Context 3 Prototype

This is the draft design for my context 3 portfolio. I will be developing this further, I may adapt some elements in future such as the colour scheme as appropriate.

1. Define your project concept. Justify your choice of project. Why is it relevant that you do the project in this way? (LO1, LO2, LO3)


Portfolio

• website showing my best work:
• Integrate my social media (badges); social platform: facebook, twitter, DeviantART, LinkedIn

Personal online blog

• A separate blog to upload my latest work, projects etc.

Self Promotion 

• My website is self-promotion; to put myself out there. Seeking potential jobs or freelance opportunities.

Target Audience

• Junior position web designer to work for a small/medium sized agency or freelance

Branding and Identity

• Rebrand my logo
• I identify myself as a:  front end web designer

Display my skills

• Technical skills: CSS, HTML
• Transferable skills: organisation, time management, communication
• Personality: will I fit into their company?

Demonstrate my creative work process 

• Briefing
• Planning and Prototyping
• Implementation
• Testing
• Evaluation

3. Decide five keywords that might be used as words that focus the conceptual approach of the project. (LO1, LO3)

• Self-Promotion
• Portfolio 
• Online-CV
• Networking
• Social Media

4. Outline and discuss five existing most relevant sources that you are going to look at to help begin designing the project. (LO2) 

http://houbly.me/site/index.html
Past student at NTU
Personal branding: logo self portrait
Clear about defining his expertise/role

http://adamhartwig.co.uk/
Interactive website
Bold colour scheme, big statement
Famous high profile web designer

http://adam.co/
Snappy tagline, draws your attention
Simple, effective design
Scrolling website portfolio

5. Show a prototype of an element key to the likely success of the project. This should be something that you have created (LO2, LO3, LO4) 


See context tag section http://wilsonchiu1.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/context

6. Discuss how you will be managing yourself during the duration of the module. (LO3, LO4)

• Give and receive feedback in tutorial sessions to see if it meets target audience
• Keeping a log of work on my Journal to show work process to other users/ employers and for an online presence 

7. Show how you intend to allocate tasks and time to delivering your project. (LO2, LO3)
Time allocated to each subtask:

• Week 35: Portfolio Plan presentation
• Week 36-17: Easter Break
• Week 38: Sort out domain and website name
• Week 39-40: Implementation
• Week 41: Testing and refining website
• Week 42: Write rationale and project book
• Week 43: Hand in deadline (for extensions)  

8. Conclusions. How does your work so far inform your evaluation? (LO1, LO3)


I feel I have defined my role specifically. I could work on some more personal projects to expand my portfolio further. And to keep up to date with web design trends: Updating my blog about relevant web developments I’ve been reading about because the web design industry is constantly changing.


Hope to improve on:

• Software skills (coding in Dreamweaver CS6, using Photoshop CS6, Fireworks CS6.)
• Social networking,
• Getting more involved in events like 2nd Wednesday

Research Project- User centred design

User-centred design! 

How can the interactive presentation of information provide an enhanced user experience compared to traditional online static communication methods on the web? 

Interactive Presentation of information is more suited for the type of user and what they want to do (purpose) sometimes it's more appropriate to some situations than others. Knowing when it will be useful in context to the product is important in determining if it's useful or not.

Designing for types of users.

• What do they want to do? Find something else quickly and effectively? 
• Complete an operation or a task e.g tax forms? 
• Or a user who loves discovering new cool interactive websites?

Retailers follow a trend of having the same user interface e.g river island, top man etc they are all the same layout. Com formative design, nothing different or exciting. It's functional and it works! It works from user frameworks, metaphors such as basket and checkout. They follow the f shape which is how users look around on the page. Companies with websites such as these make a lot of money.

F-shape website

Is a non-interactive (no sliders, obscure navigational structures, roll overs, multimedia content) website better for functional operations such as filling in tax forms online or applying for housing benefit. These experiences are forgettable: you don’t need to create a lasting impact. You get in and get out after fulfilling what it is you want to do.

functional website (that people only go on to perform tasks)

I think brand websites have to be more interactive because this is more engaging and persuades the user to buy things. Quite often eCommerce or film websites have big images, splash pages, interactive sliders or multimedia content.

Also it is useful to think about the audience the website is intended for. Do people who already know what it is about or do new people go on it? What role does the website make in the wider picture of advertising? "transmedia." For example, films are often advertised on tv but the website's role is to raise a social interaction with fans and create a hype around a film. This is where an interactive website is used.

interactive websites for promotion/advertising and transmedia

Sometimes it is about balance.

Top man website is both a persuasive and functional, e.g. advertise new fashion trends as well as going through a checkout process. Therefore there must be a balance between usable and interactive design? Similarly, banking websites do this too:

Balancing usable and interactive design on banking websites

Artefact Idea:

• Make sonic machines interactive splash page versus the main site. Which one is more persuasive in advertising band and music. Would the user be more likely to buy a CD from visiting a interactive splash page or a more functional website with a more traditional layout?
• Or design a website that should be a very functional website (that people go on to perform boring tasks such as tax forms) and make it into the most interactive, crazy site ever. And see what people think! ;)

• Or the other way round. Create the most functional website for a film. Make it dire and plain looking as possible (and bore them to tears)

References

Banking website
https://www.salemfive.com/

HM Revenue website
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/sa/

Form versus Function
http://thenextweb.com/dd/2011/07/10/function-is-nothing-without-beauty-10-sites-doing-it-right/

Narratives
http://alistapart.com/article/narrative