The Big Issue is the independent current affairs magazine with a sense of humour sold by the homeless and long-term unemployed on the streets of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

Building their website was a great project to do although very protracted, as Consonant was donating its services so there were many times - sometimes for quite long periods - when other projects took priority.

The look of the site (as at Dec 2000) is primarily Pascale's work, which Consonant simply translated for the Web. Our creative input was limited to the layout of articles, profiles and vendor writings.

Possibly the best thing about this project was the content. Having not lived in the city since last December I had missed the magazine. It was fascinating to read (at much greater depth and for longer) the articles and the vendor profiles and writings, which says as much about the quality of the authors who contribute to The Big Issue as the subject matter.

We came away from this project with a deep respect for The Big Issue and the Vendors - the vendors because of the difficulties they face and the courage they show every day, out on the streets trying to rebuild their lives, and The Big Issue for both informing us about social problems in an entertaining way and for being the infrastructure to help fix the problem.

We look forward to an ongoing relationship with The Big Issue, updating the site and adding functionality as required.