Archive for the ‘Design’ Category

2110.11

A day in the life of an office wall

Posted by Amanda in Company News, Design

The wall at the back of our office was just a wall, like any other wall, until we introduced it to Bristol Street Artist Richt.

In the space of a day, he transformed a plain white space into something amazing.

Whilst we continued about our daily work, admittedly with a few breaks to admire the transformation, Richt set to work with his paints. Based upon a few rough sketches and a whole lot of imagination Richt created the Optix Mural.

We were all overwhelmed by the result and in awe of his talent.

We now have a wall to shout about (and not a duck in sight)!

Find out more here, including how you can come along and see our Mural for yourself.

0510.11

How Optix Solutions are more ‘A La Carte’ than ‘Ready Meal’

Posted by Amanda in Design, Development, Online Marketing, SEO

Ever wondered what to expect when you task us with creating and building a website?

We strongly believe that any project is a partnership with a Client. We regularly consult and communicate with our Clients, creating an open channel for feedback and discussion. We strive to ensure the end result exceeds our Client’s expectations and more than fulfils their brief. We don’t pick a template off the shelf, tweak a few graphics and themes – much like you running into the Supermarket and selecting a quick and easy ready meal. Every site we create is bespoke and designed specifically for you, just as if you’d had your own chef and skilled team at home to create a meal from scratch using the finest ingredients.

So you’ve given us the go ahead, what happens next?

After we have assigned a Project Manager to you, we will take you through the following stages;

  • Online Marketing Consultation. Our OLM team would consult with you on your options for optimising your site and continuing support within this field. Should you choose to add this invaluable service to your site, they will continue to consult with both yourself and the design and development teams throughout the following stages.
  • Wireframe. A wireframe is a working model of a site, without any design. It allows us to test the functionality of a site before we start the design and build process, ensuring all requirements have been thoroughly considered. At this stage, we will heavily consult with you and the brief you have put together for us.
  • Design concept. Once the wireframe has been signed off by you, the next stage is design. Our award-winning design team will meet with you to understand what key messages you want the site to convey from a brand point of view, so that they can be taken into consideration when designing the initial concept for your review.
  • Development. Once the design is signed off by you, we proceed to the development stage. This is the process by which we take a static design and start to build the working site, building and connecting elements and creating functionality. These can include links to emails, contact forms or development such as a content management system that allows you to control the content on your site with the design – this would give you the ability to regularly update text and images on the site yourself going forward.
  • Functionality testing. Once the development stage has been completed, the project will be delivered to your Account Manager to check that all required functionality is in place. An element of user testing will be carried out to identify and correct as many “bugs” as humanly possible before delivering the project to you for acceptance testing.
  • Project Delivery/CMS Training. At this stage, we deliver the project to you for acceptance testing. We’ll provide you with training on how to use the bespoke content management system we have developed for you, and give you time to test the site and functionality to ensure that you are happy with how it works. We will then meet with you to discuss any changes you would like to have made. It may be that some of these changes are additional development, if that is the case we will provide you with an estimate for their integration into the site and a project timeline for their completion. This will give you the opportunity to decide if you want to include these features in the site before going live, or they can be added after the site has been made live.
  • Cross Browser Testing. Any changes you require that are within the specification of the project will be carried out at this stage. It is at this stage that we will also complete a process known as cross-browser testing, which helps us ensure that your site works sufficiently in Internet Explorer +, Firefox, Safari and Opera on both Macintosh computers and PCs.
  • Site goes live. When you are ready, we will make the site live.

We pride ourselves in our work, and believe in taking the time and making the effort to ensure everything we produce is to a very high standard.

If you’d like to know more, we’d love to hear from you.

 

 

 

2408.11

Devon Wildlife Trust Corporate Supporters partner on Web Re-Development Project

Posted by Amanda in Company News, Design

Optix Solutions and Pipex px®, both supporters of the Devon based Wildlife Trust have teamed up in a new exciting web project to take place over the next few months. Pipex px® recently went through a re-brand exercise and the new website will bring the company, formed in 1975 inline with that new brand look and feel.

Both Pipex px®, based in Plymouth and Optix Solutions based in Exeter have been a supporters of Devon Wildlife Trust for 3 years. When Pipex px® were looking for a new web development company they searched the region and interviewed a number of companies and Optix Solutions were their choice.

“We particularly liked Optix Solutions’ partner based approach to this project. Even in the initial meeting they had lots of input and suggestions to add value to our brief. We wanted a company who would work alongside us to develop a fantastic new web presence for the company,” said Sarah Raynor, Communications & Marketing Director at Pipex px®

The project is about to start at Optix Solutions in Exeter. New designs will be delivered to Pipex px® in the first instance and then the development project will begin. The aim being to role out the site in the last couple of months of the year.

“Pipex px® are exactly the sort of company we are looking to work with. They are a forward thinking business with a great ethos and ‘feel’ about them. Over the last two to three years I’ve worked hard on profiling the perfect ‘Optix Client’ and Pipex px® fall firmly into that category. We’re interested in working with companies that appreciate the 12 years of expertise we’ve built up and want to work on a partner basis rather than just the traditional client/supplier model” stated Alastair Banks, Director of Optix Solutions

Tracy Ebbrell Corporate Relations Officer at Devon Wildlife Trust added, “We were delighted to hear that two of our corporate supporters are working together on this project. Since Optix Solutions built our website over 2 years ago we have worked with them very closely so know that Pipex px® will be looked after well. It is great that through corporate support of DWT and the networking and marketing opportunities DWT offer through the scheme that we can see clients working together for commercial benefit”.

Corporate support for Devon Wildlife Trust is a very important part of their fundraising and awareness activity. Any companies that are interested in information can find out more from the DWT website http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/corporate-support/

Pipex px® provide the design, manufacture & flexible technical support services for the supply & installation of innovative composite & thermoplastic products and systems to construction projects & applications ranging from waste water to warships.

Optix Solutions, one of the region’s leading web and online marketing companies, provides a consultative service for companies looking to improve and build on their presence online. You can contact them on: 01392 667766 or via info@optixsolutions.co.uk