Monochrome is a crack team of web design and usability experts dedicated to simple and clear design. But above all, we are a passionate web agency

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Getting RPM working with Rails 3.0

posted July 20, 2010 09:37

Note:  This has only been tested to work with Heroku, my hosting service of choice.  It's not been tested anywhere else.  Regardless, you shou...

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What's the news?

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust get a new website!

posted May 04, 2010 14:17

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust approached us to refresh their old ColdFusion based website that we had developed for them a few years ago. After...

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Application Showcase

Microsoft NXT

Working through the New and Existing Technologies team at Microsoft the objective was to build a Proof of Concept that would enable Xchanging (Microsoft’s customer) to trial a Silverlight UI to a h…

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At Monochrome, our mission is to make your site better, faster, and easier to use, while costing you less. And we can prove it.

Focused on simplicity

Simple interfaces and applications are easier to use, easier to understand, more intuitive, faster loading, and easier to maintain than their flashy, image laden counterparts. Our past work proves that simplicity doesn’t have to look cheap, feel plain, or be downright ugly.

Clean and Effective

We use text and standard interface elements instead of heavy images and home-brewed, confusing interface widgets. We don’t use seven words when four will do. We use text sizes that don’t require a magnifying glass to read. We believe design should serve the customer, not insult them. We believe usability should take precedence over “cool.”

Dependable and Available

At Monochrome, we pride ourselves on the level of personal contact we provide our clients. You’ll always be able to talk directly to the people working on your project whenever you want.

Deliverables You Can Use

We start a project by learning and listening, not showing you pictures. We don’t try to impress you with 200-page documents you’ll never read, convoluted processes that make us look busy, or designs that please the eye but frustrate your customers. We just give you the advice, documents, and designs you really need. The result is a clear plan that ensures results for you and a great experience for your customers.

Plain English, Jargon Free

You deserve clear, honest, and straightforward communication from your web firm. So we don’t hide behind acronyms, buzzwords, or industry jargon. With Monochrome, you get answers you can understand.

We can help your business grow!
take a look

We’ve done work for the big guys, the small guys, and everyone in between. The common thread? All our clients take the web seriously.

Design “Wow” factor

The only “Wow!” we’re going for is when a customer says,

“Wow! This site really worked for me.”

People buy with their eyes, so it is crucial to fashion surroundings, which captivate the audience, and allow you to present your key message with lasting impact.
Monochrome has the ability to produce web sites that unleash the full potential of the medium and stimulate conversation.

Monochrome designs solutions that address your customer’s needs and exceed both client and user expectations.

Technological know-how

We use technology such as Ruby on Rails or Adobe ColdFusion that penetrates and supports your business processes to the core and help reduce long-term cost.

Using tools such as Rails, our team can take a project from the initial conception to a rough and ready working application very quickly. This allows us to show our clients how their website is going to work at an early stage in the project so that their feedback can be used to make changes before too much time has been invested. Updates and changes to working applications cost our clients less because they are made easier and quicker by the tools we use.

I'm interested!

Hello,
I like what you're saying and want to know more about what you do. I'm and I would like to talk to you about the services you are offering.

Please could somebody contact me via

Thank you.

  • Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust

    Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust approached us to refresh their old ColdFusion based website that we had developed for them a few years ago. After a clean sheet approach to the site, we decided to create a new Ruby on Rails based site for them using a new up-to-date design, with a much more sound underpinning for future development moving forward.

    Now the site’s live we’re seeing some good feedback and Jo’s Trust is more than happy with what Monochrome were able to do.

    Robert Music, director of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust said, “We are delighted with the new website and have received only positive feedback from our users. We are grateful to Monochrome for going over and above the original remit to ensure our new site is modern, fresh, visually appealing and easy to navigate. Thank you”

    Jo's Cervical Cancer TrustJo's Cervical Cancer TrustJo's Cervical Cancer Trust
  • Microsoft NXT

    Working through the New and Existing Technologies team at Microsoft the objective was to build a Proof of Concept that would enable Xchanging (Microsoft’s customer) to trial a Silverlight UI to a handful of their UK and US based customers.

    Initial objective was to build a Proof of Concept that would enable Microsoft’s customer (Xchanging) to trial the UI to a handful of their UK and US based customers.

    We used:

    • Microsoft Expression
    • Silverlight
    • Interface Design

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your business management problems and Silverlight requirements, please contact us.

    Microsoft Proof of ConceptMicrosoft Proof of Concept
  • DSGI

    DSG international is one of Europe’s leading specialist electrical retailers. The company operates the Dixons, Dixons Travel, Currys, Currys.digital, PC World and Electro World stores along with many other brands across Europe.

    DSGi’s needed a highly intuitive UI (user interface) to deliver a smooth a pain free experience for the user by de-cluttering the desktop and improving system start up speed. The project required an experienced design team, with a demonstrated track record of delivering WPF solutions. We were one of the UK’s first digital agencies to be invited to join the Microsoft partner channel and are one of Microsoft’s “go-to” partners when it comes to showcasing and developing applications on the Microsoft platform.

    We used:

    • Microsoft Expression
    • Windows Presentation Foundation
    • Interface Design

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your interface and front end needs, please contact us.

    WPF Application NavigationMain WPF Interface
  • Premier Foods

    Premier Foods are one of the largest food and beverage companies in the UK, consisting of many big-name household brands including Hovis, Mr Kipling, Quorn, Sharwoods and others. Their requirement was for a content management solution that would enable them to manage all brand sites, corporate sites and promotional sites, with the ability to share data from one to the next.

    Infrastructure wise, all sites under the Premier name have been moved to hosting with Monochrome and interlink with the same CMS platform, Straker’s Shado CMS.

    We used:

    • ColdFusion

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your online presence, please contact us.

    HomeprideLoyd GrossmanPremier FoodsRobertsonsSharwoodsCauldronRobertsons
  • Fitspace Gyms

    Offering a ‘credit crunching’ membership fee FitSpace have grown significantly in 2008-2009 and wanted a website to encapsulate their success and value for money membership. Monochrome were awarded the contract to design and develop the Fitspacegyms.co.uk website as part of an ongoing strategy to expand their UK market share. By using our Content Management skills, we were able to provide Fitspace with a first-class, but low cost solution to their problems, whilst providing a good footing for the future.

    We used:

    • ColdFusion

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your leisure and tourism based business, please contact us.

    Fitspace GymsFitspace GymsFitspace Gyms
  • Faces

    Faces.co.uk provide over 65,000 fonts online to the design and print industry. By working with Monochrome, they were able to provide a one stop shop including a full product catalogue, cross country credit card and payment integration and full administrative reporting and data management.

    In addition to this Monochrome were also able to provide a desktop version of their store for corporate users wanting to purchase fonts on account using the Adobe AIR platform.

    We used:

    • ColdFusion
    • Adobe AIR
    • AJAX

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your online software distribution, please contact us.

    Faces FontsFaces FontsFaces Fonts
  • Auriga Services

    Monochrome first met Auriga Services when they were looking to replace a old fashioned paper based grant application system with something that would be easier for them to manage. After a short requirements gathering, Monochrome were able to rapidly prototype and deploy a Ruby on Rails application that fit the bill. By building with Rails, Monochrome were able to reduce development time, deployment time and the cost of change which suited Auriga’s business perfectly.

    We used:

    • Ruby on Rails
    • AJAX

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your online applications, please contact us.

    Auriga Services Application EngineAuriga Services Application EngineAuriga Services Application Engine
  • Alton Towers

    Alton Towers had a requirement for enhancing their on-line hotel booking system in order to put less reliance on their call centre. The company’s existing booking interface offered little in the way of usability for end users, and proved to be problematic for conversions of hotel bookings. Monochrome’s extensive experience in rich applications provided Alton Towers and its hotels with a solution that gives and gives year on year.

    Monochrome Director Adrian Munn commented: “Rich Internet has played a major role in online interaction with customers, making it a more immersive experience. Alton Towers will have a very exciting online offering for its customers.”

    We used:

    • Flex

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your leisure and tourism based business, please contact us.

    Alton Towers Booking EngineAlton Towers Booking EngineAlton Towers Booking Engine
  • Siblu Holidays sees a 46% sales increase!

    Siblu Holidays required a partner that understood simple booking engine processes complimented by strong development capability. Siblu contracted Monochrome to build a one-screen, multimedia, easy-to-use customer booking engine to encapsulate and visualise all relevant information in one application window.

    The first month of the new application going live delivered a sales increase of 46%, holding onto customers who would have previously dropped out of the process because of frustration. Siblu were getting the same number of visitors as they did before but sales were up.

    For this project we utilised:

    • Flex
    • ColdFusion
    • Interface design

    For more information on how Monochrome might be able to help you with your leisure and tourism based business, please contact us.

    Siblu Holidays Booking EngineSiblu Holidays Booking EngineSiblu Holidays Booking Engine

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Hello,
I like what you're saying and want to know more about what you do. I'm and I would like to talk to you about the services you are offering.

Please could somebody contact me via

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