7 January 2015

MES-UK: CUTTING EDGE MARINE BRIDGE SYSTEMS SINCE 1977

Marine Electronic Systems website home screen
MES-UK HOME SCREEN F/S CONFIGURATION

BRIEF

MES-UK (Marine Electronic Systems) have been designing, supplying and fitting, cutting edge maritime bridge systems since 1977. Deshok was recommended to MES via a colleague. The brief was a simple one: update and improve the company’s presence on the internet. Up until now MES had been using a simple template, web-based CMS (Content Management System) which had left them looking a little out gunned by their competition.

A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST. A CLEAN WHITE BACKGROUND FOR THIS SECTION AND OTHERS PROVIDES CONTRAST AND  KEEP THE SITE VISITOR ENGAGED

MES wanted an internet presentation that was cool and well designed; something that would compete or be better than the competition. A CMS element was required, but not at the expense of the core site design, therefore a blog was suggested. The site would need to tell the visitor about the MES service in a clean and simple way, while using photography that was relevant to MES i.e. photographs of actual projects.

MES-UK COMMUNICATIONS DEMONSTRATING CUSTOM DROP-DOWN MENU SYSTEM

ONE OF THE KEY FEATURES OF THIS PROJECT IS THE USE OF STRIKING HERO IMAGES, TO DEMONSTRATE THE GRAVITAS OF THE MES-UK SERVICE

THE GOAL OF TWO PARTS

1. Update the image of MES to a wider audience via the internet.
2. To be considered as part of ongoing marketing for MES, that would not rely so heavily on just one or two individuals to generate new business.

The MES project was not going to rely on a single online presence, this project was to consist of a creative site that could spread the MES message in just the way MES intended. There would be a CMS enabled blog and yet to be confirmed, but strongly recommended; Social Media, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn pages for business, all of which could be accessed and updated from a mobile phone, tablet or laptop anywhere in the world. Indeed an MES engineer would be able to upload a photo of his handy work to social network or blog, even if he was out to sea.

ASSETS REQUIRED:

• Creative site x12pp
• Blog - custom Deshok CMS front-end
• Facebook cover and post icon
• Twitter wallpaper and post icon
• LinkedIn business page cover and post icon

CONCEPT / THE CREATIVE SITE

The major focus for this project was the creative site, this was the device that would allow MES to tell the world their story in the way they wanted. The website consists of an imposing full screen presentation, with a simple drop down menu system and custom dynamic slideshow on most pages. The site also contains a faux parallax, enabling it to fit full screen on every size of monitor.

All pages feature a topic specific ‘hero shot’ that originated from photographs of actual MES projects. Where appropriate the hero shot contains a rollover flag that provides the site visitor with a snippet of information associated with the image and project.

A striking feature of the MES creative site is the angular cuts given to the slideshow and other elements. This was inherited from MES brochures and other printed items and is a technique incorporated within the MES corporate ID. Corporate coherence was enhanced by reflecting this visual style within the website as well the new more interactive members of the marketing family.

Initially all sections of the website were to have blue backgrounds, but it was very quickly decided to add white and grey to vary the presentation a little and deliver some visual freshness whilst browsing.


THE BLOG

MES-UK BLOG HOME PAGE FEATURING ANIMATED BANNER A STRONG GRAPHIC LINK THROUGH TO
THE CREATIVE SITE AND X3 FEATURE BUTTONS AT THE FOOTER

Original concepts intended for the creative site, but not considered creative enough were retained and repurposed for the MES Blog. The blog had to follow a strict template for purposes of recognition; people needed to know it was a blog, it needed to feature blog functionality and work sharply with the Blogger powered CMS (Content Management System).

As a custom template for MES, the blog had several jobs to do other than just being a blog. The desire was that the blog would perform strongly as an inclusive information source if visitors found their way to it first and of course it needed to fit alongside other marketing assets and be mobile friendly.

HOME PAGE SLIDE SHOW IMAGES 1-4. EACH FEATURES A KEY SERVICE BENEFIT AND A DISCREET LINK THROUGH TO THE APPROPRIATE PAGE TO FIND OUT MORE

The blog features a home page with a jQuery image slide show, promoting key features of the website and including links through to those pages. There is also a simple navigation system that clearly lays out content, including the all important Contact Us page.

DETAILS

CUSTOM IPHONE HOME PAGE ICON FOR MOBILE APPLICATIONS

Little items that can quite easily be over looked, but are highly effective include; a custom MES iPhone home screen icon that can be downloaded by the site visitor for quick access to the site and a custom fav-icon for easy recognition once the site has been bookmarked.

SOCIAL MEDIA

BRAND APPLICATIONS FOR MES-UK ON FACEBOOK

BRAND APPLICATION STUDY FOR TWITTER

The social media part of this project is still in the finals of implementation, but graphic elements are complete.


THE RESULTS

Detailed results for this project are not available as this is stage one of a two stage project. However, it was made known by the client that feedback from MES customers had been very positive and it is felt that new projects have been won more easily, helped in-no-small part by the new look and feel of MES online.

Related links:
http://www.mesuk.com


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ABOUT WHERE YOU WANT YOUR BUSINESS TO GO NEXT
CALL +44 (0)1202 388538 OR EMAIL: INFO@DESHOK.COM

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