Julian Leighton, director at Orange Bus with Lisa Pringle, local services manager at Family Lives.

A new website, designed by a North East digital agency, is set to provide help and support to families affected by bullying.

Family Lives, a national charity that provides 24-hour assistance to families across the UK, is calling for stronger partnerships between parents, pupils and teachers in the face of the online bullying problem.

The new website is the lynch pin in the charity’s plans make it simple to access free support on this subject.

Easy access to online support

According to Luke Surry, head of digital media at Family Lives, cyber-bullying is a serious and growing problem.

“With internet access so readily available through laptops and mobile phones, victims often find the situation relentless”, he said.

“It’s vital that parents have easy access to online support, and for many the Family Lives website is the first place they visit.

“Parents can live chat with a trained family support worker, get advice over email and talk with other people facing similar issues in our discussion forum.”

Bridging the gap

The new site was developed by North East digital agency Orange Bus, who specialise in user experience and interface design.

According to Julian Leighton, a director at Orange Bus, the aim was to provide a highly accessible resource that would bridge the gap that can exist between parents, professionals, families and children.

“By incorporating a greater level of parent interactivity such as blogs, comments, videos, ratings, forums and additional support via podcasts and live chat, the Family Lives site is designed to wear a number of hats for different user groups”, he said.

The technology division at GUITARGUITAR is committed in providing leading-edge software solutions to enable the company to provide musicians with the best possible buying experience and after sales care.

Key to its success are individuals who think outside the box, display creative flair and present a commercial attitude towards development.

This is the ideal role for an enthusiastic person with a mixture of web development and design skills to play a key role.

The ideal candidate will have a solid experience of developing e-commerce websites using an array of technologies and enjoy pushing their knowledge to its limits. They must have a portfolio demonstrating previous design and development work across the private or public sector.

Key responsibilities

+ Design and develop both static and e-commerce based websites, with intuitive functionality, for our online customers whilst ensuring an enjoyable user experience throughout

+ Work closely with our internal teams to develop tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations

+ Develop relational database systems and web-based interfaces

+ Contribute to key development decisions within the company

Essential skills

+ Proven web and database development experience

+ In-depth knowledge of ASP, ASP.NET, XML, Javascript,AJAX CSS and XHTML (to W3C standard)

+ Strong knowledge of MS SQL server 2005 and 2008 (MYSQL knowledge beneficial as well)

+ Intermediate knowledge of IIS 6 and/or IIS 7

+ Experience of building e-commerce websites

+ Understand how to develop secure code and common issues related to software and network security

+ Basic experience with Photoshop or other Image Manipulation Software.

Desirable skills

+ Strong graphical design skills highly desirable but not essential

+ Knowledge of search engine optimization techniques and understanding of associated paid methods.

+ Experience in developing high-availability applications

+ Working experience with content management (CMS) & customer relationship management systems (CRM)

+ An update to date knowledge of CSS3 and HTML5 is desirable

+ A Computer Science degree or similar is preferred but not required if the candidate can demonstrate equivalent commercial experience

Interpersonal skills

Naturally the following personal skills are a must.

+ A proactive and flexible attitude to work is essential

+ Ability to follow architectural direction developed by the team

+ Ability to work both independently and as a member of a team, with a positive and solid work ethic

+ Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written

This is a full time role and the standard working hours are Monday to Friday 09:45 – 17:45. It is envisaged that the candidate may be required to be semi-flexible around these working hours as the demands of the business develops.

This position will become permanent after the successful completion of a 6 month probation period.

To apply send a copy of your current CV, including salary expectations to jobs@guitarguitar.co.uk

No Agencies please. Please feel free to contact Mark on 0191 222 0466 (Mon to Fri) if you would like an informal chat about the role.

Easy navigation and accessibility played a huge part in the development of accountancy giant Sage One’s new website.

Designed and built by Newcastle-based digital agency Orange Bus, the new site boasts simplicity in its user experience as it aims to offer a real alternative way to find answers instead of contacting the company’s call centre.

Julian Leighton, director at Orange Bus, is delighted to see that the new site has quickly been adopted by the users.

“We’re delighted with the finished product but what is most exciting is to see business owners are already using it easily and effectively – and in the ways we expected they would.

“It was imperative to the success of Sage One that we effectively structure the content of the online help centre and this is a perfect example of where our user experience knowledge comes into its own.”

Sage One is aimed at sole-traders and start-ups with a hosted software package sold on a monthly subscription as a secure, simple and low-cost way to manage finances.

Business owners can work on invoices and VAT returns, and assess their business performance in the office or at home remotely.

According to Simon Black, managing director of Sage Online, the feedback from the beta customers has been positive.

“We’re providing a real boost to their business and enabling them to manage their accounts in a way that suits them.

“That’s why we believe Sage One will meet and exceed the expectations of a new generation of sole traders, small businesses and entrepreneurs that see the web as a natural way to work.”

We’ve seen the skills of web developers grow and their clients becoming more and more tech savvy resulting in innovative and good looking websites.

But not for all. Accessibility guidelines are still considered as a drag by too many web developers leaving a huge number of web users excluded.

We talked to Gary Robson, Technical Director at Industrial Strength, a North East web design company, to find out what’s so off-putting about accessibility.

A by-product, not an addition

The first place where people tend to go wrong with accessibility, Gary said, is thinking it as separate addition.

“For a long time accessibility has been seen as an optional feature and because of this, it would generally have a cost implication that was difficult to justify for many clients”, he said.

“This should no longer be an issue, with the increased capability of all the browsers. Building an accessible site to a reasonable standard, should generally be seen as a by-product of building a site well.”

For Gary, a realisation of the importance of issue came with a visit to the accessibility lab at the Department of Disability Services at Cardiff University.

“It was quite an eye-opener to see what they have to put up with day-to-day purely because web developers and designers have historically seen catering for them as too much work!”, he said.

“The main problem now is that that attitude hasn’t changed across the whole industry, and many still use accessibility as a tool to upsell.”

Not just about ticking the boxes

Gary admits that there are some issues with the W3C’s accessibility guidelines which have been criticised as being too complex and vague.

“It’s too easy to game the system, tick all the boxes, and still end up with an inaccessible site”, he said.

“I’m not sure whether this is an issue with the WAI [Web Accessibility Initiative] guidelines as such, but the complexity and the sheer number of grey areas don’t make for a level playing field when you have those who just want to tick the boxes, and those who actually want to build an accessible site.”

According to Gary, the key thing to keep in mind is that good accessibility can’t be achieved in isolation.

“Don’t think accessibility as an afterthought”, he said.

“It should be considered as part of the bigger picture – site content requirements, SEO, accessibility and design can and should bleed into each other when making specs for a website.”

Buy accessibility, get SEO for free

For those in search of extra motivation to invest in accessibility, Gary suggests to think of it as a form of search engine optimisation.

“A good accessibility standard and a good SEO aware site overlap in so many areas that its almost buy one get one free!”

“To excel in either discipline requires some dedicated work, but an accessible site that assistive technology, such as screenreaders, can understand is also a site that Google can understand.”

And finally, for all the designers who see accessibility as something that ruins their fancy plans; can accessibility and innovative design work together?

“Yes. For a long time there was a difficult balancing act between design and accessibility but this, to a big degree, has been overcome by a mixture of technology and common sense. An accessible site is no longer shorthand for ugly/minimalistic.”

Case study

Accessibility on agenda for BBC and Google

Web developer Gary Robson says that the BBC provides a great example of what can be achieved when the owner of the site views accessibility as a basic requirement, not an inconvenient optional extra. Read more…

A blog post by Asylum.co.uk brings together a selection of some of early web design’s “finest” achievements.

Sites that were once cutting edge – well, maybe not all of them – now have us hooked for all the wrong reasons.

The pick of the bunch is Dinosauria On-Line, developed in 1995. The site has everything you could dream of in the mid 90s – cool graphics, cool photo gallery, pre-blog type of journal section and even “hot links”!

Another great one is a tribute page for Robert DeNiro created by an eager (and clearly tech-savvy!) fan. Also published in 1995, the site features, among other things, a “multimedia” section with a sound archive containing mp3s of the actor’s famous lines, complete with unmistakable 90s hiss ruining the sound quality.

Have a look at these heart-warming experiments from the time when the internet was wild and free of conventional design and sleek & stylish sites:
http://www.asylum.co.uk/2011/01/06/the-oldest-websites-on-the-internet-gold-oldies-of-the-web/

Have you recently graduated with a creative degree in graphic design, multimedia design or art? Have you worked in a creative agency or in-house design team, either on a full time, voluntarily or freelance basis? Would you like your first step on the career ladder with a well established creative agency based close to Middlesbrough and Stokesley who specialise in design, marketing, branding and social media?

If you answered yes to these questions then please read on and apply over the festive season as our Client is looking to interview potential candidates in the New Year with a view to getting someone in place in the position before the end of January 2011 if possible.

Working on projects ranging from high quality print materials including brochures, leaflets, corporate identity and prospectus’ to digital projects including website design and digital marketing, our client would like to find someone who is keen to build on some existing experience in their studio on a range of high calibre clients.

When you apply please either make a link to your online portfolio clearly visible or add a few pages to the end of your CV showcasing your best design work, either in the form of photographed work and/or screengrabs with links to actual sites.

Your CV and Portfolio must show ability to work with InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Dreamweaver. An understanding of Flash, HTML and CSS would also be advantageous.

If you are interested in the advertised position please apply by contacting Sharpe Recruitment and we will be in touch shortly with regards to your suitability for the role.

Sharpe Recruitment is a North East based consultancy, dedicated to placing professionals in rewarding jobs throughout the North of England across a variety of disciplines including Digital Media, Creative Advertising, Sales & Marketing, PR, IT and Business Operations.

UX London is a unique three-day event combining inspirational talks with in-depth workshops presented by some of the industry’s biggest names.

Whether you’re beginning your career, or a seasoned professional, UX London is your chance to add core skills, absorb strategic thinking, and learn advanced techniques from pioneers in the field.
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Organiser:
Clearleft

Contact:
+44 8458 838 6163

Website:
http://www.clearleft.com

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Digital Radio Production Using Garage Band
Digital Video Editing with Adobe Premiere
Digital Video Editing with Final Cut
Digital Video Motion Design with Adobe After Effects
Graphic Design with Adobe Illustrator
Print Design with Photoshop
Print Layout Design with InDesign
Web Design with Adobe Dreamweaver
Web Interactive Design with Adobe Flash

Course Dates: From 24.01.11
Days: Mondays from 6.00 – 9.00pm
Length of course: 10 weeks
Cost: £300

Please see our website for booking details, or call the office for more information.

Contact: Course Information
Organisation: Hackney Community College
Phone: 020 7613 9123
Email: info@hackney.ac.uk

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Launched to beta stage in August, the site is aimed at everyday cooks to share their recipes and love of food.

The members, called Sizzlers, can post and rate recipes, type in ingredients to get ideas for meals and create their own individual cookbook of favourites.

The Sizzlers can also build up followers, similar to sites such as Twittter, and upload video clips of themselves cooking.

The right balance

The cooking community became reality when Lowry took his idea to Industrial Strength, who specialise in online marketing working for clients such as Sage and Tommee Tippee.

“I had this vision of a place where keen but everyday cooks like me could come together to share their love of food”, he said.

“I’m no stranger to business itself, but I needed expert help with how to use all the right digital technology such as social media tools to create a thriving web-based business.”

According to Lee Milmore, creative director of Industrial Strength, there is much more to creating a strong web-based business than just producing a good looking website.

“It’s important to think strategically about what the objectives are, and how they can be achieved through digital tools”, he said.

“The resulting website should strike just the right balance between functionality, useful content and the revenue-generating tools that make it a viable business.”

Flemming Arnott; Jill Heslop; Richard Myers (managing director); Hanna Miettinen

Digital media agency Industrial Strength has recruited three new staff members on the back of a series of client wins as it pushes for growth.

The Gateshead-based company specialises in website design and development, multimedia and online marketing for a client base including Sage, Tommee Tippee and Gentoo. It also works as a digital partner to top advertising and design companies in the North East, London and Geneva.

The new recruits had all proved themselves by working with the company before their appointment, having being part of a pool of talented freelancers from which Industrial Strength handpicks a team for each client project.

The move doubles the core team of staff to six, who are supported by up to eight freelancers during busy periods.

Former journalist Hanna Miettinen joins as editor of the company’s digital news platform New Media Monthly, an open forum for the digital community to share news, views and ideas. Born in Finland, Hanna previously worked as a journalist on several titles in her home country before settling in the North East last year, after completing her Masters degree in multimedia journalism at Newcastle University.

Web developer Flemming Arnott brings with him a 12-year background in the digital sector. A former creative himself, he works within the development team to apply technology that brings the concept to life and delivers the results that clients want. His former roles included a spell with Kitbag, the first online sports retailer, and a web development role at the Centre for Advanced Industry in North Shields.

The third member of the trio is Jill Heslop, who is responsible for providing accounts, admin and business support to the directors and staff.  Jill moved to the region four years ago from the West coast of Scotland, and outside work she sings with and promotes North East band and independent record label The Shipbuilders.

Managing director Richard Myers said:  “We are delighted to welcome Hanna, Flemming and Jill to the permanent staff team.

“The digital world is constantly growing and developing and to make sure we continue to come up with fresh and innovative ideas to help clients get the best from their marketing budgets, we need to make sure we choose the right fit for our staff team.

“Based on our experience working with all three on a freelance basis, we were confident that our new recruits would quickly prove to be valuable additions to the team, and we are very pleased to have them on board.”