We recently launched a large content managed website for TES Aviation Group – a large international, but Wales based aircraft engine management company.

For Matt and myself, it was one of those dream jobs – a fascinating subject, a great group of people and a thoroughly professional and forward looking organisation. One of the highlights of our initial alignment workshops was the tour of their vast facility in Bridgend, south Wales and getting up close to some of the most powerful engines in the world. A schoolboy dream.

We worked through our UX (user experience) processes, spending considerable time talking with the various teams in the organisation, gathering valuable insight into a very complex industry and its own unique set of interactions between client and supplier.

These interviews, combined with alignment sessions with the sales and marketing director and his team, user journey design, process mapping, competitor review and content audit meant we could design the IA (Information Architecture) and wireframe prototype matching the user’s’ needs tightly to TES’s business objectives.

Then our creative and interactive teams were let loose on the look and feel, extending their existing brand into online. The design was then wrapped around our content management system enabling the TES teams to keep their content up to date from anywhere in the world at any time of day or night (these guys travel a lot!).

The site is attracting a lot of industry interest as the analytics are already proving.

We look forward to a long and interesting relationship with TES. It is worth a visit just to see the most amazing (and valuable) coffee table in Wales – made of scrapped titanium aircraft parts.

The site uses S8080’s bilingual English/Welsh CMS and features an interactive and searchable road safety camera map, lots of help on what to do if you have been caught speeding and advice for driving safely for all types of road users.

GoSafe recently rebranded, so we were able to offer a very cost effective ‘refresh’ of their existing website, rather than a complete new build. Our creative and interactive teams also managed to re-skin the interactive driving game, ‘No Need for Speed’ – originally build by us several years ago.

The camera search application uses Google Maps to quickly show users the location of fixed, mobile and red light safety camera throughout Wales. Each precise location shows a host of data including the speed limit, collision and casualty figures.

The Dispelling the Myths section is a real eye opener – you can find out why cameras are placed at certain locations, and no, it’s not just to catch us out when we least expect it!

St David’s Day has taken over at www.wales.com. Fun, recipes and activities… you can even learn the Welsh national anthem phonetically.

Then test your Welshness with this multilingual interactive quiz.

The Audit Commission’s Oneplace website goes live today.

Oneplace, designed by S8080 for the Audit Commission, lets you compare the quality of life in your area with the rest of the country.

Firstly, we need a project manager to cover maternity leave for 6 months (starting in December). Its a great role for someone who is meticulously organised!

Secondly, we are after a .NET web developer to join our technical team.

Lastly, we have an opening for a Front End Web Developer (XHTM / CSS guru who loves all things web and wants to build wonderful sites for some HUGE clients).

You can find full details on our jobs page. We look forward to hearing from you.

We have been itching to tell you about this, but it’s been under wraps.

The Audit Commission will give delegates at this week’s Local Government Association (LGA) conference their first look at the new ‘oneplace’ website we have been working on. To be launched in December this year, Oneplace replaces the working title of Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA), giving independent information on the performance of local public services throughout England.

Visitors to the site will be able to access jargon-free, easy-to-read summaries of how local public services are doing in their area and around the country. There will also be links to detailed information from the independent inspectorates behind CAA – the Audit Commission, Ofsted, Care Quality Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prisons and Probation.

You can read more here and try out the prototype of the site. We’ll be able to show you more once the site is live.

The new site features a bunch of little guys called The LeeVs…

LeeVs love nothing better than playing in the wind, chasing each other, racing each other and generally running around having fun together. They enjoy floating down the river, paddling in puddles or cycling around their Regional Park.

The accessible site features extensive use of Flash for interactive games and character animation that really brings the LeeVs to life.

Lucy Hose, the Regional Park’s Marketing Manager, said “The new site has been designed to encourage children to learn through having fun and to find out more about the Regional Park and the environment. We’ll continue to update the pages and youngsters need to keep a look out for competitions which we’ll be running on the pages. My favourite game is Rob the Ranger!”

We pulled out all of the stops to get the site looking fantastic for the youngsters – our illustrators worked very closely with our Flash team and created a whole virtual word for the LeeVs to inhabit. The site features lots of little surprises that delight youngsters.

For example, you’ll be reading about birthday parties in the park and all of a sudden, a little bright blue bug will wander around the screen, or a LeeV will ride his bike right past you and even pop a wheelie for you.

More kid’s sites in the pipeline

We are just about to launch another two sites for young people, a bit closer to home, but we can’t say too much about that yet.

Matt Howard, our Technical Director and Information Architecture guru said “There are a whole different set of usability rules to apply to sites for younger audiences. We have lots of experience designing for children of all ages for clients like Careers Wales, Welsh Assembly Government, DTI and the Mid and South Wales Safety Camera Partnership, so we have learnt a lot along the way”.

“Our illustration team have even been commissioned to design and produce a whole visual language for youngsters with special educational needs (SEN) and this has been so successful it looks like it will be rolled out across Wales and hopefully nationally”.

From a design perspective, designing for kids is just very good fun. Why just have a ‘help’ link when you can have an animated wriggly worm pointing the way!

The model in the designs above is our very own eMarketing project manager, Sali. The guys have also just completed a double page spread for Men’s Fitness magazine and just about the whole team appear in it (in various states of undress!) – you’ll have to wait to see that one.

You can take a sneak peek at the Adobe work here.

Our illustration team worked very closely with our Flash guys to make this classic arcade clone look fantastic. If you are Welsh or love Wales – this will make you grin, I guarantee it.

Dig in behind a pit head, Conwy Castle and the Millennium Centre and let the battle commence.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created in October 2008, bringing together energy policy (previously with BERR – the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) with climate change mitigation policy (previously with Defra – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

We face unprecedented challenges to our environment, our economy, and the future security of our energy supplies – and the decisions we make now will affect the planet and our way of life for generations to come.

DECC exists to tackle these challenges. Our creation reflects the fact that climate change and energy policies are inextricably linked – two thirds of our emissions come from the energy we use. Decisions in one field cannot be made without considering the impacts in the other.

The short turnaround project was completed using S8080’s content management system. Matt Howard, S8080’s Technical Director said “The project had a short lead time, but working with COI and a very reactive client meant the project ran very smoothly”.