MadeLoud.com is a music community based website that offers several social networking features for Indie Artists and Fans. The site serves two primary purposes - to promote and sell independent musicians’ music and merchandise, as well as encourage Indie Fans to listen to, review, and to buy the artists’ music and merchandise.

As a Web designer, I like to approach the design of any site as efficiently as possible. Long before I even became interested in Web design, I stumbled upon the art of information architecture, which is basically a complex map of information. As a primarily visual learner, I took information architecture to the next level by expressing information visually as opposed to textually. My fascination with mapping led me to what I consider my primary source of inspiration: maps!

As a Web designer, I often find myself assuming everyone looks at a site the same way I do. When in fact, everyone views the Web differently. Many studies have been done to determine how users approach a website. Specifically, tools such as eyetracking have been utilized to follow how the user views each page.

As mentioned in my last post, creating a strategy and project plan before beginning the design and build of a website or web application is perhaps the most important step in launching a successful website. Most successful businesses start with a business plan, it is our job as web strategists to translate that plan into the ever evolving web.

Would you construct a 30-story office building without an engineering report, understanding the zoning requirements, soil type, architectural blueprint, or number of businesses in the area that need office space? Of course you wouldn't.