I have been focussing a lot on the badly designed and poorly styled sites surrounding the musical community. I have mentioned the fact that I feel as though the sites for the most part are cluttered, ill-thought-out pieces of work that don't engage the target audience at all.
So I thought it would be good to look for something that actually inspired me. Something that caught my eye. In my travels across the web I managed to find the "Dallas International Guitar Festival".
Source: https://www.guitarshow.com
I really like the colour scheme, the sharp intriguing shapes and patterns and the overall classic, rustic feel to the design elements. What really sets it off for me is how it's juxtaposed against a vector background. All the colours are solid and very digital but used to illustrate a design that is classically not seen within a vector/digital space. I love pretty much everything about the vibe, logo and typography. But more than that, the site itself is layer out and functions pretty much exactly how I pictured my site functioning and looking.
Source: https://www.guitarshow.com
I hadn't seen this site until a moment ago and it is literally exactly how I pictured me laying my site out. It is honestly almost spooky how similar this design is to the one I had in my head. And although it's more or less impossible to prove through this forum I came up with this kind of structure before seeing this site.
Anyway. This is exactly what a Guitarist would be looking for in a site like this. There is a bright/vibrant logo that catches the eye. There are all the dates they need. An image of the logo of each company attending the event (all of which are major players within the industry). And there is a button to buy tickets. That is perfection for me when it comes to the design of a site like this. That's all the audience wants to see. It isn't complicated. It gets straight to the point and is also visually stimulating and engaging whilst doing so.
Not only did this site inspire me and re-affirm that my idea was workable and would suit my purpose, it also gave me some ideas for pages that I hadn't necessarily thought of. One of which being a site that provides information about local accommodation.
Whilst I don't think that this page is terribly well designed it is a brilliant idea that I had overlooked due to the overwhelming amount of things to process and deal with in these early stages of development. It is a simple, helpful idea. I think it could be improved by a mini-map I think to show each hotel's proximity to the venue. Nonetheless it is a really functional page that does a valuable job. This is important for conferences set in a city that invites international or even national attention. People unfamiliar with the area will need accommodation and suggesting affordable, local places to stay is a valuable idea.
So all in all this site is a shining example of how I think a guitar expo's site should be designed. It has everything I think a show like this should include. It is visually exciting with salient details whilst avoiding clutter and over-complication. This is something to bare in mind whilst the wire-framing and flow diagram process are underway.
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