A web site has been launched with designs on Brighton and Hove's creative community.

The brighton100 site aims to increase business for designers and craftsmen from the city and around Sussex by bringing their work to the attention of online shoppers.

It also hopes to help designers from different fields to network and collaborate on projects.

The site was devised by Royal College of Art graduates Rod Clark and Sarah Fretwell, who have been running 157 Design as a partnership in Brighton for the past two years.

The pair hit upon the idea for a site featuring an index of the best designers and craftsmen of both traditional and manufactured goods, a list of Brighton retail outlets, from fashion to furniture and details of design students graduating from the University of Brighton who want to publicise their talents.

Mr Clark said: "Brighton is a great place for a project like this and designers are a good group to bring together.

"Fine artists tend to work more as individuals but designer like to be lumped together because they can often work together."

The site was important because many designers and craftsmen had a limited understanding of how to use computers and digital media.

He said: "We know a lot of designers around Brighton but a number of them have no recourse to use the internet or even computers.

"This is one reason they need the site's help.

"We also wanted the site to be an encyclopedia of the city's design. Our background is graphic design but design is a broad church and we've been influenced and stimulated by lots of other people's work.

"The site covers about 30 different fields and we're hoping designers will use the site to find each other."

Ten years ago, people would ask "what is design?" whereas now they were more knowledgeable and interested in buying well-designed products.

The site features an online journal called ABCDEye containing articles about local design and issues of architectural and environmental interest, such as the controversial West Pier development.

Another section features the work of local poets and animators.

Mr Clark said the site's services had been priced to encourage producers to get involved, even those who were not aiming to produce a commercial product.

The basic index entries can be complemented by mini-brochures, sound, video and animation.

www.brighton100.com