An online art gallery has scooped a five-star rating for its new website, thanks to a partnership with digital marketing agency Itineris. The 5 Star Review in Web User, the UK’s best selling internet magazine, praised the site for its range of art and the fact that visitors can zoom in to see even the finest detail of each piece.
The site sells a wide range of art on its recently launched website which is designed not just for art collectors and enthusiasts, but also those completely new to the art world.
The Web User reviewer described the site as “really wonderful” and said; “Not only does it offer an eclectic and excellent range of art, but the quality of the images is incredible. You can zoom in on individual artwork to reveal astonishing detail of each painter’s masterly stroke. Best of all, however, is the use of media, particularly video. Gallery curator John Sheeran has created a series of illuminating films of UK artists which are a pleasure and an education to watch. All the artwork is available to buy direct from the website and even if you never buy anything, you’ll be a wiser and happier person just for dropping by.”
In the review the site was up against well-known brands such as The Sun newspaper, which received 4 stars, ethical online auction site ‘Buy one, give twice’ which received 3 stars and new search engine on the block ‘cuil’ which only received a 5 star review.
Itineris created the site to enable extremely high resolution photographs to be uploaded. This means that sections of each work of art can be viewed at life size, showing every detail right down to individual brush strokes on a painting and the artist’s finger marks on a sculpture. With more than 250 works on the website, a search feature enables the works to be displayed by artist, genre or by price.
Sheeran Lock is the brainchild of John Sheeran, an art curator and educator, and Imogen Lock, an expert in arts communications. They have been running the Sheeran Lock art consultancy since 1990 and have organised exhibitions for clients including Prince Charles and the United Nations. They are now enjoying the challenge of combining their art expertise with the worldwide trading potential of the internet.
For Sheeran Lock, one of the most important things Itineris was able to offer was its own content management system, icontent®. This platform puts control firmly in the hands of the site owner; Sheeran Lock’s team can update the site with fresh images, videos and descriptions themselves, keeping the site fresh and current.
Imogen Lock said; “We wanted to work with digital marketing company which understood our vision for the online gallery and would work closely with us to help achieve that vision. Itineris was recommended to us and proved to be what we were looking for from the very first meeting. The Itineris team is incredibly responsive and open to suggestions. They were very good at translating our ideas into technical reality while maintaining the visual integrity which is vital to an art gallery site. We are able to update the site ourselves to keep the site very fresh, with no extra costs.”