Alliance Numerique relaunches with a cute but questionnable design (6)
Alliance NumeriQC has a new brand, with a new name, Alliance Numerique, and a new website:
Alliance Numerique is a business network of the multimedia industry in Québec, regrouping video games companies, web design and development firms, pretty much anything related to multimedia. They offer services, grants, studies and organizes various events for its members.
Their previous website was a community portal, featuring news, events, announcements from its members. Now these are pushed below the fold, and messages from Alliance Numerique and the website’s different sections are shown instead in the forefront.
I really prefer the old version, because now it looks as though they are now a professionnal consulting firm. I am quite sure that Bob communications, who is said to be the mindmaster behind this new relaunch, told them that they needed to have a stronger brand, a bolder logo, and a main tagline/message shown in the website, etc. instead of the community portal they previously had. And yes it’s cute, it’s vibrant, it’s nicely designed but I am sorry, this just doesn’t work. Bob communications lives in brochureware land, and second, you need sometimes to tone down your brand so that the members and companies you represent are given the focus. The only interesting new feature here is a new blog section, although it’s empty.
I guess I will have to delete the website from my bookmarks.
- not a big fan of phase-based site launches: the front page sports the new branding, but all of the links lead to pages still using the old interface. This only leads to user disorientation.
- someone needs to read about the importance of well balanced contrast… I’d hate to browse that site if I had any level of colour blindness, which affects a surprisingly high percentage of the population.
I usually keep my negative opinions to myself when it comes to design, being more of a backend guy, but c’mon, this is supposed to represent the QC multimedia industry, and I really think it’s not doing a very good job so far… :(
stephdau: right, i criticized them because they are supposed to represent the QC multimedia industry. Expected more than that.
at least they didn’t turn into a flash-based website
You state that you prefer the old site, and this is your prerogative. Please know first and foremost that you are not judging the new site, but rather simply a new welcome page. As you can see, the rest of the site has not been changed for the time being.
Our public sponsors imposed on us that we be online by September 30th. We therefore had to choose between doing things quickly, and risk botching up the launch of our new identity and website, or use this temporary welcome page. We at Alliance numérique (AN) chose the second option in order to continue working with our partners, Bob Communications and Absolunet.
We are perfectly conscious, as are our partners, that this solution is far from ideal. However, as we had no other choice, this was the decision we made.
In your opinion, the new welcome page looks like the page of a consulting firm. I find this comment strange in the sense that the new welcome page uses the same columns as the old site (Agenda and Nouvelles), while integrating a description of Alliance numérique and a blog, which isn’t working for the moment, but which will strive to make AN part of the new Web 2.0 reality in the near future.
You presume (I am quite sure) that Bob Communications is the project leader of this choice. This is not the case. This new site is the result of teamwork, exchanges, discussions and advice given to us by consultants who are members of AN and who are working with us on this project. This isn’t the first mandate which we have entrusted to Bob Communications, which is a sign of the confidence we have in their work.
Bob Communications is not in the habit of imposing anything on its clients, and I am thrilled that you appreciate the new design of the site, for which they are responsible.
Our business goals are to make Alliance numérique and its interest groups (Alliance Internet, alliance eLearning…) evolve and to create a strong and coherent identity without losing the community perspective. Our teamwork with Bob Communications and Absolunet is totally in line with these goals.
We are completely open to criticism when it is constructive. If you are lacking elements upon which to base a realistic opinion or if you wish to share your comments with us when the site is finally launched, don’t hesitate to send us an email.
We hope to find you very soon on the site of Alliance numérique.
Regards,
Solange Blanchard,
Director of Communications of Alliance numérique
[...] Numérique’s website was relaunched last year, in a rebranding move that I criticized. The blog section was then announced to be opened in early [...]
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