Hickory

Client: Hickory
URL: http://www.hickory.com.au/
Launch Date: 2 February 2011
Project: Rich Interactive Flash Website, iPad, mobile re-writes. CMS to manage all content.
Agency

Latitude Group

Features

Complete Deeplinking
Flex Based CMS
Mobile, iPad Compatible
Maximum Browser Real-Estate Coverage

The Story

I've been noticing a trend. Property and architecture industries LOVE Flash websites. Why? The story is all in the photos. They all spend big dollars on fantastic photography and the best way to handle large and many photos is through Flash.

In Flash you can manage resizing and preloading of images really well. It just requires a clever structure and clever thinking. It also prevents the user from waiting. If they do need to wait, there needs to be an indicator suggesting something's coming soon.

The trickiest part of this site was the layout management. It had to integrate repositioning for multiple layouts with inline expandable content. There is a few rules and conditions in place to prevent clashing whilst holding a strong design balance.

I wanted to add a few different usability/interaction measures, but Hickory were firm on wanting certain elements working a certain way, which is fair enough.

Technologies

Flash w/ Actionscript 3
Flex 4 / Spark - Frame CMS
AMFPHP Web services with MySQL database

Team

Designer - Filip Bjazevic
Photographer - Peter Clarke
Developer - Neil Nand

Gallery