RE: Website Redesign

["Terry Aitken" <terry@flowerfantasy.net>]

Hi All
I think John is functioning very well as the "listener" and "collector" of
information. Feeding information such as Jim Morris' observations does not
require a committee to implement.
I am inclined to consider web design to be an artistic endeavor. Artistic
design by committee sounds like a formula for disaster or at least
mediocrity - same thing. Communication and teamwork between the manager
(John) and his designer is something that I would consider to be a
prerequisite for success. As one artist to another, go for it John!
Terry 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org [mailto:owner-aisdiscuss@aisboard.org]
On Behalf Of John I Jones
Sent: Sunday, August 24, 2008 4:55 PM
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Subject: Re: [AISdiscuss] Website Redesign

On Aug 24, 2008, at 3:51 PM, MORRISJE1@aol.com wrote:
>
> John,
>
> Some times two or more heads are better than one.  I like a lot  
> about  our
> website and the daylily one as well, but neither is as good as they  
> can  be.  I
> think the American Daffodil Society one is better than both and  
> the  Hosta
> Society isn't bad either.

I want to continue to get input from whomever would like to speak up.  
Ideas come from everywhere. That is different than having a decision  
making committee.

As to the websites you mentioned, I personally like the clean open  
look of the Daffodil site.

I have asked several times over the last year for comments and  
suggestions on the redesign. Few answered, and a number of the  
suggestions were not particularly compatible, but I have tried to  
distill the best of the best. I believe the board has had, and  
continues to have opportunity to comment on what the redesign should  
consist of and what content needs to be added. Content and purpose  
drive design to be sure. Just because I have started talking to a  
designer doesn't mean that the content or the design is frozen. If it  
takes me starting to talk with a designer to get people talking about  
what they think would be good, SO MUCH THE BETTER !

We will go through (probably several) reviews and everyone will have  
an opportunity to comment, and I will listen carefully.

As you might well imagine, we won't be able to please everyone  
because there are a wide range of opinions. If we tried to compromise  
to every objection we will (not might) come up with a lesser product,


Yes some of the navigation on our current website is not good nor  
particularly intuitive. I am also working on that. The link to the  
youth page is under Iris Links/ AIS Initiatives (5th one down in that  
list)

Yes it should be at least one level higher (at the AIS Initiatives  
level with Iris Societies, AIS Regions and the rest.) I have made  
that suggestion to Chris. We should also have the Foundation link at  
least at that level.

I also think that there should be Youth link in the main Navigation  
bar with its own set of pages in our site and have asked Cheryl and  
Nancy Price (webmaster for the youth-iris site) if they can come up  
with some new content to put on a Youth section on the AIS site.

I will ask Chris if he can't change the picture on the Convention page.

John



>
> Among the things that exasperate me about our AIS website are the  
> placement
> of some things and the difficulty of finding certain things.  Examples
> follow.
>
> On the first page under News-Announcements regarding the Austin,  
> Texas AIS
> 2008 Convention, if you click on Conventions/Activities the first  
> thing you see
>  is a picture of the 2006 Convention in Oregon!  No where  on that  
> page is
> there anything about the AIS 2008 Convention.
>
> Next, I tried to find the Youth site.  Since there is no header  
> for  Youth
> the obvious place to me (maybe somewhere else is obvious to someone  
> else)  would
> be under Iris Links.  Alas, it isn't there, nor under AIS  
> Overview,  nor AIS
> Membership Information, nor Iris Information.  By this time I gave   
> up and I
> don't know where the devil it might be (I assume we have  one?).
>
> As one member of the Board I don't think it would hurt a thing to  
> have more
> Board input to drive the design rather than the other way around.
>
> Jim M.
>
>
>
> **************It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find  
> your travel
> deal here.
> (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047)
>
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