dabbling in the html word

I have in the past built CMS websites for people, schools and businesses but purely as a hobby/sideline and via word of mouth, and last week I was commissioned to come up with a design for a very simple and clean website by a private Art Dealer that I encountered in Bristol.

His speciality is Modern & Contemporary Art, with an emphasis on street art.  He has some very impressive and works by contemporary artists that he collects and sells; Damien Hirst, Banksy, Antony Micallef, Peter Blake, Chris Ofili, Laure Prouvost and many more.  It is an eclectic mixture of original artwork, prints, sculptures and ceramics.  It was a really nice project to get my teeth into as he has some amazing artwork that I could study for both the website and my art workshops with children.

Home landing page

About Page

The brief was to keep it simple, clean and make sure the artworks looked vibrant against the site.  I built it with a simple CMS system, so the client can access it directly via a browser and update it whenever it is needed.  Most art dealers list their items online with date/titles/medium and size details, but do not sell directly via the web, so I did not have to add a virtual storefront.  Instead it is a ‘Price on Application’ scenario with works for sale listings.  When the mouse hovers over an image of an artwork, a semi transparent text box slides in with details of the work and artist.  If the picture is clicked on, it takes you to a larger static image and details.  There is a page for original pieces, and a page for editions:

I had to research the artists that have pieces for sale, and also to add brief biographies for them, and I tried not to clutter up this area. So each artist has a link to a separate biography page.

Artists Page

Sample Biography Page

There are more artworks to add to the site, but I am really pleased with it so far, and the client is over the moon… so all is good in the land of HTML…