Design Layout 1

This is my first design idea for our client project. I have tried to include all the design ideas that my client required/wanted... i.e(space, simplicity,)

CLIENT PROJECT - Staple Magazine

Last week we were given a client project to do. We were put into groups of 3-4. In my group there was David .K, David and Karl.
Here is the link of the website that our client wanted to be redone again.http://staplemagazine.wordpress.com/
As you can see, the website is a word-press and the design looks very dull and ordinary.






Here is 'Staple' magazine logo design. Even though it looks very dull and looks simple I feel it has great depth.

Networking Project - Design Ideas

These are my design ideas tHat I interpreted into my networking project. Even though I didn't use all of the designs in the later stages of my project, I kept them and involved them with my other (design) pieces of work.

Fooball Frenzy

'Football Frenzy' was my backup game, if the 'Wacky Racers' didn't work. I used my photoshop knowledge and design skills make this game look funky and dynamic.

Wackey Racer

This was my first game design idea. On the left is a screenshot of my design, however the game didn't successfully work. Therefore I had to change my game the last minute.

Works Experience

For the Easter holidays I have been looking and applying at summer work placements. I intend to find a placement for the summer holiday.
I have decided to choose 'Leicester' as my starting off point...
Below is the list of placements I have found and already applied to;

Studio 56 Photograpghy - (Photography company)
Un.titled - (Graphic design, Web Design, Multimedia and Print company)
Fusion Media - (Graphics design and Photography company)
Pixel Media - (Web design company)
Fuelled Media - (Branding, Advertising, Print and Web design company)
Rare Company - (Graphic design, Branding, Print, Web design, Packaging, Film, Photography and Illustration company)
Arch Creative - (3D Graphics, Web design, Photography and Illustration company)


I inttend to gain works experience from atleast few of the companies above, in the summer period. In addition I will use the experience and skills gainned, into my 'YEAR 3' projects.

Banksy

I was doing some research on the internet on few artists and I came across this picture which was created by the unknown graffiti artist 'Banksy'.
I found this picture very interesting due to the way it was created, the picture looks very realistic if you stood away from it. The red colour tone adds boldness to the design which catches the audiences attention. I like this design because it looks very interesting and the bold colour variation adds complexity to the design.

Juice (Design Label)

This is a 'Juice' label that I created. For this particular design I influenced by 'Neville Brody'
The bright colour variation interpreted creates a happy and joyful atmosphere. I like the way the splurged effect has turned out because it looks as if the drinks pouring out. As a result this creates a sense of liveliness to the design.

5 Resturant Websites

Chiquito’ http://www.chiquito.co.uk/Index.aspx

I found this Mexican website very interesting due to the interactive features. There have been a lot of ‘Flash’ elements used such as slideshows, rollovers.
I like this website because its looks really updated and modern. The website is aimed at everyone due to its online features; e.g. Kids Zone. Chiquito’s is a Mexican restaurant with excellent food and the website certainly shows due to the amazing photography of its food.
The only thing I disliked about the website was the lack of colour variation used because I thought some parts of the website was looking dull.





‘Little Chef’ http://www.littlechef.co.uk/index.php

Little Chef was just recently re-opened and I think they have done well with the website even though there food prices are high.
I like the food menu of this website because the images made the food look tasty and the menu itself was explained very well in detail. The layout, interactions and the colour variations of the website looks simple. However they have made this website for all ages which I thought was very interesting and friendly.
On the site they have made a mini site called ‘Little ones’ which is very appealing to younger audience because it has competitions and colouring pages, which will keep the little kids busy.






‘Feast of India’ http://www.feastindia.co.uk/

I like this website because it looks colourful and very welcoming. The bright bold colours make the site look cheerful.
The website doesn’t really have that many interactions and is mainly based on images. I noticed that the website was very narrow in terms of its layout. I found this unusual and I felt that it wasted a lot of space on the page
I really like the logo on the home page because it looked funky and it created some liveliness onto the page.








‘Antibos’ http://www.antibo.co.uk/

I found the Antibos website clever in terms of its ideas because on the home page you could choose your closest location and visit the site from there.
However I was very disappointed with the layout and the fonts of the site because it looked too ordinary and dull. Also I found the usage of interaction very poor and boring.
I was really disappointed with Anitbos website because they are a big famous, Italian restaurant.





‘Nandos’ http://www.nandos.co.uk/index.cfm

I liked the Nandos website because each link to the site had its own colour scheme which made it look friendly and welcoming.
I also like the navigation interpreted because they make the site look lively. The menu is easy to read due to the simplicity of the layout. However I disliked the website’s loading up time the page because it takes time loading up.

IDEO, SONY, APPLE and NOW

We were asked to analyse four different website; (Ideo, Sony, Apple and Now)











What does it look like?

IDEO - When you first enter the site you are greeted by IDEO's design work but in a violet colour, which makes the web application interesting very delicate to look at. The main menu icon have been given a bolder look, for example they've used font rather then imagery. This makes the web page very unusual.

All the pages on this site have different colour variations and schemes to it. As well as the colours interpreted makes the web application look sophisticated.














Sony - The Sony website is a very simple due to the the layout and fonts used. It looks user friendly and the button linking to the other pages supports this, being that each button is clearly labelled telling the users directly where they would be taken too. As a result it makes it easy to navigate.
When the user opens the main page the colours are quite plain and not very appealing to the viewers. However when you go through the site the colours change making it more eye-catching. I like part of the website because it creates a lively atmosphere in the design. The layout itself is very simple showing an image of the product being sold, price and the brief description just like an online shopping site would do.






Apple – I like Apple’s web design because the have stuck to the theme of how all the products they sell looks like, slick and funky. Also this works for the site because this theme is how people interpret apple products.


Like the 'Sony' site the products have been set in shopping site layout, which makes the web application easy to navigate. However this only occurs in the 'store' part of the site.

NOW - NOW has a user friendly layout that is simple for everyone because many different people from different backgrounds use it. It is simple and very easy to use and navigate.

The buttons on the page have been clearly labelled to make it that little bit easier. The colours have been kept to a minimum but being that the page is for educational purposes and also the fact it creates a sophisticated atmosphere. I feel that this was a conscious decision.


How easy is it to use?

IDEO - When you first enter the site the buttons look very unusual. It looks very busy and there's alot of links brought up in one time. One thing that the designer did not think of was the page size and the layout. What I did not realise and as I think many others would not realise is that there is a menu bar at the bottom of the page, but you have to scroll down to find it. I think this is the down side to the web page because some people may not be able to find it, due to the size of the page.

Sony - All of the navigation buttons are on the left hand side making it easy for the user to see which link will go. They have a search bar in the top right hand corner, which is always useful because if the user wants a specify something then that's where they would search he item.
I noticed that there main products have been put in bold, which makes it stand out from the others.

Apple - I feel that the apple web site has the easiest to navigate through. With the buttons clearly labelled at the top you can navigate through the site and easily find your way around the site.




NOW - NOW being a new site I'm still finding quite difficult to use. All of the things I need I can find without a problems because they have been clearly labeled and place in a certain area of the site. Whats better is that the they have provided an explanation for each page so the user knows what its about, I feel that this was a conscious idea because being a new site people are still learning what the site is about. Also the layout is simple and the info on the pages very clear to use and understand.

How relevant is the content of the site?

IDEO is a design company so can expect them to have many different contents that show their design work, this is relevant to the site.

Sony and Apple I feel have more along the same content within there sites. The main aim for both sites is to sell their products and so all of the content that I have seen in this site is all relevant to this subject.

NOW is a different site completely and needs certain pieces of content to be successful and to help students. When it first launched I was not impressed with it at all. However recently it has began started working again .

How clearly is the content organised?

IDEO - The main page on IDEO is very jumbled and in your face so the main page isn't really organized. Therefore your are immediately brought to a page packed with different designs and even when you click on a link the user is still greeted with a number of different links.

Sony - I feel that Sony has organised the content in a manner that an online shopping site should be, with each product placed in its certain area, the links under each product linked directly to its description its all very easy to navigate through, because its organised. Like the IDEO page I feel that the first page is still very jumbled and there's alot of information to take in. As a result it looks really professional.

Apple - Apple is the most successful out of all the sites. All of the content has been organised clearly and in a way the users can find what they want. It seems that the content has been organised in a manner that the imagery is the main point of each page, I feel that this was a good idea because having a clear image on what is on that certain page provides the user with a clearer idea on what they're looking at.

NOW - The content in the NOW site could be organised in a more user friendly way. I still find it hard to find what I'm looking for. Even though the site has provided instructions on what to do you still have to find the page before the help is provided. Out of all of the sites I would say that this is the one that is the least organised but it is the newest site so this could potentially change in the future, due to it being an educational site.

Discussing 2 websites which have flash contents from (www.thefwa.com/)

http://cmd9.com/




http://www.leoburnett.ca/FLASH/index.htm


How clearly is the content organised?

cmd9:
All of the content is broken down into menu boxes and its easy to locate what you are looking for. This makes the web page easy to use and navigate.
leoburnett:
All of the content is in the middle of the page and its not fully detailed. Also it’s not easy to locate what you want using the actual menu, but at the bottom it has all the content in a easy to use menu box.


How relevant is the content of the site?

cmd9:
It’s a online portfolio and has all the content you would expect. Including the designers works and a profile. However it doesn’t have enough content on the designer. For most of the projects you get 1 thumbnail and a few lines of text, which isn’t that helpful for research purposes, in which it makes a poor content.

leoburnett:
All there work is short movies. But their slogan is “Big ideas come out of big back pencils”. Therefore the webpage makes sense. As you begin the website with a pencil and text and after a few clicks you locate their finished products. I think this is clever and makes the web application look funky and futuristic.


How easy is it to use?

cmd9:
Suprisinlgy it is easy to use and navigate. All the information is found from the 3d menus. All of the designers works and displayed in data order with a simple description at the bottom.

leoburnett:
It can be hard to use, as the tect is always moving you don’t always click on the desired menu, and if this happens is hard tog o back to the previous menu.


What does it look like?

cmd9:
Very appealing, theres a simple background, with five bold 3d menu boxes, with float and move around depending on where you roll over them. The style is basic, but the boxes make it easy and fun to use. The design overall is simple too, which makes it interesting.

leoburnett:
The cursor is a pencil rather than a normal mouse, which makes the application look very unusual. The site has white background and all the content in the middle is written in black. Overall it looks dull due to the lack of colour variation used.

Ideas!

I havent really got an actual theme in my head right now, but I have come up with few ideas;

FOOTBALL theme - I like watching and playing football alot and due to my passion for the sport I think i can relate them to the website. i was thinking about creating funky football pop-ups poping out onto the page.

Summer theme - Summer is my favourite season of the year, and i was born on July. I was thinking about creating a warm theme filled with bright colours and joy.

Graffiti theme - I saw few graffiti designs outside the Art gallery, which i found very interesting and funky. I thought that I could take photographic pics of different types if graffiti designs from all around Nottingham and illustrate them onto the web. It would also save time by making my page look funky.