Alex,
You have identified a real issue. I think many database suppliers are aware of this problem and would happily work with your chosen designer. One important consideration is that user interface design requires different skills from graphic design. I feel that many of the more ghastly websites out there have employed graphic designers with little understanding of usability issues.
You might like to see a paper I wrote on system development and usability testing at www.archimuse.com/mw2001/papers/marshal/marshall.html .
Fiona
Fiona Marshall
New Media Content Manager
The British Museum
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DG
Phone 020 7323 8901
Fax 020 7323 8730
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass
>>> Alex Bromley <[log in to unmask]> 01/03/02 12:18:36 >>>
I also have a question relating to Content Management. We are about to start
writing up a specification for a system to store some 35,000 digital images
and associated metadata and wondered how other NOF projects had approached the
tendering process.
We had initially thought of combining the tender for a CMS and the website
design in one document rather than doing them separately. However, we have
found that many suppliers of CMS are not necessarily good web designers and
vice versa. Having said that we can see advantages in dealing with one
supplier as it may reduce costs and will keep both "back end" and "front end"
of the site compatible.
I would be interested to hear the views of other projects who may have faced
this issue.
Thanks
Alex
>===== Original Message From Dan Morrison <[log in to unmask]> =====
Hi
We're looking at getting the content management side of things into place
on our (smallish) project over the next couple of months and are keen to
follow the 'open source' route if this makes sense. We would be very
interested to hear of anyone elses experiences and of any technical
agencies that offer an open-source package suitable for a NOF-style project.
We are using an internal (Windows) server to store master files and
associated data and then hope to publish the re-purposed resources to a web
server hosted externally. Ideally we need a system which integrates the
Archive Management functionaliy internally with the external web publishing
functionality.
Many thanks,
Dan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dan Morrison
The Who Cares? Trust
Alex Bromley
Project Manager, TUC History Online
University of North London
020 7753 7025
[log in to unmask]
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