Firstly, I'd like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the site designing process on the new Consulo Studios site. I love the end result and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It's exactly what I wanted for the Version 2.0 launch.

With that being said I would like to take some time to give some reasoning behind some of the design and development decisions.

I know how critical it is to have a user-friendly site and also have a very accessible site. I know that as web designers and developers we can sometimes be overly critical of sites that don't adhere to our way of thinking. I also understand how the new Consulo Studios site could be viewed as "outside the box", "too big", "not accessible enough", etc,.

I am well aware that the background of the site has a larger file size than the actual viewing area. And yes I'm aware that this is a "no-no" when it comes to creating extremely accessible and XHTML/CSS based sites. But before anyone starts throwing tomatoes at my site, take some time to read my reasons below. Maybe I'll change your mind (or at least avert you from throwing fruits).
BTW: here is the unobstructed view of the background, also click on the image to download a full size view.

Demographic
As designers and developers, one of the first things we discuss with our clients is demographic. It's about finding out who your target customers are and building a site around them. Sometimes that means building a super sleek, fast loading CSS based site. Sometimes that means building a 3D Flash experience.

For this new site design I had to do a lot of soul searching and really dig down to find my audience, my demographic for this site. What I found was that my style of design, my level of web development and my love for Flash makes my demographic a bit different.

There is an extreme number of designers out there who specialize in nothing but high-end, fast loading, valid, CSS based sites. There are sites dedicated to listing these designers and their works. What I've found is that I can do that type of work but I'm at my best when I can be extremely creative while still concentrating on the site end goal.

I'm a guy who one day will be working on a CSS site and the next day be working in Papervision 3D or After Effects animations. That's what my clients have asked of me and that's what I anticipate them to continue to ask of me.

My new site is the best of what I can do (without using Flash) and showcases my creative style. I'm taking the same approach in building my new Flash site.

Artistic Style
I could try to be something I'm not but that never works out too well. I'm a Flash guy at heart. I love big animations, smooth transitions, I even like preloaders. I like to build mainstream sites that balance the line between All-Flash and CSS. But most importantly I like to be creative.

When I take on a project I strive to bring as much creativity out as possible while still staying in touch with the client needs and their demographic. It has served me well so far, so being as creative as possible was just a natural extension for my own site.

The Future
57% of web users are surfing around with monitor resolutions higher than 1024x768. While 36% is actually at the 1024x768 range. Based on information from w3schools. That 57% is just going to keep getting higher as it jumped 19% in the last year alone.

My new site design will fit nicely into the 1024x768 range with all information in the content area being displayed within 950px. However, I wanted to also take advantage of the fact that more and more users will have space to the left and right of the site. My creative side got the best of me and I designed something for my site to rest on.

Conclusion
So if you were one of those designers or developers who thought I was crazy for the site design, hopefully this post has changed your mind. I know this type of design is not for everyone, but it's right for me.

Let me know what you think, comments are welcome (good and bad).