Brief:
What are you trying to communicate? An idea, a concept, a message a lifestyle......?
Who are you trying to communicate to? Why and what do you want to achieve?
How will you use the creative potential of interactive technology to effectively deliver your content?
what is the most appropriate/effective form of content? Text, Image, Facts, Statistics etc.?
What is already out there and how can you adapt, modify, reuse or respond to it?
_______________
We were asked to focus this brief the subject we chose over summer. Therefore my website was concentrating on the key aspects of Islamic Art. As this is a very broad subject, I thought it was essential to start thinking about how to divide my website into different categories or maybe focus on one specific element such as calligraphy for example.
Initially I began addressing each of the questions listed above to form a greater idea of the context of my website. I thought it would be interesting to aim my website towards people aged 16-25. The reason for this is because many people in this age bracket seem to like the art, but aren't necessarily aware of the deeper meanings and religious elements behind it. Many people tend to travel in their 20s and feel inclined to buy souvenirs to remind them of their experiences. During my visit to Morocco this summer, I was engaged by the intricate and unique handmade designs being sold (mainly to tourists). In the markets it can get very busy and stressful and I noticed many Moroccan's did not speak English. This made it difficult to ask questions on how the items were made and what the designs represented.
My initial responses to the key questions were:
What are you communicating? Information and celebration of Islamic art.
Who is your audience? Young adults with a passion for art, culture and travel.
How will you use creative potential to deliver your content? Through structured and relevant design. Everything will be justified by an element of the art themes in some manner. One example could be the emphasis of geometric layouts, mirroring the symmetrical and continuous patterns practiced in Islamic art culture.
What is the most appropriate form of content? Visually pleasing, engaging and vibrant. predominantly image based in parts, but always supported by relevant and interesting information to support this. The textual element will contain facts, statistics, opinions and possibly an additional blog/forum. I would love for this website to be as interactive as possible.
What is already out there? how can you modify/ adapt/ respond to it? Using existing websites and resources, I would like to create something which focuses on what would be interesting to a more specific generation. The information would cover as many aspects as possible, without boring the target audience.
Initially I began addressing each of the questions listed above to form a greater idea of the context of my website. I thought it would be interesting to aim my website towards people aged 16-25. The reason for this is because many people in this age bracket seem to like the art, but aren't necessarily aware of the deeper meanings and religious elements behind it. Many people tend to travel in their 20s and feel inclined to buy souvenirs to remind them of their experiences. During my visit to Morocco this summer, I was engaged by the intricate and unique handmade designs being sold (mainly to tourists). In the markets it can get very busy and stressful and I noticed many Moroccan's did not speak English. This made it difficult to ask questions on how the items were made and what the designs represented.
My initial responses to the key questions were:
What are you communicating? Information and celebration of Islamic art.
Who is your audience? Young adults with a passion for art, culture and travel.
How will you use creative potential to deliver your content? Through structured and relevant design. Everything will be justified by an element of the art themes in some manner. One example could be the emphasis of geometric layouts, mirroring the symmetrical and continuous patterns practiced in Islamic art culture.
What is the most appropriate form of content? Visually pleasing, engaging and vibrant. predominantly image based in parts, but always supported by relevant and interesting information to support this. The textual element will contain facts, statistics, opinions and possibly an additional blog/forum. I would love for this website to be as interactive as possible.
What is already out there? how can you modify/ adapt/ respond to it? Using existing websites and resources, I would like to create something which focuses on what would be interesting to a more specific generation. The information would cover as many aspects as possible, without boring the target audience.
__________
Following up from the first session, we were asked to begin thinking about how our websites would function. As a class we discussed the key elements needed for a successful website. We formed a list including:
-Homepage - indicative of content - including a short introduction
-Contact - Enquiry form, social media links, telephone, address, e-mail
-Information/About Page - including an ethical statement, facts
-Gallery / Portfolio
-Forums / blogs / user posts
It is also important to ensure page headings are labelled clearly and appropriately for the target audience. This saves people time and difficulty when browsing the site.
Sub-categorising is only necessary if there is a vast amount of varied information. Be aware of under-categorisation/over-categorisation.
Always take your own experiences of using web into account. What is appreciated? What is distracting/ off-putting?
As a task we were asked to begin visualising our website Homepage. As I had a few different ideas, I decided to begin with a few thumbnail layouts and from this choose a favourite.
Once we had completed this task, we all swapped tables and had to give both positive and negative feedback to another groups individual Homepage designs. This was a fair and constructive process as it was anonymous feedback. This made it easier to focus completely on the design work itself. Constructing helpful and relevant advice for other people also helped to define what was positive and negative in my own idea.
My feedback:
-Is it an information site or is the intention to sell? Don't know when looking at it.
-Navigation bar might look better/ be easier to use if it is concentrated into one place.
-Nice layout of Homepage. Centre piece draws eye in and intrigues. Could include different categories of Islamic Art e.g. Islamic Arabesque, Geometric, Iznik Tiles, Calligraphy -- These could be used as possible sub-categories
-Maybe a little one or two lines of info under the title to indicate the nature of the site? Shapes of the buttons look a bit random - maybe incorporate them into one design?
-Interesting Concept. Maybe look into colour schemes of the art to include. Are all the buttons geometric? Why would someone contact?
-Large image on Homepage makes instant impact. This is visually interesting.
-The image is relevant to content which should help the audience understand the purpose.
-Maybe use a clearer navigation system e.g. bar, buttons (think you may have considered this but its not shown).
-Use of grid would be a good idea to make sure it doesn't look like its floating anywhere. Consider a clear navigation bar & focal point. Are you going to have a footer?
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