ifbydesign

Big Glass Eye - www.bigglasseye.co.uk

Big Glass Eye is run by Alasdair McBroom, an award winning photographer from Northern Ireland.

The challenge

Alasdair approached if by design looking for a more efficient way of managing his workflow from fielding booking request through to fulfilling orders for prints.

The solution

To create Big Glass Eye's website we went back to the drawing board and spent time understanding strengths and weaknesses of the existing workflow. We examined the workflow from both Alasdair's and his clients' point of view to ensure the new website would work effectively for everyone.

For Alasdair, we custom built an administration tool to run and manage the website. This tool allows him to track the status of every booking request, review online payments and manage all the photographs and albums on the website. We also included functionality that allows Alasdair to synchronize his desktop calendar with the website.

Behind the scenes there is a sophisticated photo import tool which takes the photos Alasdair uploads and converts them into the various different sizes needed for the website. It also generates watermarked versions and black and white copies.

For visitors, we designed a new user interface allowing them to check Alasdair's availability on a calendar, make booking requests and browse his portfolio.

For clients, the website provides password protected access for the wedding couple and their guests to view an online album. Within the album they can order prints, view large versions and even toggle between a colour and black and white version of each photo. When a user places an order for prints, they are sent straight to the printers who send them directly to the user. They can also upload their own photos to the album.