In December 2003 Getfrank were proud and pleased to be appointed by Channel 4 to re-vamp the original and award-winning Black and Asian History Map website which Getfrank originally designed in 2000, and which won the Prix Italia Web and Culture award in 2001.
Along with Blair Jarvis - Getfrank's Creative Director at the time - I led the team that undertook this challenge. As well as a refresh of the visual design, Channel 4 were also after a creative reappraisal of the function and remit of the site, moving it away from a resource wholly devoted to Black and Asian culture and history towards something more representative of British ethnic culture as a whole. A new name was needed for this new site, and a different kind of visual style. In addition, Channel 4 asked Getfrank to completely re-author the original Perl-based backend functionality to come into line with their current Java platform.
In an inspired piece of self plagiarism, I proposed that the new site be called "OrigiNation", after the key ideas phase of my creative methodology - and the team produced a visual identity connoting positivity and novelty to go along with it. |
