations apeal to the hip, wealthy target audience while being ultra-organized to maintain flow and readability.

THE ORIGINAL ONE-PAGER: Go with colors and combinations that work with each other as well as the properties they feature. Put all company information in grey -- except the contact info, which runs down the gold ribbon, the brightest element on the page. Create an information block (in grey) about The New Homes Group to divide the listings into geogrphical groups. Tag all images with full text to give audiences useful information to read while the page loads. Replace the less-than-appealing company logo with a simple script logo so that the properties are the primary visual interests on the page. Contact designer Sheila Dent if you would like to view the original one-pager in full-size html.

THE FULL SITE: The site is still a launching pad for the individual property sites. Used shades of grey for all the agent/company information to allow the property photos, which link to their sites and additional information, maximum pop.

Note: The New Homes Group site and its listings are geared to audiences on high-speed Internet connections. The company steers people to the sites from signs posted at the properties as well as through print advertising; search engine relevancy is not of key importance with these sites.

current site...

original one-pager...

WEB SITE - REAL ESTATE
Norfield Court
This property has been sold, so the site is no longer live. Contact designer Sheila Dent if you would like to view the site.

challenge...
Take a hodge-podge of photos and short list of features and from them create a site suitable to this large, modern, single family home in an affluent Los Angeles community — as always, respectful of the limited advertising budget.

solution...
Let the house speak for itself: Highlight its feature round elements with a schematic-like navigation; use rich background colors that compliment the woods, stone and glass used throughout the estate; oversize the Flash tour windows to embody the home's tremendouse size (15,000 sq ft).

PARALLEL WEB SITES...
401keasyonline.com,
401k-easy-online.com,
web-401k.com

challenge...
Several companies have licensed to operate branded versions of 401k Enginuity. The marketing sites for two of the branded versions as well as one umbrella site (401keasyonline.com talks about multiple 401k applications— from self-service 401k plans to full-service 401k plans -- run via the cost-saving, no-hidden-fee framework of 401k Enginuity's technology) are shown at right. These sites share nearly identical content (they're run by the same company), but because they target vastly different audiences they look quite different. For 401k Easy Online the goal was ultra user-friendly, non-intimidating. For Web 401k, more schematic, techy yet still uncomplicated. For the 2010 version of 401k Easy Online, a sleek, comprehensive approach that groups related topics into educational sections, so the user does not have to jump about the site as much.

solution...
NEW IN 2010: Ah, the sleeker 401keasyonline.com, which uses much of the same artwork family as the predecessor site while not only explaining about 401k Easy Online, including its small business 401k plan options, but also about the client's two alternate 401k systems: 401(k) Easy for the PC, which is ideal for very small businesses who do not care about online access to plan information and processing, and The 401k Solution, which is a full-service 401k system for companies wanting an affordable but full-service 401k). Finally, all the information in one site.

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Along the way the client had us create Web 401k as an alternate presentation of the original 401k Easy Online information. While 401k-easy-online.com uses soft, friendly graphics to put the end-user at ease about the unorthadox, money-saving approach to 401k administration and participation, Web 401k presents the message within a very clean, streamlined, bare-bones techy schema. We also got the opportunity to reorganize, re-edit and reduce the amount of text to yield a more concise presentation, language refined far further for 401keasyonline.com.

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