Our Work / Monarchy by David Starkey
From AD 400 to Elizabeth II, Monarchy by David Starkey covers all the significant monarchs, consorts, battles, events, documents and people who have shaped English constitutional history.
Some History
72 dots worked on the Monarchy website from its inception in 2003. We were commissioned to do the initial design and production and have expanded it for the last four years. The fourth and final programme aired on Channel 4 television in December 2007 and we were again asked to integrate the latest content into the website.
Now featuring more than fifty biographies and numerous articles on significant documents, battles and events in English history, the website shows you the most relevant places to visit, websites to look at and books to read for further exploration. Specially commissioned maps were created by Nick Pearson and the content has been tightly edited and cross-referenced by Nancy Duin, an expert in the field. Consequently, it is easy to browse the site to find out who's related to whom and understand their role within a wider context.
Interactive Timeline
At the heart of the website is an interactive timeline (created in Flash and driven by XML) which is the main navigational tool to drive viewers round the site. The timeline always centres itself on the current date focused on any given biography or other article. This allows the user to quickly see the wider context of the current item – which battles happened in this person's reign or who preceded or succeeded them to the throne. For more focused exploration, the timeline can show a restricted set of data – just battles, for example, or a viewer can simply type in a date.
Notes on the Design
As the website was to accompany a major TV series and heavily promoted in the programme annos, it was fittng that the design should take its visual lead from the TV title sequence (made by Granada Bristol). Stills and artwork were derived from the broadcast sequence and further developed to create the header sections. Other elements were used across the pages to further enhance the visual appeal and denote page content.