You've arrived at the online portfolio of Jonathan Rogers. I'm a web designer. I could bulk that description out with extraneous buzzwords and superlatives but for both our sakes I won't. Below you'll find a few examples of the kind of design work I do and if you want to get your hands on the brass tacks please take a look at my CV.
If you like the ol' wares then please get in touch and we can talk.
What they wanted: global games developer THQ were looking to refresh the MotoGP game's online presence in conjunction with a new release of the title. They wanted a fresh and contemporary flash site to complement the highly anticipated new release.
The solution: the creative focus was on creating an impact and representing online what was fantastic about the game. Big bikes, exciting tracks & cutting edge graphics. Pushed to the front were the thrilling immersive graphics of the bikes with animated transitions based around the game's tracks and in-game video used through-out the navigation. This creative brought to the screen the slick, fast and on-the-edge spirit of the game.
The result: THQ were delighted and exceptionally continued with the same creative for 2007's release.
What they wanted: World-wide streetwear brand Addict needed a new online store. They wanted a site that worked for their customers and showed off their products to the full.
The solution: put simply, usability, usability and nice big pictures. It was all about a design that showed off the product to it's fullest whilst ensuring the simplest user journey as possible. But there was a lot of behind the scenes work too. To ensure that for Addict's busy staff upating the ever expanding range wasn't a bore.
What they wanted: Centrum were looking to develop their online activity for the brand.
The solution: A customer-focused website accompanied by an email marketing campaign to drive users to the site with monthly content updates. A 'magazine' area of the site was designed to re-enforce Centrum's positive brand positioning providing articles on well being, fitness plans and online training planner/logger. An email campaign delivered news of updates, competitions and offers available to customers with partners Fitness First, Harrogate Spa Mineral Water and M&M Sports.
The result: Targeted email campaigns and regularly updated website content raised opt-in subscriptions by over 300 percent in the first quarter of 2004. Won the award for "Best OTC Marketing Campaign on a Medium Budget" at OTC Bulletin Awards.
What they wanted: Established in 1995, the Kite Shop was one of the first mail order businesses to recognise the potential of the Internet. In 2005 they were looking to refresh and streamline their site.
The solution:
The new Kite Shop website offers users an interactive catalogue that features hundreds of different products, searchable by category, price and name, and automatically highlights associated products where available. Extensive IA work was carried out to ensure usable routes through the site. For beginners, the new website features advice on choosing and flying kites, whilst for gift buyers, the site offers a gift selector based on age and price ranges. The overall shopping process was streamlined to be as simple as possible.
The result: Post launch the site was featured in The Sunday Times and New Media Age.
My background in one sentence: I was a nerdy gamer kid who liked computers, worked out how to make websites for my friends and I on the family PC, decided to do a new media degree rather than History, cut my teeth as an all round web dogs body for a major UK broadcaster and learnt my trade, moved to a web design agency and began to specialise in design and specifically with a focus on usability, continued career with young start-up moving to position as lead designer and that's the story so far. If you want some of the gory details take a look at my CV.
That is the singularly most important aspect to my approach and is the driving force that I look up to in the work of those around me that influence and inspire me. It seems so obvious. Start and end with the people who will be using your design.
Honesty & Respect
Create work that is honest in its execution. Working with commercial clients it's essential to establish trust with their audiences. There's far too many web sites out there that under estimate users and drive them away with patronising marketing devices. Respect your audience and understands its needs - that will take you to the heart of a good design. Be nice, don't lie and make friends.
Passion
I genuinely love to design web sites. I got a real buzz as a teen when I cobbled together a site and published it to the web. I still get the same buzz today. But above all I crave the creative process. It doesn't end, there's always a new challenge and countless opportunities for surprise in the process' ability to advance and alter your own conceptions of a project and yourself.
Creativity
It can mean so many things but whatever your definition you need to live by it. For me it's the desire to work with a blank canvas and create some thing new. It's the skill to bring your world view to your work and to be able to know what experiences and understandings can aid you in creating something special. Whether it's that art exhibition you viewed or the way the milk dribbled off your chin and back in to the cereal bowl - it can be anything. That's what's exciting. Ideas can come from anywhere. Sometimes they fall out of the sky, fully formed and ready to go. Other times they need to be worked at, bashed in to shape and polished up. Working in a creative field you need to know everything you can about the world around you and fold all that knowledge in to the work in front of you. That's fun.
Although I'd love you to come and visit me, I also like to see new places, so please let me know if you'd rather I came to you.
Please get in touch, either by phone or email. I don't really mind how you do it, just as long as you say hello.
