Not quite new this one, we launched Glyndebourne’s new website back in December on the QT. Opera websites have a reputation for crashing on big on-sale dates, so we were reluctant to shout too loud before getting the festival ticketing live this month. Thankfully, on the night, all of our stress-testing paid off, resulting in record online sales for this unique Opera house.

It was a huge project, taking in usability studies, information architecture, design and plenty of e-commerce. In addition to a polished pick-your-own-seat experience, you can purchase everything from a DVD to a Glyndebourne champagne-stopper in the online gift shop.

Although we’re known for our work with venues, this was our first job with the fabled Tessitura box-office and CRM system. We’d like to think we’ve exploited its best-in-breed Internet integration facilities. Glyndebourne’s audience are a discerning bunch. and we wanted to make sure the website booking experience lived up to the live experience. We hope it did.

If things have been a bit quiet around here recently, it’s because we’ve been flat out working on a new clutch of websites. Made’s been working on the new Royal Court Theatre for a while now. You could say it’s been a labour of love.

Royal Court has been at the cutting edge of British theatre since 1956 when the English Stage Company premiered Look Back in Anger. More recently Royal Court have had smash-hit successes with Jerusalem and Enron, which have both transferred to the West End.

We hope you like the website. Why not check out the current programme, review 50 years of history or take a look at their international writing projects.

UPDATE: We have now filled all three roles.

We’re looking for new recruits to the family, for three positions in our Birmingham hideout:

1. Freelance Drupal Expert
We have a new project kicking off this summer using the Drupal Open Source Content Management System. It’s a lovely project for a lovely client, involving lots of clever Drupal integration, not least eCommerce with UberCart. We have loads of LAMP experience at Made, and we’re pretty comfortable with Drupal, but we’re looking for an experienced freelancer to spend one or two months with us to help bulk out the team, pass on some knowledge and help us avoid any Drupal dead-ends. Good rates for the right guy or gal, and it’s a nice open-ended assignment where you get to share your wisdom with a team that cares.

2. Full-time Web Designer (Junior to Middleweight)
We’re looking for a designer who gets the web. Your key tool is probably Photoshop, but you’ll have a working knowledge of HTML and User Experience. Skills in HTML&CSS, Flash Animation or wire-framing are a bonus but not strictly necessary. But you must have a gorgeous portfolio of website designs, even if those are personal projects—this is not a print design role. Work ranges from Arts & Culture, through TV to top-tier brands. We’ll consider designers from graduate to middleweight level, with salary dependent upon experience and skill-set (£17K-£25K).

3. Full-time Web Developer (Junior to Middleweight)
We’re looking for a web developer. We’re primarily concerned with front-end skills here; the ability to take a Photoshop layout, and turn it into standards compliant, accessible HTML & CSS is a must. Experience with Javascript frameworks, particularly jQuery desirable. Beyond that we’re looking for experience with LAMP based Content Management Systems. Basic template integration skills are expected. Proper object-orientated programmers, or people who demonstrate the potential to progress to that, will command a higher salary. Will consider graduates or juniors looking to move to next level. Salary dependent upon experience and skill-set (£18K-25K).

We recognise that there is a degree of overlap between roles 2 and 3 (and 1 & 3!) , and we’re happy to interview people who feel they fit somewhere in-between. But we’re definitely recruiting two people, and each recruit will work within a separate production team.

Please send CVs and URLs or Portfolios to hello@mademedia.co.uk. We’re expecting to interview in the week commencing April 19. Please, honestly—no agencies and no phone calls—we’re recruiting because we’re busy!

We’ve been busy extending the Visit Birmingham website with three new, comprehensive features; What’s On, Maps and Directories. Restaurants, Hotels, Gigs, Exhibitions, they’re all in there and geo-tagged too.

It’s been a complex job, mashing up events-data from Global Data Point with organisation data from Marketing Birmingham’s Microsoft CRM system and Google Maps. It’s all pulled together via our own content management system Backstage.

Take a look. There’s a huge amount on. We hope you’ll feel encouraged to visit Birmingham.

We’re delighted to launch the new website for Warwick Arts Centre today. Made are known for building big complex websites for bustling arts venues, but Warwick Arts Centre presented us with real challenge. One of the busiest arts venues outside London Warwick Arts Centre puts on a varied art programme from one-night-only comedy gigs, through film to long-running arts exhibitions. Building interfaces and content management techniques to handle that breadth and variety of event content took hard work and plenty of thinking. The events module in our CMS Backstage needed a total rewrite and is all the better for it.

We’re looking forward to seeing how the blogs develop, but with Jon Bounds acting as social media consultant how can they possibly fail?

We’ll be integrating the new ticketing system later this week, and then we’re busy linking the foyer screens into the CMS to keep visitors up to date. We’ll let you know when it’s done.

One of the busiest arts centres outside of London, Warwick Arts Centre hosts a vast range of events including gigs, comedy, theatre and a two screen cinema. The project will see us building a whole new website with full event browsing and ticket booking. We are also to provide screen designs and a live feed of up to date event information for a number of plasma screens positioned around the Centre.

Read the press release for the details. We will add updates on this site as the project develops.

Read the press release for the details, and watch this space for developments.

We are proud to launch the latest release of The Drum’s website today. The Drum was the first black, British arts centre and puts on an exciting and varied programme of events.

We’re delighted to launch the new website for our friends at Fused Magazine today, with a full compliment of Web 2.0 features and bloggy goodness. Go get it.

Say Hello to the Midlands first digital festival, Hello Digital. A weekend of robotics, illuminations, animations, digital film, music and games for people of all ages.

Website by Made Media in partnership with friends Maverick, Fluid & Stef Lewandowski.