Step 1 - Develop Your Idea
My idea for the final project is to create a website for Island Contracting. The company is based in Ocean Beach on Fire Island, New York. Fire Island is a unique location to run a business. This barrier island is 32 miles long and averages less than a mile in width and is situated between the Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The island is made up of a many small towns, parks and beach communities that stretch from Robert Moses State Park at the West end to Smith's Point County Park at the east. Approximately 820,865 people visit Fire Island each summer.
There are no paved roads on the island and only service and emergency vehicles are allowed. Free of cars, traffic, pollution and noise, Fire Island offers a peaceful getaway not found in many areas. Walking, biking and golf-carting are the modes of transportation and help to preserve the island's natural beauty. The island is accessible by ferries departing from Bay Shore, Patchogue, Sayville and Bellport. In addition, the beaches are reachable by private boat and water taxi.
Fire Island features many full-service hotels and inns for visitors. Since real estate prices of out of reach for most people, rental homes and share houses are an important part of the culture. Because of its remote location, the winter population of fulltime residents is quite low.
This all sets up a unique situation for building contractors since it is difficult to transport materials and to find skilled tradesmen that are willing to travel to the island each day and work in difficult conditions.
Island Contracting has been in business at Ocean Beach since 1985. They are known for their high-quality work and keeping the job within budget and time restrictions. The owners, Steve Mueller and Doug Meyer are well-liked and respected in the community. Most of their work features high-end designs created by architects based in Manhattan or Long Island with specs that often include specialized materials requiring custom orders from outside suppliers or built be Island Contracting craftsmen on premises.
Step 2 - Discovery and Research
My plan is to create a modern looking website to showcase the beautiful homes that Island Contracting has built. Some of these homes have been featured in publications such as Architectural Digest and the New York Times. Through my research, I have found a number of competitor websites that showcase the work of other Fire Island contractors.
Vannoni Construction
The first website I viewed was Vannoni Construction at www.vannoniconstruction.com. The home page has a large photo of a house to fill ¾ of the screen. The company logo is displayed in the upper left corner and a 55-years-in-service seal is in the upper right. Their slogan, "Trustworthy Reliable, Honest and On Time!," overlays a carousel of photos that showcase their work. The navigation is found along the top (Home, About Us, New Homes, Renovations, Property Management, House Lifting, Other Services, gallery and Contact. As the user scrolls down, they will find a statement explaining that the company is licensed and insured, in addition, two photos and contact information are provided. As the user scrolls down information is viewed about the company core values. Upon further scrolling, information about other services and links to other pages are accessible. Scrolling down again, the user will see photos of the company's projects and client testimonials. The footer has the same statement of trust, quick links to the other pages, contact information and social media tags.
Jim Gray Fire Island Contracting & Builder
The landing page of http://www.jimgraycontracting.com consists of full-bleed photos of the various homes that the contractor built. As the photos fade out and in, the title slides in from the right. "Building, Re-building on Fire Island. Don't start till you talk to Jim." "Modernist, Shingle Style, Cape Cod, Beach Shack, Contemporary. Regardless of the style, Jim and team can handle it!" "Top craftsmanship and great to work with. Kismet, Saltaire, Fair Harbor, Dunewood, Lonelyville, Ocean Beach and the rest. Jim will work within your budget." A contact box hover link with Jim's phone number changes to clear as you hover over it. The company wordmark is in the upper left with the tagline "Renovations, rebuilds, repairs Jim Grey delivers 631-848-9876." At the upper right are two links: "Contact Jim Gray" and "Dunewood Fire Island Oceanfront Modernist." This link takes the user to a page with four photos of a beautiful newly constructed ocean-front home. As you scroll down, a few sentences are provided about Jim Gray and his team and a form to leave your email and comments is provided.
Murtha Construction
The landing page for www.murthaconstruction.com starts with a photo of a beautiful suburban home and the headline "Quick. Clean. Guaranteed." It is coupled with a testimonial. The next photo is of a kitchen. The photo wipes in with the Headline "We listen. We advise. We Make it Happen." Another testimonial appears. A third photo wipes in of Murtha's main office in West Islip with the headline "Local. Responsive. Get the Job Done." A third testimonial is stated. The logo is at the top left and navigation at the top right in grey boxes. Below the navigation is the subhead, "Long Island Home Improvement Contractor Services."
As the user scrolls down, there are three photos and text (Kitchen Remodeling, Bathroom Remodeling and Home Additions). Each provides a link to another page and more photos to scroll through. Most of the work is on luxury suburban homes.
As the user scrolls down further, a box of tabs appears one of which is Fire Island. If the user clicks on the link "Fire Island General Contractor," the page appears showing a photo of the Murtha office in Ocean Beach. Reviews appear along the right. This section was definitely hard to find.
Ross Brothers Construction
Another Fire Island contractor is Ross Brothers construction. The landing page at www.rossbrosconstruction.com provides full-page photos of various projects the company has worked on. The white transparent company logo is overlayed in the center of each image. The shots have movement as the camera pulls away from the exterior or interior. It's a nice change from the still shots found on other websites. This company's work covers several beach communities on Long Island including Ocean Beach, Seaview, Shelter Island Orient, Aquabogue, etc. The images from the Fire Island homes include drone footage with makes this site much more interesting. I also thing the typography has a more elegant look than the other websites. This site has a modern, clean look overall and is targeting a very exclusive customer.
Step 3 – Target your Audience
The target audience for the Island Contracting website includes current Fire Island homeowners, prospective homeowners, visitors, real estate agents, architects, and other Fire Island builders. Reputation and word of mouth are very important on the island. Real estate prices and construction costs are much higher than those on the mainland. With that in mind, clients tend to be those who have the income to afford a second home and the Island Contracting website needs to reflect this. The age range for clients varies between the mid-thirties through ninety. The younger clients are definitely more tech savvy and search on-line for their information.
Fire Island homeowners often have a great deal of friends and acquaintances in their communities. They love to talk and share information about homes and contractors especially if they are happy with the work. Since this is a resort community, many people host guests during the summer months these guests may decide to look into purchasing a home themselves.
Visitors who travel to the island are often delighted with the laid-back atmosphere of Fire Island and its beautiful beaches. The location provides a quiet respite from the city which is less than an hour away. Some communities include restaurants and grocery stores making it convenient to stay for longer periods of time.
Real estate agents are often the first line of contact with new home buyers on the island and their recommendations carry a great deal of weight to someone who is not familiar with the area or the local businesses.
Architects are another source of recommendation for contractors. If a contractor has worked with an architect and proven his or her abilities by completing the project on time, within budget, resolved all issues, and communicated in a professional manner, and are easy to work with, they will be at the top of the list going into the next job. Clients will sometimes use architects that are familiar with building on this barrier island or they may bring in a design firm from outside. Either way, a website would need to create a great first impression for all involved.
Other contractors on the island may be unable to provide the work a customer needs and they will recommend another contractor to the client. The website would provide an easy reference.
Step 5 - Inspiration and Concepts
Oliver Freundlich Architect
The owners of Island Contracting have worked with many architects over the years. As with most projects, the design is one aspect, but realizing the design and then actually building it another. In addition, working with both a client and architect can present another set of challenges. When all is finished, some jobs are truly beautiful. Island Contracting completed Oliver Freundlich's re-design for the Kelp House in Seaview. This home was showcased in Architectural Digest and can be viewed at https://www.oliverfreundlich.com/work/kelp-house-fire-island-ny. This website is an inspiration for me with its clean, crisp, modern design and beautiful photography. The landing page presents the company logo with a knockout view of changing photos of the firm's work. I love this. The typography is a modern sans serif and the word and letter spacing is very generous creating an even lighter feel.
The firm's logo is found at the upper left of the screen which is also on each subsequent page acting as a home link. When you hover over the logo, the Full name of the firm appears in large type.
The navigation is found at the upper right corner of the page. There are three items (Work, About, Contact and Instagram) keeping with the clean, simplified look. The sizes of the photographs vary, sometimes they align and sometimes they are slightly staggered. The About page showcases a video of the corner in NYC where the office is located. Upon scrolling down, one sees a photo of Oliver and his team and then a portrait photo of Oliver with a brief background of his education and experience. Below this are individual photos of his design team with their names, title and contact information.
The Work page showcases photos of various projects with titles beneath them. Upon clicking on the photos, the user goes to the specific project page with a brief description of the project and more photos.
Phil Kouffman Builder
Phil Kouffman Builder is a contractor based in the Hamptons on Eastern Long Island. The website, https://philkouffmanbuilder.com/ , features high-end residential homes of the Hamptons. The landing page opens with the statement "We build dreams." Then a birds-eye view of the ocean shore with the tagline, "The experience every client looks for in a builder." The drone shot changes to the drone flying parallel to the shore. Photos of homes the company has built then fade in and out.
The Phil Kouffman wordmark in the upper right serves as a Home Page link. The navigation is along the top edge of the screen, sans serif, black type, all caps (Company, Services, Portfolio, Video, Client Experience, Contact, Social Media icons and a search bar. Upon scrolling down a series of five photos appears, each representing an area of the company business (Custom Home, Spec Home, Renovation, Design-Build and Commercial).
The company page provides more information about the history of the company, their values, etc. The Portfolio page shows various projects in more detail. The Client Experience tab links to client testimonials. A video section provides marketing videos with upper management explaining the Phil Kouffman philosophy and how they approach a project.
Wireframes
