Inspired by the TV series Iron Chef, the employees at Noon studio in San Francisco had been challenging one another to make dishes based on chosen ingredients. We documented and photographed the results and soon realized that the project would be an excellent opportunity to explore our Web creativity, experiment conceptually and study the form in greater depth. So without any design restrictions or marketing parameters, we set about developing a fun website that we would enjoy visiting.

Our design approach was one of organic collaboration. The team brainstormed and discussed various concepts, form, purpose, function and a format that could contain a vast collection of photos and recipes. Budget, audience (internal and external), distribution possibilities and shelf life of the site were considered. We outlined what we hoped to accomplish, what we wanted in return for the project and eventually distilled it to a platform that we all agreed upon and were excited about.

Once the format was chosen, the lunch-at-noon name was created. It perfectly described the activity, worked with our studio name and having potential to function as a marketing channel. In addition, it would establish a Noon sub brand and the opportunity for further brand extension into other products and services.

Most important, we set a deadline for ourselves. The project ran the risk of falling into the hobby category and momentum could be lost. The client being a group of meticulous designers, the project also had the potential of being tweaked to death—a perpetual work in progress never to see the virtual light of day. With the deadline set, we delegated tasks: information organization, writing, editing, design, production.

The critique and testing process was collaborative. We met regularly to discuss the success and failures of our experiment. The site was revised, refined and tested as we conducted periodic internal evaluations, including overall site architecture, user interface, navigation and design until project completion.

The goal was to create something unique within its category. Design solutions would have to be easy on the eye, intuitive to use, interesting and relevant, providing a pleasant and memorable experience.

As a self-funded project, there were budgetary concerns. We chose to use the Web as the format since it would not involve transparency, drum scan, printing and distribution costs. Significantly, in a constantly changing media, we wanted to rethink and expand our Web experience—it was a great opportunity to experiment with new technologies and to create without restriction. Moreover, since we were developing something that might be of interest only to ourselves, the Web was the most appropriate testing ground, enabling us to produce as little waste as possible.

One way to define the success of the project is that we had a great time doing it. We learned a lot and it felt good to see it come to fruition. Once we sent it out into the world, the positive feedback was a pleasant surprise.

The site was picked up worldwide with up to 130,000 hits per day without any marketing effort. The impact, we realized, is that the web media is indeed an amazing and powerful form of communication. It can deliver a message at a pace that is unimaginable. The site was selected by Yahoo as one of its favorite recommendations, which obviously gave us great word-of-mouth advertising and increased brand exposure as well.

Project management, photography, writing, design, and production expenses accrued at $185 per studio hour, which totaled $38,278.75, with $0 out-of-pocket expenses.

Simple and perfected—the fact that there's no need for secondary navigation helps—if a bit bland.