18 04/2008 Never let an ad agency near your website

By Gerry McGovern

The average advertising agency fundamentally doesn’t get the Web. Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO Worldwide, J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy are great advertising agencies. When it comes to managing their own websites, however, they are rank amateurs. They bring their print and TV thinking to the Web with embarrassing results.

» Read the rest of the article

03 04/2008 The Essential Facts on Website Compatibility

I came across this great little article on website compatibility by Jonathan Crossfield over at Netregistry this morning and thought it worthy of sharing with you. The issues covered go without saying for most standards-aware developers though sadly we see far too many websites clearly designed by windows-only developers which break in other browsers or operating systems. This article explains these issues in simple laymans terms and is a good starter list of questions to ask before settling on a developer for your new website.

Do you know how your website looks in Safari? What about on a small laptop screen? Do you hope to target customers surfing your website on their mobile phone?
With so many browser applications, platforms and monitor sizes now in use, the modern web designer is constantly challenged to design sites that appear correctly in all situations.
Everyone has their own preferences of browser, monitor and platform. But the choices are continuing to expand, meaning more considerations and more innovation.

» Read the full article

14 03/2008 Shopify Designer Interview

Propeller have been working closely with e-commerce platform Shopify and Shopify’s developers “Jaded Pixel” since the system was launched in 2006.

Jaded Pixel have just introduced a series of Designer Interviews and Propeller are delighted to be first cab off the rank…

» Read the interview

21 12/2007 Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel | Spa Resort

Nestled atop a natural bush headland. Just a few short steps from pristine white beaches and rolling surf. Located on the site of the old iconic ‘Straddie Pub’.

Welcome to Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel | Spa Resort
Spectacularly located, Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel | Spa Resort is the ideal place to unwind and more!

With their multi-million dollar re-development complete, the Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel | Spa Resort challenged Propeller to a similar transformation of their ageing website. With some other recent web 2.0 designs under our belt and recent print design work as a reference, we rose to the challenge…

23 11/2007 RSVP Event Hire

RSVP Event Hire provide everything from marquees, tables & chairs, glassware and crockery through to the kitchen sink – literally. Established in 1983, RSVP Event Hire not only cater to small parties and functins, weddings and local events but have also gained an enviable reputation in the national market having furnished numerous prestigious events; the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Gold Coast Indy, State of Origin, the Woodford Folk Festival and Brisbane Ekka to name but a few.

13 11/2007 The new 'cutting edge' Ch7 Sunrise website, standards not worth the effort?

As a regular viewer of Channel 7’s ‘Sunrise’ breakfast show I was interested this morning when they roped in Pete Blasina to run through their new and supposedly ‘cutting edge’ website and tell us how great it is.

Graphically the site isnt the worst I’ve seen though its not the best either and is extremely cluttered and disorganised. It almost looks as though they made a list of features they needed to include then threw them at a magnetic board…

28 09/2007 Propeller at Web Directions South 2007

Having been shortlisted for the 2007 McFarlane Prize, Propeller packed up their mice and shut down their displays for the day and headed to Sydney for Web Directions South 2007.

Over 600 delegates attended WDS07 along with a raft of exhibitors and international speakers from all disciplines and areas of web design; Andy Clarke, Aaron Gustavson, and Chris Wilson to name but a few. The premier web conference in the Southern hemisphere, WDS07 is sponsored by Microsoft, Adobe, the W3C, Glass Onion and Wired Sky.

24 09/2007 Propeller shortlisted for the McFarlane Prize for 'Solution Central'

Propeller are bubbling over with excitement at having one of our websites Solution Central shortlisted in this years’ McFarlane Prize

Named in memory of noted Australian web pioneer Nigel McFarlane, the McFarlane Prize aims to recognize and encourage excellence in web design by Australian web professionals.

21 09/2007 Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre

Here at Propeller, we’re avid scuba divers so when Redlands’ Tourism Award Winners Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre approached us to re-design their website, bringing with them a whole host of some of the best underwater photography we’ve ever seen along with an open and innovative attitude to the project, we knew we were in a position to create something really special.

31 08/2007 Setting a Web Design Budget

This excellent article from James Archer is a great guide on setting a budget for anyone considering a new website or re-designing an old one.

James explains different ways of looking at how to budget for a website; by Marketing Percentage – allocating a portion of your existing marketing budget or by Return on Investment (ROI) – allocating a specific percentage of your overall budget.