The site I made with Xara X

[Egg Bramhill]

....I considered that the download time was still too long so I replaced the o/s maps with a XaraX created vector map. The whole site is now a lot smaller. However as the vector map loads 1st in entirety (around 57 Kb ) it still has a delay on start up. I could avoid this by slicing the vector map into 3 parts and loading them similarly to the o/s maps. This would make the first map section 20 Kb's and would load whilst the visitor was reading the opening text. The remaining 2 sections of the vector map could load later in the time line.
VIEW HERE
At present the buttons only show a thumb nail on roll-over, but it would be quite simple to also add an on click action to load a full size image in anather window. The information re each photograph is still very basic but a great deal more could be added. I've added the information panels to cover up blank spots at present, but you could add really sexy speach bubbles if the map was complete.
As an example of the file saving, your original map image alone was 675 Kb's. The first Flash site, with the maps plus the first 16 photographs was 407 Kb's, whilst the 2nd Flash site with the vector map and the 16 photographs is 198 Kb's.
Egg

[This message was edited by Egg Bramhill on May 14, 2002 at 20:00.]

[Egg Bramhill]

See the attachment below regarding tilting the maps to straighten out the walk and thus avoid vertical scrolling.
Egg

[jens g.r. benthien]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
Unfinished example http://www.btinternet.com/~e.bramhil...don_flash.html

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is absolutely fantastic! I like the clear approach. Finally a page where that makes **sense** and is legible (no flyshit on the screen!). The bad news: the 'gurus' and shrewd ad agencies won't like it - hahahahaha. But the users will like it a LOT.

jens

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

----------//--
If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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[mgeduld]

I used to live in London, and your site brings it all back to me. What a great city it is!

I would love to do the same thing here in New York. I don't have the time right now, but maybe someday...

There's a great TV show on PBS called (I think) Walk Across Manhattan. The host and a historian walk across the island and discuss NY history as they go.

A London show like that would be even better -- think of all the history!

I agree with what others have said about the popup pictures. My choice would also be to do the site in Flash, but a dhtml solution would also work.

I'd like to see you add more information about each site -- either historical or personal (something that happened to you there or something it reminds you of). I realize this would be a lot more work. Just a thought.

Marcus Geduld
{ email me } { visit me }

[mgeduld]

Here's a great site containing stories about many NYC locations: http://www.mrbellersneighborhood.com/

I'd like to do a site like this, only with more art/photography, a better design, and more personal.

Marcus Geduld
{ email me } { visit me }

[Jonathan Payne]

Egg

All I can say is "wow". I your Flash site is so much more usable than my big map. I have avoided Flash for a long time as I tend to associate it with those sites that look cool but have no content but this might change my mind. Your pages are a great example of Flash being used to add value rather than just to look cool.

Making the map of entirely vector data would be an excellent way of building the site but I do like all the detail on the OS maps that would be hard to get or create in vector form (with out the help the map owners). The vector map you made is a great accomplishment especially as you made it so quickly.

I am not sure about rotating the map as it is nice having directly up as north. It does make layout easier but it might "trick" people using the site.

Marcus

Thanks for your complements. A New York version of this would be superb.

If you are interested there are some excellent photos of London on this site - there are a lot of pictures here that make me wish I could see the world in the way the photographer did (if that makes sense) – for example, this image looks great but I would probably have walked straight past it.

As for adding information about each site: That is something I would like to do (and Egg's work shows a way of doing that) but I would have to write the words first!