Simulated Client Project - Validated

Simulated Client Project is validated. :) I realised while I was doing it that my code had a lot of unnecessary div id tags, <center> tags and a few other things that were missing. I'm sure it's still not as efficient as it could be, but I'd rather not mess with it now everything is working and validated. If you look below "Choose File'' it says the html file that's been validated.

I haven't included any flash, I figured if it wanted it verified then I'd be biting off more than I could chew + it would be so minimal that it probably wouldn't be worth it unless I had more time.

Will write mini-evaluation tomorrow.

Simulated Client Project - Done (Sort of)

Oh boy, I have NOT had time to post anything for a while. I've finished my simulated client project, the basic html version. I'm going to try and see if I can incorporate a little bit of flash somewhere on the page, although I don't feel like I have time to add anything significant and so it will only be something minor, like an animated version of the logo.

The final design as a whole, differs from what I originally planned.

The first change that I've made is to make an 'Advanced Glossary'. I noticed that having one page filled with terms was unattractive and boring, so instead I've split it in to a basic glossary of terms and an advanced glossary. The advanced glossary doesn't show up unless you click a specific link at the bottom of the basic glossary. The next & previous buttons at the bottom of every page lead to the link either to the left (for previous) or the right (for next) of that button on the navbar.

Another change I made, although minor, is the inclusion of a Youtube link in the footer. I felt it looked empty with only Twitter and Facebook links. All of these links (except for the logo) link to the homepage of the shown logo. I figured it would be pointless creating accounts for each one of these and then have them leading to a page with no content.

The last noticeable change I have made is the to make the link to the blog embedded in the navbar, rather than have an entire page with just a link and some text on it. I did this because, again, I think it's pointless to include a page that has little/no content on it. Plus it lso saved me a minor amount of extra work.

Developed Design

 So after receiving some feedback from David and Shaun, here is the developed design for the website.

I think it looks better now, because it's more simple. Comparing this to the initial design, the initial design does look too crowded and busy. Like it's having an identity crisis. But it's sorted out now, and looks normal. 

The feedback I got was good, and I was advised to merge Idea 2 and Idea 3 together. If you didn't notice, the header is the same as Idea 2, as are some other things (like the title header being at a 90 degree angle) and some of the text has changed. Although it's still closer to Idea 3. Apparently I should also include parrots, or a peeking pirate. We'll have to see. 

The Third Initial Design: Home & Content

This is my final idea. I would like to do more, honestly, but I think it's about time I progressed from the initial design stage and started producing something that can actually be presented as a functional website. Again, same applies as before, these are not the finished versions, I plan on including my own artwork in this, vector or otherwise.

Also at some point I'll scan in the sketches I did for the logos, even though they're one of the first things I did, I still haven't got around to doing it, sorry.

I like this design, it seems the more I try to stray away from my typical design style, the more comfortable I've become with it and found it easier to produce new ideas. Which is annoying because I don't have time to sit down and get all these new ideas down, either way, it's probably not worth it considering this is only a short project.

 I've produced a simple vector background for this and used a different font for the header, which despite being similar to a wild west theme, I think I kind of works in a way. I think because I've experimented with using a different background (other than the tried and tested black and white), it's been easier to think of something different to go over the top. I like this idea, I'd like to get some feedback on which direction I should be going in with this. If that means re-designing the entire website, then so be it.

The Second Initial Design: Home & Content

 Second design, probably my favourite out of the two I've done, just because it's a little bit different for me, and there's actually some slight colouration of the boxes and background colours. This is more of a subtle design in my opinion. I'll do one more of these, because I still have no idea if my proposal was accepted.

The First Initial Design: Content

Here is the content style for the other pages. It looks quite boring, but again that's because this isn't what the final  design will look like. I plan to draw up some sketches for ideas to decorate the pages a little more. Otherwise, there isn't anything that makes this website stand out. Additionally, I'll probably add things like twitter and Facebook links in the footer a long with a link to this blog.

One more thing; the reason the Title colour is different, is because I thought it'd be a neat idea to have different colours for each page, just as a little bit of variety. Since these don't take very long, I think i'll draw up some of the other wireframes and see how they compare to this one. I think this design has potential, but it's lacking any kind of uniqueness at the moment, it's quite bland and formal.

The First Initial Design

Still haven't decided on which logo to use. Probably the one in this image mainly because is flexible, and doesn't cause any colour clashes. Which is a problem I've found with the light bulb logo. I suppose if I really liked that idea then I could convert it to a black and white image only. But frankly, I think the one I've picked is better anyway.

Obviously this isn't the finished design this is pretty basic. Just give myself an idea what the website will probably look like, of course this is only the homepage, contents page still needs to be done. Everything on this page is original content with the exception of the background. Forgive me for not going out and taking a high res picture of some dark wood. The final version (If I choose this design), will have a more arty feel to it.

Logo's: First Photoshop Drafts

Here are 4 of the potential logos I'm willing to use for the website. I've developed these a little in my sketch pad based off some initial doodles of my ideas, these are just rough drafts, as I haven't saved any of them as .png or done them in Illustrator to avoid pixelation, which I will do for the final logo idea.

This was pretty much the first idea that came to my head, I'm not sure if I actually like it. Although I do know I like the idea of it. The idea being that it's a pirate ship sailing on the pages of an open book stuck out me, but I'm not sure if I can develop it into a usable logo. The colours are a little off and don't really compliment black or white backgrounds. Another thing I've noticed (especially when comparing it to the other ideas), is that the dimensions are a little harder to work with, it's a very tall and thin logo. Which would also mean whatever background it's going to be on, will also have to be the same height. 


However, if the layout I choose somehow contrasts with any of the other logo's, in terms of dimensions (as they're all wider and lower than this logo), I can always see if this will do the job.

I was skeptical about the idea at first, when it was on paper. A few of the notes I added were things like 'is it obvious enough?' or whether or not I should draw something to show the bulb illuminated. But now I've actually got a digital version of it, it's probably one of my favourites. It's simple, bold, and I'd say it's reasonably recognisable. My only worry with it is that it doesn't stand up as well when there's no text with it, I also don't think it works as well as it does on a white background. 

 My third idea is again very basic, although I believe its more obvious what the website is about. While I like this idea, I think it's a little too formal for what the website is about. I think it may could be because of the font I've used, which is similar to Wikipedia font, if not the same. The lines are not meant to be in the logo, I actually just left them in there by accident, because I was using them as guidelines.

I think this is probably my favourite design, mainly because it's pretty flexible. It'd be easily arguable over which one is the best because they both work well on opposite background. I couldn't do this with the other ideas because I think they would lose what they already. 


Additionally, this idea allows the use of text and text without, the logo is largely interchangeable with a lot of different colour schemes. It does however possess a certain style which isn't very 'piratey' to say the least, meaning the rest of the website would probably have to follow suit if I used this logo. 

Some Wireframes I've Made

Good evening,
Here are some wire frames I've made, I figured it couldn't hurt to make a few basic wireframes. For each page I have produced a home page wireframe, and a corresponding contents page wireframe.

IDEA 1
I thought I'd go for something I don't usually do, and remove the footer altogether, the links that would usually be at the bottom now take up a very small amount of space above the header, leaving the rest of the page to 'hang' from the header.


The home page is a little boring, but it goes with the same sort of idea I had for idea 3. The home page, rather than being used as a physical reference point, is only used as a sort of welcome page that invites you to look at the rest of the website. 


I haven't given much though to what sort of images will occupy the spaces I've made for them, it will depend on how soon I can begin and whether or not I have enough time/talent to produce what I want. 

IDEA 2
This idea also lead in a direction that I don't usually go in. The home page greets you with what the website is all about with an relevant image next to it, perhaps the logo. Once you've read that and you understand what the website is about, it's implied that you press the continue button and read on, sort of like a story book. You can go back any time you like by either pressing back, or skipping a few pages and using the navbar below.


I like this idea, I think it gives a lot more creative freedom than the other two, although the layout doesn't leave much room for content and it's squashed in to a narrow column down the center. 


I've given it some thought and decided that the Navigation bar on the home page could be removed, so the website is more consistent as a whole. 

IDEA 3


The homepage on this one, isn't really a home page! More like a welcome page, that you only see once unless you re-load the page. It doesn't have anyway important information on it, so I decided that there isn't much point of putting the link on the navbar. The about section will be placed in to the footer and only the content will be displayed in the navbar. This could be problematic, as less pages leaves a lot of space on the navbar and so it could look empty, although I could break-up the pages more specifically for each type of information. 


I'll be honest, I got a little desperate with the contents page for this one. The divided navbar could look a little out of place, although this could easily be remedied by shoving it all over to the left hand side. In fact, that's probably want I would rather do, now that I've mentioned it. 


This is one of the more basic of ideas, sticking to a very tried and tested way of designing a website, which I'm trying to stray away from, although it can't hurt to have a safe bet if something goes wrong and there are problem later on. 


All of these ideas are under the jurisdiction that the logo will be somewhere on each page, either in the header or a smaller version in the footer.

Mini-Project Brief: The Beginning

"Project Introduction:

The simulated project lasts three weeks. This project is designed to give you experience of the production process in anticipation of your live project. In industry the turn around for similar projects would be approximately one week and so this short project aims to help you understand more about the “pace” or “work rate” required of multimedia practitioner in the commercial arena. 

The Brief:

Produce a short multimedia piece that informs about or illustrates Digital Piracy."

I have decided upon constructing a basic website that focuses on the aesthetics, rather than the technical side of web design. The website will focus on educating people new to ''Pirating'', and serving as a sort of 'mythbuster' to new users, or curious passer-bys. I am going to try and keep the website as neutral as possible in terms of viewpoints.

Additionally, the website will only consist of, at most, 4 pages. I have already decided on 3 pages that will be included, with the option of adding a fourth. These are:

• Home Page (Will serve as the 'About' section, including information about the site, the principle behind it and me, the owner).
• FAQ Page (The area with the most relative content, mainly questions relating to the consequences and arguments for and against piracy).
• Links Page (An area for further reading, citing sources and informational links regarding piracy).
• Glossary(?) - Optional Page (A page explaining acronyms and specific terminology).

I have yet to decide on things like the colour scheme, layout and style of the website, although it's highly likely that I'll use colours that are fitting and relate to piracy/pirates. E.g. Black, White, splashes of Blue.

I have already taken the liberty of designing several logo ideas, which I will upload when I have access to a scanner. Developed ideas will be produced in Photoshop for an accurate comparison to logo's that are currently in use. 

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my new blog. Glad you could make it.


I'll be posting all my third year activity here for future reference, as I felt the old one was cluttered and un-organised. Not that I forgot the password and couldn't retrieve it because the email address I used also had the same password...that would just be awful.


Here I am, here I shall stay.