Montreal Tech Watch

This continues the series about MontrealTechWatch’s first-year anniversary, and this post focuses on the various designs implemented on this website.

I find that design is often overlooked in Montreal. I have met various entrepreneurs in Montreal who think that their #1 priority is getting the top Ruby guru or #1 Python programmer in Montreal. This is true to a certain extent, but what worries me more is getting a good design for the website your are building. By design, I don’t mean colors, fancy backgrounds or fonts, but knowing how to present information and interactions to the user, and this goes beyond the realm of typography and graphic design.

Montreal Tech Watch is in its nature focused heavily on textual information delivery and its design must then follow suit.

The first design was a template suggested by blogger. It had a negative contrast, and was perfect for the blog’s beginnings, as it had few posts.

The logo was a simple image showing a watch tower on an island which showed the path, which was a metaphor for MontrealTechWatch for the island of Montréal in technology.

Also, MontrealTechWatch’s tagline was shown prominently below the logo, which was “Technology and Innovatin in Montréal”, which holds true up to this day.

The second design had a normal positive contrast, as the blog published more and more content. I found also that the deep blue with a white background also made the blog feel more dynamic.

The logo was changed to a vector-based illustration this time. I took the same watch tower metaphor and played with it in Illustrator, until I had a good effect with the cloning tool.

The 3rd and current design was done by optimizing content delivery, and I think it does a pretty good joob at doing it. When it first launched, a few said they preferred the old design, but I wouldn’t get back any day.

Notice also the logo which is a continuation of the previous one. Watch towers again here.

I’ve got many great ideas ready to be implemented for MTW, but I am not sure there is an audience for it. I would have to spend hours each day (or at least consider it as a business) and incorporate the blog in order to offer the features I am thinking now. So, for now, the current design rules.