Author: Vanessa

Marcus Mauger’s

Working with Marcus was a sheer pleasure – he pretty much left me to it after providing a clear vision of what he liked best (and content of course). His last email to me went like this;

Hi Vanessa,
                     Thanks so much for all your work – I really am impressed with the way it looks, and so are my friends on Facebook.
When I was scouting around for a website designer last year your work stood out by some distance compared to most, and I know the right decision was definitely made on my part to engage you for this project.
There are one or two (very) minor tweaks I can think of and will get back to in a day or so once I have a bit more time to think about them.
Otherwise-thank you once again. Let me know what the outstanding balance is (if any, I’ve kind of lost track or the payment schedule).
Best wishes,

Marcus

Edith Cavell

Todays Google Doodle are today celebrating the birth of Edith Cavell, the heroic WWI nurse who died fighting for what she believed in.

Wikipedia tell it as it is –

Edith Louisa Cavell (4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the First World War, for which she was arrested. She was accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. Despite international pressure for mercy, she was shot by a German firing squad. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage.

The night before her execution, she said, “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” These words were later inscribed on a memorial to her near Trafalgar Square. Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her to help all those who needed it, both German and Allied soldiers. She was quoted as saying, “I can’t stop while there are lives to be saved.” The Church of England commemorates her in its Calendar of Saints on 12 October.

Cavell, who was 49 at the time of her execution, was already notable as a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium.

Here in Sussex, the railway van known as the Cavell Van that conveyed her remains from Dover to London is kept as a memorial on the Kent and East Sussex Railway and is usually open to view at Bodiam railway station.

In the current climate, brave women like Cavell remind us that borders might be man-made but so is compassion. Let’s not forget to look back in history at what can re/learned when moving forwards in changing times.

Read more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Cavell

The Comedy about a Bank Robbery

Mischief Theatre formed in 2008 by LAMDRA theatre students who produced improvisation shows until in 2012 writing their fully scripted first play – The Murder before Christmas. This became The Play that Goes Wrong the following year and went on to a sell-out tour. It has been running in the West End since 2014 and now plays in every continent of the world except Antarctica!

The Comedy about a Bank Robbery began in 2016 and is packing theatres throughout the UK tour 2018/19 tour.

I’ve been lucky enough to see both plays, slightly preferring The Comedy about a bank Robbery for it’s endless slapstick, slick actors and fast paced dialogue, it leaves you gasping for air as the gags roll around. Characters with names such as Robin Threeboys result in expected humour but here it takes it up a notch, wringing out every last drop of discourse possible.

Both shows are extended until 2019, you’ll find them somewhere near you I’m sure. DON’T miss out!

https://mischieftheatre.co.uk/

The Archers

It seems I share my birthday with Brian Aldridge!

For those of you who have no idea who that is – you’re missing out. The Archers has been running on BBC Radio 4 since 1950. It began as an educational programme post World War II to help farmers feed the nation after years of rationing.

The Archers lost its educational purpose in 1972 but still tries to follow rural developments closely. It brands itself now as ‘contemporary drama in a rural setting’.
I personally feel it’s a work of ongoing genius! The characters are so well developed, many of the actors have been working on the series for many years and it handles topical stories with true BBC care!

“perhaps a small piece, I’m still feeling very full after that magnificent lunch”

Brian Aldridge after being offered birthday cake by his wife, Jennifer.

You can read more about my birthday companion Brian Aldridge here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/46Rwxk09090Q8kwr685dfz0/brian-aldridge

Why not start your own journey with The Archers!?
Visit www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qpgr.

Arecibo Radio

On this day 44 years ago scientists sent a message to a cluster of stars 25,000 light years away.

The message was sent from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and contained 1,679 binary digits. These digits could be arranged in such a way to display information about the human race and life on earth. The message was sent to display the power of the Arecibo telescope which was the most powerful in the world at the time.

Cornell University professor of astronomy Donald Campbell said:

“It was a strictly symbolic event, to show that we could do it,”

Campbell worked with the team of researchers who devised the message at Cornell University led by astronomer and astrophysicist Dr Frank Drake.

When received, the message could be arranged in a grid 73 rows by 23 columns to form a pictograph that represents facts about mathematics, human DNA, planet earth, and humans.

The hope is that, in many thousands of years, it may reach another living being.

Since the Arecibo message was sent, the message has travelled just 259 trillion miles – a fraction of its journey to its intended destination, which will take roughly 25,000 years to complete.​

Find out more on Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arecibo_message

The Clock: Christian Marclay

Whilst at The Tate Modern last week to see a friend’s participation in the talk MFON: Women Photographers in the African Diaspora, I popped into the tanks to see Christian Marclay’s The Clock, mainly to kill half an hour on a cosy sofa (which is never the right reason to see art) but I soon wished I had an afternoon to while away.

The clock is a 24 hour masterpiece of thousands of clips of films spliced together to form a continuous piece in perfect synchronisation with your local time.

The auditorium is dark and cosy with neatly aligned sofas to kick-back into. You cannot help but start by checking your phone/watch – oh yes we’re synchronised beautifully before watching the finer details and the careful crafting of one snippet flowing into another. At times there seems to be another narrative going on, is there? can it be possible? I’m not sure after all.

It’s very clever, not just the enormous amount of time, commitment, energy, conviction needed by Marclay and his team to build a 24 hour film exactly in-sync with real time showing many different instances of time being show on celluloid but also the ebb and flow of something other-than the time itself.

The film quickly creates an obsession with watching time go by and realising there are a myriad of scenes/narratives being told not only in  the footage gathered but in the lives of those sharing your auditorium space. Alas, the gallery invigilators soon announce with humour that it is now 17.55 and therefore the gallery closes in 5 minutes. If only I could rewind a little time.

You’ve probably read a few reviews on Marclay’s The Clock by now but if you haven’t got to see it first hand in all it’s cinematic glory it’s still on at the Tate Modern until 20/01/2019. You might even have time for a 24 hour viewing.

 

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recent projects

More recent projects to be posted here in the New Year – 2014.

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Charlotte Shorthouse – www.charlotteshorthouse.com

Charlotte Shorthouse creates tailor made voice coaching courses for individuals or groups. Charlotte is a hugely experienced voice professional, a Certified Master Teacher of the Estill Voice System and a professional opera singer. Charlotte’s business has grown considerably since dotSquared first developed a site for her 4 years ago and hence a new site was needed to show the level of professionalism. The new web site is an up-to-date display of her courses and skills in a concise manner. The web site can expand with Charlotte’s new courses becoming available.

Powder UK – www.powder-uk.co.uk

Powder’s new seasonal collection of fashion scarves, hats and gloves required a look to reflect the new Powder brand, out went the busy backgrounds and in came a clean, crisp showroom.

Eagle’s Wing – www.eagleswing.co.uk

Eagle’s Wing College of Contemporary Shamanism wanted a new site to emphasize various courses they hold throughout the year.

Flairville Graphic Design – Flairville Graphic Design

Talented graphic designer Ed Flair needed a web site to display his creative wares for pop-up graphic design shop.

Valerian Designs – www.valeriandesigns.co.uk

Experienced knitting enthusiast who creates her own knitting patterns for users to buy as single items or part of gift sets wnated a site which was easy to browse and search for particular styles.

moWoza – www.mowoza.com

Suzana Moreira is the highly-motivated individual behind moWoza, a company utilising new mobile eCommerce technology to help those in developing countries. moWoza’s web site uses carefully selected, lively photography and graphics alongside clearly displayed text to get the moWoza principals across to potential investors.

Wing Mirror Socks – www.wingmirrorsocks.com

A new web site for a fun, start-up company selling wing mirror socks! A simple WordPress e-commerce site was up and running quickly, in time for 2012 Olympics.

Linda Turner – www.lindaturner.co.uk

Talented textile designer and artist Linda Turner needed a web site to display her creative wares and advise on her talks, workshops, events and sales.

Langley Dam – www.langleydam.co.uk

Implemented new site using Joomla, manipulated template and set-up pages ready for Langley Dam administrators to populate.

Norfolk Quilters – www.norfolkquilters.org.uk

Norfolk Quilters is a collective of quilting groups based in Norfolk, they required a web site which allows a variety of members to update the site regularly from various locations. Developed using WordPress the site utilises free functionality to enable stylish galleries and projects boards to be easily implemented.

Powder UK – www.powder-uk.co.uk

Powder UK’s e-commerce web site was functional but staid and needed some style injected! Firstly the products were categorised to enable users to make choices from the onset. A new Products page was implemented with zoom feature and colour changes within one page; allowing far better browsing capabilities. Altogether the final design means users get to the product they want much quicker.

New Business Heroes – www.newbusinessheroes.com

A new site to primarily encourage users to sign-up or get in touch and begin their own new business development. Using characters to convey the stage your new business development may be at New Business Heroes encourages users to engage and sign-up for a package.

Sleepy Music – www.sleepy-music.com

Effective site utilising Shaun Salmon’s graphic art to promote Sleepy Music’s ethos and music. Auto play MP3 player implemented. Social networking widgets installed.

Chelsea School – www.brighton.ac.uk/chelsea/

Chelsea School is the sports faculty of The University of Brighton and has fantastic facilities and credentials. Its site had been neglected in recent years and hence was not pushing the full prospectus to its audience .dotSquared gave Chelsea School’s web site a mini facelift utilising CSS and a wealth of professional photography whilst adhering to the guidelines set out by The University of Brighton.

RS Physio – www.rsphysio.co.uk

Simple and effective new brochure site for chartered physiotherapist and master biomechanics coach based in Nottingham. It includes a blog and is simple to update in-house thanks to WordPress.

Kushdi Kids Furnishings – www.kushdikidsfurnishings.co.uk

Working with female entrepreneur Caroline Swinden to produce a stable e-commerce site for new soft furnishings company Kushdi Kids Furnishings was not a simply task; Caroline offers over 250 fabrics across a range of 12 products making the logistics of a shopping cart quite terifying! dotSquared worked with Steven Jones of London-based Raffworks to produce a bespoke ‘Fabrix Plugin’ to handle the sheer quantity of choice. Together we produced a user-freindly and simple to update site within their limited budget.

Muslim Hotel – www.muslimhotel.co.uk

A Muslim hotel family business based in Brighton desperately required a facelift inkeeping with Muslim design and traditions. The new site is aimed at Muslim guests in particular.

Woven Oak – www.wovenoak.com

Leo and Lizzie are the husband and wife team behind Woven Oak which produces unique designs that are manufactured into beautiful items. Lizzie’s hand-drawn designs are cut by hand into hard wood blocks which are printed on to fabric and made into everyday household items. The site displays the products and it’s variations with shopping cart functionality alongside, all within a limited budget. Blog and in-house updates are included.

Robinson House Studios – www.robinsonhousestudio.co.uk

Robinson House Studio is a unique facility offering fine furniture designer/maker students the chance to study alongside professional cabinet makers who are part of award-winning furniture designer/maker Marc Fish’s bench rental scheme. This new web site offers a section for each of the designer/makers, Marc Fish’s profile and detailed info on the courses he runs. It also has a blogging facility and Marc is able to update the site himself.

Chris Funnell – www.chrisfunnell.co.uk

Chris Funnell is a furniture designer-maker whose web site needs to be stylish, simple and compelling, whilst encompassing a gallery and a blog. After our initial meeting, designs were drawn-up for a typographical logo using stone colours, these colours formed the basis of a new web design. Adding texture with gradients, brochure-style layouts, a simple javascript based gallery and a free Blogger Latest News – the site came together as an effective showcase for Chris’s many skills in furniture design.

Aleptis – www.aleptis.co.uk

Sophie Mahir has many strings to her business bow, this new portal was designed from her own sketches to guide her clients to the information for their aims and needs.

Agora CA – www.agoraca.com

dotSquared working closely with Thomas + Trotman Design to produce a holding page for Agora CA to the exacting specifications of the brief. Read more about PSD to HTML and CSS here.

Lea Seigen Shinraku – www.leaseigenshinraku.com

dotSquared throughly enjoyed working with Lea, a ‘self-compassion’ therapist based in San Francisco, whose unique therapy has lead to a unique web site full of Lea’s personality, warmth and generosity. Lea’s blog will run alongside the web site adding insight into her life, thoughts and the processes she believes in.

broc – www.brocuk.com

broc – Beautifully Reconstructed Original Clothing required a creative, quirky, fun and accessible to all web presence to match broc’s (and creator Gail Whitney’s) personalties. The site offers online booking of courses via PayPal. It’s bright, colourful and informative without being too wordy. The site uses images and some video from iStockPhotos where we collated a retro illustrations portfolio for the site.

Craftstone of Sussex – www.craftstoneofsussex.co.uk

Craftstone of Sussex’s previous web site was far-outdated and unattractive. The company needed a stylish and concise web site to get the message across that these are fireplaces that make a home special immediately a user lands. The result is simple and effective.

First Time Driver – www.firsttimedriver.info

First Time Driver is the creation of entrepreneur David Whitewood. The web site is developed using WordPress to enable vast functionality at a fraction of the price. It aims to provide users with a ‘one-stop shop’ for everything a first time driver needs to know. It boasts; bespoke searches, email collation, Facebook widgets, theory test practice sign-ups, polls, a Q&A, RSS feed, it’s own ‘TV’ channel (FTD TV) and numerous other user enhancements. In the near future it will have a Driving Instructor Directory with ratings and user feedback options. Watch this space…

Impact Art – www.impactart.co.uk

dotSquared worked closely with design firm Thomas + Trotman and bespoke CMS expert Alex Farran to produce a standards compliant web site with outstanding visual wealth. dotSquared converted the rich brochure of designs into valid HTML and CSS.

The ShowRoom – www.theshowroomchichester.co.uk

The ShowRoom needed a standalone web site to showcase it’s varied dance and performance programme. The theatre’s performers use masses of visual imagery and it was crucial to include these in the web site’s design fairly with each being equally prominent. The end result is a highly stylised, easy to update web site which can be adapted each performance season.

Ben’s Butchers – www.bensbutchers.co.uk

Using a WordPress template dotSquared produced a web site to showcase Ben’s local, free-range meat and game. The site provides an e-shop within budget constraints which is user-friendly and easy for the client to operate.

The Preston Partnership – www.preston-partnership.com

The Preston Partnership are leaders in business training based in Hove, East Sussex who needed a complete web site overhaul. dotSquared won the contract to redesign the site beating of many other contenders and have now completed the project on time and to budget. We worked closely with The Preston Partnership’s core team to develop a web site with it’s own voice lending itself to the notion of bespoke training for today’s many varied business styles and models. The web site uses rounded corners which render across all major browsers yet still use valid HTML and CSS. The web site is, of course, WAI compliant also. Read the case study here (Adobe PDF 120Kb, PDF Help).

Marcia Michael – www.marciamichael.co.uk

Marcia Michael is a well established London based photographer and poet whose web site needed to reflect her very personal creativity with both images and words. Marcia has an enormous talent for story telling so the challenge to display her wares appropriately was set. I used a series of bespoke designs based around a couple of templates and boundary-pushing (literally) CSS to suit the depth of Marcia’s stories. The result, I feel, is successful.

Further chosen projects can be viewed here.

dotSquared’s blog can be read here.

latest news and recent projects

latest news and recent projects

dotSquared have the pleasure of working with a huge variety of clients whilst learning a little about each business as it goes. Here are a few of the latest new web sites developed.

Marc Fish is a unique, bespoke furniture designer-maker based in East Sussex. He creates spectacular pieces for clients around the world and has exhibited in New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, London and Mexico. His web site not only showcases his work beautifully but also covers the vast array of info about his teaching facility.
www.marcfish.co.uk.

The New Steine Hotel is a boutique hotel based in Brighton that had an outdated web site. dotSquared revamped it and moved it to a new platform(WordPress) to enable future proof updates, more functionality, great SEO and social networking. The new site is stunning!
www.newsteinehotel.com.

Vivienne Blakey is an established photographer who earned a reputation for taking evocative images of local landscapes following exhibitions in 2010 and 2011. As a result of this success she has been engaged in commissioned work for the last 3 years. Complete new web site using wordPress platform and including e-com.
www.vivienneblakey.co.uk.

Wills Furniture is run by Matthew Wills, and specialises in the design and making of fine bespoke furniture. The company is based in NW London and undertakes projects across the UK. A showcase for matthew’s brillant work
www.willsfurniture.com.

The Down Syndrome Development Trust is a relatively new venture by Sensay Smallwood who seemingly has boundless energy! She works tirelessly to improve education and facilities around Down Syndrome children and adults and needed a web site equally bright, energetic and enthusiastic. dotSquared hope to have achieved that.
www.downsyndromedevelopment.org.uk.

Jane Crittenden – Freelance Journalist and Writer needed a new layout and presentation for her current projects and an easily accessible archive of past work. We worked together to ensure Jane was able to confidently update the web site at any stage.
www.janecrittenden.co.uk.

London based furniture designer Duncan White approached dotSquared for a complete service: domain management, hosting, logo and branding and web development. The new site uses WordPress to provide Duncan with a means to keeping his site and clients up-to-date in-house easily.
www.avocetfurniture.co.uk

The ShowRoom is the University of Chichester’s premier performance venue located at the centre of the Bishop Otter campus. It showcases some of the best dance and performance talent from the UK and overseas. dotSquared initially designed the site in 2009 and updates it every season with new events and ideas.
www.theshowroomchichester.co.uk.

“Looks fanstastic; thank you and well done!”

Woven Oak are a dynamic duo based in Lewes who create the most wondrous fabrics to construct from. It has been a plesure creating their site and a joy to see a young company fly with the site’s backing.
www.wovenoak.com.

Ouse Valley Quilters revamped their web site with dotSquared in 2008 and promptly gained an extra 20 members. They have recently had to open a waiting list to new members and have also had their web site updated once again (in late 2013) to encompass up-to-date techniques and use email collation, news updates and make in-house updates effortless.
www.ousevalleyquilters.org.

Other web sites by dotSquared include:

Charlotte Shorthouse – Redevelopment

Revamp of a previous dotSquared design from 5 years ago to bring it up-to-date.

“It has been a genuine pleasure working with dotSquared! I have been impressed with Vanessa’s patience and professionalism and I am delighted with the look of the site.”

Eagle’s Wing – Independent site

A new stand alone site for Eagle’s Wing College of Contemporary Shamanism.

Copper Sink Plumbing – Plumber’s once-over

A matter-of-fact site for a plumber to showcase his work and reassure clients via Testimonials.

Wing Mirror Socks – e-commerce

Fast turn around of a simple WordPress e-commerce site ready for 2012 Olympics.

Valerian Designs – e-com flexibility

An easy to search knitting patterns site for Valerian Designs.

Langley Dam – Joomla set-up

New shop window for Langley Dam Fishery, populated and managed in-house

moWoza – WordPress Development

moWoza – Mobile Running – Entrepreneur Suzana Moreira’s fascinating development for African communities. moWoza offer a simple-to-use mobile commerce service; conveniently and efficiently giving informal cross-border traders instant access to products and services.

Skills & Projects – Accesible forms

dotSquared developed HTML & CSS valid + WAI accessible forms for Skills & Projects to use in gathering feedback from housing association tenants.

Linda Turner – New web site

New compact brochure site for a very talented textile designer and artist; Linda Turner

Chelsea School – Site overhaul

dotSquared gave Chelsea School’s web site a mini facelift whilst adhering to the guidelines set out by The University of Brighton.

RS Physio – New brochure site

New brochure site for chartered physiotherapist and master biomechanics coach based in Nottingham.

Chris Funnell Furniture Designer-Maker – New brochure site

Chris Funnell has over 20 years experience as a cabinet maker and, after further designer/maker courses, was at a stage in his career where he needed a web site to display his growing repertoire of skills in furniture design and production.

Rani Louise – WordPress Template

Rani Louise is a Nutritional Therapy Practioner who needed a new template for her thriving WordPress site.

Agora Chartered Architects

Landing page with flash elements for Agora CA.

Cake New Business – revamped web site

Cake’s web site needed freshening-up; new designs implemented. Also added Calls for Action throughout, social networking links and a collaborative blog.

Lea Seigen Shinraku – beautiful brochure site

Lea Seigen Shinraku is a therapist based in San Francisco whose simple brochure site needed to be as unique as her evolved therapy of ‘self-compassion’. It’s a visually warm and rich web site using imagery that is specific to Lea’s background, beliefs and pratices.

broc – creative web presence with online booking

broc – Beautifully Reconstructed Original Clothing is the brainchild of Gail Whitney, artist and designer. Gail has developed broc to teach sewing techniques, sell her own unique designs and enable clients to rethink their wardrobes.

Craftstone of Sussex – portfolio site redesign

Craftstone of Sussex source some of the most beautiful and original, often handmade, fireplaces in the UK.

Impact Art – stunning web site redesign

Impact Art is an arts and built environment consultancy who work on multi-million pound investments to achieve incredibly beautiful results.

Marcia Michael – new web site

To showcase Marcia Michael’s truly unique photography she needed a site with a difference. dotSquared worked closely with Marcia to produce something interesting yet capable of displaying clear image-based narratives. Based in London Marcia is a photographer, poet, bookbinder and paper-maker. Her work has been published in many magazines including Face, Tank and Trace.

Saint Columba’s House – launch new web site

A new brand identity and web site were needed for Saint Columba’s House a retreat and conference centre based in Surrey. Its old site was looking very outdated and the building had recently had a revamp. Designs by Lewes based company 48Fitzroy were used by dotSquared to make the front end templates. The bespoke CMS was developed and bolted on by software developer Alex Farran.
The teams used project management solution Unfuddle to track each company’s progress and enable the client automatic, regular feedback.

Timberline – increasing numbers rapidly

Timberline’s web site was launched 6 months ago and its statistics collated by Google provide an interesting insight into the success of a carefully thought-out web site. Initially gaining 60+ visitors per day, the site can now boast over 120 visitors per day. The stats. provide dotSquared with enough information to be able to make the changes necessary throughout the site via search engine optimisation techniques, so far, so good. If you’re interested in SEO and/or a maintenance package to keep your web site responding to its statistical data contact dotSquared now.

Simple Solutions Bookkeeping

Simple effective and visually pleasing site for a bookkeeper’s marketing tools.

This project was turned around from start to finish in approximately three weeks! That’s quick.

I have worked with Louise Don, from Simple Solutions Bookkeeping, on several projects  in the past so Louise was aware of what was needed for me to build a site for her.
Armed with web ready copy, image ideas and a few sites she liked the look of (including a couple of my past projects), we were able to set to work quickly

We initially talked about sites she likes the general feel of, colours she was interested in using and the logo format.

I went from here to producing logo ideas and a colour palette to move forwards from:

dotsquared-logo-design

and from this further talks to narrow down the options:

and finally:

These colours were then used throughout the site to bind it together.

Visit Simple Solutions Bookkeeping – http://simplebk.co.uk/

 

 

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