BA (HONS) Photography - Salford University
Elizabeth Chandler (Level 5)
Project
Proposal
Areas Of Photographic Practice B - (Self Promotional Website)
Project
Deadline - Tuesday 8th January 2013 -
1:30pm (HT013)
To
design and produce a completed self-promotional website that is easy to use,
reflects personality and on that is memorable. It will showcase examples of my
portfolio of work. The ultimate aim of the site is to attract future clients
who practice within the design industry. These clients include fashion/design
magazines, advertising and branding companies. The final online presence will
assist in promoting myself as and up and coming lens based communicator.
Key Words
professional - very
important first impression
sleek
sophisticated
creative - show my creative flare
uncomplicated - easy for any
user to navigate
straightforward -easy for any
user to navigate
graphic - nice design
informative - lots of relevant information
(accessible if user chooses)
uncluttered
classic - yet modern and up-to
date (no features that could potentially restrict future use/development)
timeless
clear - defined message
geometric
aligned - consistent grid structure
neat
tidy
considered - all elements considered,
font, structure, colours, arrangement ect
relevant
consistent
accessible - for all users
exciting - yet still professional
aesthetic
option - giving users choices in regards to
how the view content - full screen, toggle visible thumbnail navigation bar ECT
possibilities
potential -potential to develop with me
developable - potential to grow
with me
welcoming
personal
thoughtful - needs of different users
considered
suspense - user is excited to see the
work as the design build great confidence in ability to produce great work
For
this assignment I proposed to design and create a user-friendly site that
expressed my own creativity as well as meeting the professional standards of
competitors sites.
I
noticed that a lot of photography sites mimic the same layout, which is
effective in its delivery and aesthetically pleasing. However one thing I felt
a lot of them lacked to deliver was a personal touch. Many of them felt quite
clinical and impersonal.
As
much as this minimal approach is a visual appearance which appeals to me, after
looking at site after site I did notice that the impact of them was lost
slightly, in a way I knew exactly what to expect and only a handful got me
excited and kept me engaged long enough to see the sites entire content.
I
then thought about potential clients/customers who are visiting hundreds of
sits looking for the one candidate who suits their role. If I was one of these
clients/customers stumbling along one site that matched the high quality and
exceptional standard of work yet brought a new exciting viewing experience my
way I would be instantly inclined to consider them over the competition.
The
lack of engagement with such sites, for me wasn’t that I was un-impressed with
the work, in fact quite the opposite.
The
problem for me was that they all functioned so similarly that I go bored of
physically repeating the navigation method.
I
was aware that such features are in place as they are effective and they work
and had no intention of creating a risky off the chain site which narrowed down
my target audience, however what I proposed was to combine these successful features
and the overall effectiveness of the minimal sites as well and introducing some
of the elements which excited me and kept me engaged in the site for a
considerably longer time.
I
had to make a difficult decision in regards to my target audience for this
project as I felt there are two diverse sides to my photographic interest, both
aimed at completely different markets and users. I concluded that the only way
to make my site successful, direct and appropriate in it’s content and delivery
was to eventually have two different sites, which reflect my different
practices and photographic personalities.
Combining
the two I feel would be confusing and more significantly would make
prioritising content almost impossible as different work would be targeted towards
different users.
I
concluded that I would aim the site created for this module at a more
professional art/gallery audience for work in that field, whether that be
elements of curating and gallery/exhibition work or exhibiting my own work
and/or creating images to a set brief.
There
were two main reasons for this decision. The first one being my main intention
for future work and also my personal opinion that aiming work towards that
particular audience is more difficult and requires a more concise overall
message. Little things like the wording of supportive text and ability to
copyright and make that text concise and appropriate is a skill in itself. In
that respect I decided it would be more beneficial for me to take advantage of
the professional opinions and advice available to me throughout the module.
In
light of the above statements written in reflection of my proposal I feel I
have created a site that meets all those expectations I originally set for
myself.
I
began my site building journey by intensely researching into a variety of
websites with a lot of different purpose and target audiences. Through reading
books on websites and looking at tutorial and tip forums online I quickly
familiaraised myself with features which result in bad functioning sites.
I
began building simple layouts in Photoshop making minor changes each time
before finally eliminating one by one the features that were preventing my site
from working and being fit for purpose.
My
design has developed considerably from the initial structure to my final site
design. I feel the hours put in trailing different designs has benefitted the
final outcome as it combines all the effective methods from each stage in my
development progress as well as being aesthetic and unique in it’s delivery.
I
looked into fonts which were effective and had variety in their font family to
ensure I could maintain consistency on my site. I also looked into screen sizes
and ways of ensuring my site is viewable on many devices and in many browsers
as this was a concern for me. Although i am aware I an never have complete
control over the way the viewer uses the site, i feel my design maximizes these
options and means users will see the site as intended during the design
process. If the user’s Internet browser window was reduced to a small
proportion of the screen the majority of the content would still be visible. By
introducing the full screen option I feel I have added encouragement to view
the site on the largest scale possible. The site feels fairly interactive due
to the design I have constructed and I think as well as having professional
delivery it also reflects my own creativity and there is an element of
playfulness in the site too.
I
have utilised bright coloration in such a way that not only do they become a
useful tool indicating location within the site but they also introduce that
fun element without overloading the user with a garish cluttered site.
I
feel my final page layout and navigation method is simple and easy to use. It
utilises many functions that any computer efficient user would use without
thinking twice or needing prompts to do so. For example the click on the logo
takes user back to the home page (such features are ones which aren’t
necessarily needed if a less experienced computer user was visiting the site,
yet provide some ‘hidden extras’ for uses who are).
I
chose to show a tight crop on my thumbnails to add a little mystery and make
the user more curious about the content behind. Despite this I haven’t taken
this to the extreme where the content behind could then be considered forced media,
as the user has no idea what to expect prior to selection. Instead I think the
balance is informative, yet exciting without ruining the impact when images are
seen in full.
