Our weekly pick of a Web design that combines superior aesthetics, technical expertise and usability. Submit Site.
04.25.08
webpick of the week
Travel/Tourism, Consumer
The Spotted Chook Ferme Auberge (Farm Inn) is an enchanting French-inspired Country Inn nestled in the rolling countryside surrounding the picturesque village of Montville, in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland of Queensland Australia. It was lovingly built and decorated by Jane and Leeroy Hutton who, inspired by their travels through rural France and Austria, created the unique haven with beautiful decor, exquisite food and welcoming hospitality.
The Spotted Chook (named after the much loved spotted hens) evokes a bright and breezy ambience with all rooms painted in vibrant French wash paints, decorated with a selection of country antiques and a whimsical collection of soft furnishings, fittings and art—each colourful room with its own feel.
The goal of this visually-rich site is to increase product branding and sales and to support existing advertising and promotional efforts. And, how wonderful (and rare) to have a client who understands creativity; the owners basically gave the developer free reign to create whatever they wished. And so, the interactive experience, together with a bit of humor and fun, is the site's core feature. With a bit of wow factor and some in-your-face imagery, it plays a key role in the inn’s marketing campaign.
Informative but also visually stimulating and creative, it inspires new clients as well as repeat visitors with a navigation structure that’s simple and deftly provides necessary information. The interface was designed to not intrude on the site imagery which of course is a key component for would-be guests. A truly unique navigation feature (well, we've never seen it done before): A click on the image in each section’s dropdown menu opens a series of thumbnails that change the background image.
• Site design and development took four people three months. Once the concept and content were approved it took roughly six working weeks to implement.
• The budget for the site was an extremely modest $5,000.
• It is 100 percent SEO compliant.
• The site averages 800 to 1,000 unique visitors per month and, according to the client, has contributed to 95 percent of function bookings.
www.acura.com.au