Designing for InForm can be very simple, but it is also quite complicated.
It is simple because InForm does quite a lot of work for you behind the scenes in helping to keep your grid consistent and predictable.
It is not a conventional design task because rather than laying out a page which you have control of all the elements in, you are designing a framework within which your editors can express themselves and you therefore have to bear in mind the combinations and permutations that an editor might want to use.
If we are starting from scratch on a project, either because the client doesn't have a website at all, or because their existing website has been deemed lacking from a visual perspective then there are a number of options as to how to move forwards.
A client may have a design team that they like to work with and would like to utilise for their new web project.
There are a number of ways that a 3rd party designer can interact with us:
We have worked with various designers over the years. Have a browse of our portfolio and if you see someone's work that you like, then we can see whether they are available to work on your project. Working with a designer for the second (or third...) involves less of a learning curve on both sides so can be more efficient and therefore more cost-effective.
We are happy to design the layout for sites ourselves. If you have a concrete paper identity already which we are able to utilise as a starting point for building a web presence around then this can be a very efficient way of working. However we are not "designers" in the purest sense - if you need a new logo designing from scratch then we would prefer to work with a 3rd party designer.
If a client already has a website with a design that they are happy with, then we can utilise this design over the InForm CMS to give access to the editing facilities while preserving the existing look and feel.
It is worth noting that making a design for a CMS is different from laying out a paper design where all of the assets are known in advance, and all the proportions and layout can be balanced to a pleasing point which the designer can put their stamp on.
When you design for a CMS then you have two primary responsibilities:
These are not impossible tasks, but sometimes the learning curve to anticipate what "might happen" in the future can prove difficult for designers who are more used to working in more controlled circumstances. We are happy to work with designers on these aspects, but this process can sometimes add unexpected time and therefore cost to a project. It can therefore sometimes be cost effective to either work with designers who are familiar with the challenges, or to supply conceptual designs which can then be implemented by fiennes.org staff.