Remy Report : Case Study

One of the most important factors going into the design of the site was to keep with Jerry Remy's fun and much revered style of "organized chaos." Keeping this in mind, CrystalVision created a "corkboard" splash page using Adobe Flash that balances fun, "organized chaos" and sensible navigation to different sections of the web site.

Also featured on the "corkboard" is a "notepad" where the site administrator, via an administrative control panel, can post special messages and link to sections of particular importance.

For the home page of The Remy Report's web site, CrystalVision continued the "collage" look of the splash page, bordering it with a top navigation bar featuring drop down menu options and an area managed by the site administrator highlighting special retail items.

Here the goal was to have a flexible look to the page that allows for constantly changing content and promotions, highlighting new partnerships such as those forged in 2007 with Major League Baseball and National Football League retailers.

Whenever the site is updated with a new poll, photos of "RemDawg Nation" members or special announcements, The Remy Report Team wanted to have a way to announce such changes. That's where the bulletin board section comes in. The content is managed through an administrative control panel and while the most recent ten entries are displayed on the board, older entries can be read on a second page while the five latest entries appear right on the home page of the site.

Additionally, the bulletin board features a "Project Amber Alert Ticker" that displays nationwide Amber Alert messages.

One of the main attractions for frequent visitors of The Remy Report is "The Lighter Side," a section of the web site devoted to humorous New England sports themed photo collages and artwork by famous cartoonist Larry Johnson and caricaturist Chip O'Brien. At right is the layout for the "Pic of the Day" section.

Managed by way of an easy-to-use administration panel, all of the sections include areas highlighting special retail items.

While The Remy Report offers several user interactive features, such as message boards, polls and giveaways, the most popular interactive portion of the site is "This Week's Lineup," a photo area where visitors can upload their Red Sox themed photos along with their names and optional captions.

Submissions are reviewed and posted to the web site by the site administrator using a simple preview and publishing interface located in the web site's administration control panel.

Custom admin tools were developed to allow the Remy Report team to upload photos, videos, and up-to-the-minute news and information. Via the "dashboard," a variety of site contributors have special access to particular sections, enabling them to maintain their areas of responsibility and keep the site up to date.

This control panel also allows the site administrator to map out an entire season schedule and upload Jerry's "Take," a brief summary of each and every game throughout the season. In fact, just about every frequently updated section of The Remy Report web site is managed from this user-friendly admin area, making updates a breeze for all those who use it.