Web Session 1

Today's session we wont actually be using Dreamweaver, instead we will be discussing web design and analysing different existing websites of other designers.

There are 3 main principles to a designers website.

1. purpose of website

2. purpose target audience

3. the audience needs

Purpose:-

- showcase your work

- to get more work - employment/freelance

Target Audience:-

- corporate clients

- design studio

- events/exhibitions

- independent buyers

- collaborators

- awards

- like minded people (students/studios/designers)

Audience Needs (aim at them - high end studios needs high end approach)

- work/examples

- contact details

- ask them what they want to see

- look at similar websites that exist

- ask them whats wrong with your own work

Scams:-

- sketches of ideas and designs before digitally creating the website

- quicker than making the actually website straight away

- doesn't waste your time

- easy to show your ideas to clients

- good for site mapping

- ask clients for similar sites they like to help you with your designs

Web standards:-

- rules

-some need to be bent

- scroll vertically - horizontally isn't conventional and mostly ineffective

- some rules never should be bent

Average web user spends 3.5 seconds on a webpage before leaving it.

Analysing websites.

We looked at a few websites and wrote down the first words that came to mind and what affect that has on the website and its audience.

http://www.apple.com/

apple

boring

busy

expensive

holiday

clear

http://2009.legworkstudio.com/

scruffy

original

child like

distracting

strange navigation bar

http://www.myownbike.de/

simple

modern

bikes

boring

european

clear

minimal

crisp

http://slaveryfootprint.org/

colourful

google

minimal

different navigation to a standard site

http://ollymoss.com/

is that it?

whats it about?

http://vickiandlaura.co.uk/

confusing

image spoils the homepage.

- keep the amount of web links to about 5

- avoid animation

- think of words that come to mind when looking at websites, then analyse why they come to mind

- 99.9% of sites scroll vertically

- litebox viewing things over the screen

searching for sites

http://www.awwwards.com/

grades websites on different categories

sites that scroll horizontally

http://www.heredesign.co.uk/

http://www.madebyanalogue.co.uk/

- pinball

- full

- not much use of space

http://iamgaz.co.uk/

- good presentation

- not too busy

Navigation should never move - it should always remain present on the screen for the convenience of the user


Pages for website


- home
- work
- about
- contact
- networking


networking - twitter//blog//facebook - what do they say about you


home - something to catch peoples eye - not too much - something that shows you off really well - about + contact on the homepage possibly?

Task for next web session.

design
- technical drawings of specifications
- scamps
- site maps
- get people to grade it

bring as many ideas and designs as possible - bend the rues - be creative - see if its feasible

layout that we will make in the next session.

Websafe fonts - font families (never use just one font)

keep copy as font because it's searchable via Google or any other search engine

images are not specifically

colouring text - hex decimal codes #code

http://kuler.adobe.com/#themes/rating?time=30

colour matching sight for web

size 800 x 600 is the most universal size

bigger could be used for a projector

going live

- need a domain name - example www.cpjc.co.uk

- hosting - look for a cheap deal - unlimited bandwidth

- FTP - file transfer protocol

- try and avoid hyphens

http://www.one.com/en/

http://www.123-reg.co.uk/

- smallest package

- website should be less than 5mb

- don't get extras you wont need them.

PPD - Samples of work

Online portfolios - Behance network. http://www.behance.net/

Twitter account and newsfeed. https://twitter.com/#!/Behance

Sample. http://www.behance.net/gallery/Pocketmag/3377383

Personal Designers Twitter accounts - allows you to get images out there and update the world of twits on what your doing and where your going etcetera. Really quick effective way of informing and being informed as you follow other people, tag people in your tweets and you can follow big design brands, companies and other creative networks and events.

I've used Johnny Packmans account here as an example.

Even the back ground can be a way of showing a sample of your work as you can customise your account.

Facebook - used in a professional direction.

Facebook shows your likes and dislikes and who your connected with as well as allowing you to create events, find out about others get your work up in albums and communicate on a global level.

This is Lovely Package's Facebook page where they post about the things they discover, its like the social networking equivalent to their website.