Update

Today has been a very productive and successful day for me. I have completed my website and all of its JavaScript functions, and I have now successfully validated each page of my website.


I have not uploaded my website to the internet yet, but here are some screen shots;




These screen shots give you a basic idea of what the website looks like and how it works.

In the end I decided to have four JavaScript functions in my website and I think that each of these adds to the experience gained by the user and allows them to really customize the site to their own personal needs.

The first function I put in was to allow the user to make the text size large, medium, or small. This makes it easier for people who don't have good eyesight to read the text.

The next function I added was to allow the user to change the background color of the website. This can be seen in the third screen shot where the color scheme has been changed to yellow. This can make it easier for people who may suffer from colorblindness or a similar deficiency.

After some advice I then tried the more advanced task of adding a lightbox to my photos page. This allows the user to click on a thumbnail and the picture is then enlarged on the screen without opening a separate window, the user can then use previous and next buttons to navigate through the photos. Obviously it would be too complicated for me to write this code myself but I managed to alter one from the internet to contain my own images, this is something I am very happy with as before this term I had never used any JavaScript.

I then decided to add one last function. This function is once again on the photos page and gives the user a description of each picture in a set text box at the top of the page.

Website Layout

I have been trying out different possible layouts for my project. The image below is the first layout I came up with, I made the website in Dreamweaver and then decided I didn't really like it. This was primarily due to the dark navigation bar on the left hand side. I felt it looked untidy and I also didnt really like the text on the side bar.

I then designed the below layout in photoshop. I felt this layout was alot more user friendly with the navigation at the top of the page. I also think it makes it look more tidy and keeps the design simple but still does what it needs to to keep the user interested in the website. I have since created the layout for the page in Dreamweaver, this can now be used across all pages of the website and keeps it flowing nicely.

Analysis

http://www.puma.jp/tribes

This is a Japanese website designed for sports teams, primarily football, to create and order a kit for themselves. I really liked the whole idea of the website and found it very easy to use. The website allows you to choose what kind of kit or training item you need, you can then choose the different styles of top and bottom, and then customize the colours of each item. You can then order your customized clothes directly from the website.

I really enjoyed using the website and thought it was a very good idea. The main problem I had with the website was the loading speed. It took quite a while to get onto each page, however once each page had fully loaded then the website ran a lot quicker.

I also really liked the way the website was designed, it was set out in a really neat and tidy way which worked very well. The way it has been designed means it is very user friendly and straightforward to use. Although this is not one of the best websites I have seen, it is a very nice design and a really good idea.

Colour Excercises

Website Analysis

http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/m6/

This website was made in order to advertise a new basketball shoe from Nike. The website is set out in a really unique way which I have never seen before. All of the pages of the website are navigated automatically in a movie clip. Each page has its own short movie and these play simultaneously allowing the user to browse the whole website without actually pressing anything.
There are also pages which can be navigated by the user, these look more closely at the shoe itself and allow you to have a 360 degree view of the shoe. You can also look at all the different colour ways for the shoe and it gives you great detail. The other options the user have which are featured in the top right of the screen allow the user to get directly to the several different websites which you can order the shoe from, this makes it even easier for the user and it maximises the chance of people buying the project.

Overall I really liked the website and the way it was set out. It is definately a way of creating websites which I can imagine becoming more and more popular in the coming years and I feel that it is a really good way of introducing people to a new product and allowing them to get a thorogh look at something without actually physically seeing it.

Wire Frame

These are the wire frames which I have put together for the proposed five pages of the website I will be making.

Page 1 - Index
This is the homepage of the website and I will try and keep it as minimal as possible and use a lot of visual elements to keep the users attention and make them want to look further into the website.


Page 2 - Photos
This page will contain photos of the stadium. These will be done in a slideshow which will be very user friendly.



Page 3 - Football
This page will talk about the football team which plays at the stadium, Manchester City. It will outline a bit of their history and talk about their move to the stadium.


Page 4 - History
This page will contain information on the history of the stadium. It will talk about things like what was there before and why it was built in the first place.


Page 5 - Other Events
This page will contain information on the other events which take place in the stadium such as concerts. It will outline past people who have performed there, and what is planned for the future.


These may not be my final five pages, and I may decide to change the subject of some of them, however this can be done easily as my wire frame can be adapted for different subject matter very easily.

Analysis

http://www.RedBullProjectX.com/

This week one of my favourite websites I have looked at is to advertise a snowboarding event which is happening next year. The website really impressed me in lots of different ways, for a start the photography used on the website is amazing. Some of the shots are really impressive and add to the whole atmosphere of the website.

The navigation for the website is all on the left hand side of the page and makes it really easy to navigate for the user. All of the information is scattered around each of the different pages and this means the user gets to interact with the website and can learn lots of interesting facts about the event, such as things like how long it took to build the half-pipe which will be used.

The website also contains an image gallery and other exciting features which contain some really impressive imagery which will keep the users attention for quite some time. There is also an audio track in the background of the website which contains very atmospheric music which almost makes you feel as if you are at the slope itself, and this helps to boost the experience gained by visiting the website.

Project Ideas

After Shaun gave us an idea of what our project for this term would be, I began thinking more about possible location which I could base my website on.

I wanted to choose somewhere which is special to me, and which I am able to access easily, should I need to take photos or videos of it. The place which kept ticking all the right boxes for me is the City of Manchester Stadium. This stadium is the home of Manchester City Football Club, and I have been going there regularly to watch the team since they moved to the stadium in 2003.

It is very easy for me to get video and pictures of the stadium as I attend every home game so am there a few times every month. The stadium also has some history around it as it was originally built to host the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Therefore there is plenty of information available which I can use to fill a 5 page website.

Also, after viewing the stadiums current website - http://www.cityofmanchesterstadium.co.uk/, I feel I could easily improve the current website by both looks and content.

Website Analysis

Website 1;

http://www.graphotism.com

Graphotism is a website which allows people to upload images of their graffiti, be it in their sketchbooks or on a wall. People can then comment on each others work and give each other advice on how they can improve. The website has a really good sense of community and people respect each others work. I also really like the layout of the website, it's fairly simple, yet it still looks extremely effective and sticks with the graffiti theme of its content. The website also contains other things such as a shop, a forum, and reviews. Overall I was very impressed by the website and the content was really impressive and there was some really good examples of different text styles.

Website 2;

http://www.tattooson.com/

TattoosOn is a website which allows people to talk to each other regarding tattoos. The interesting thing about this website is that it allows tattoo artists to register on the website and show off their work, this is a good way of them meeting new clients and it allows them to get to know other professionals in the same area so they can compare work and help each other improve. Some of the work on the website is really impressive and after looking around I believe it is the most widely used social networking site of its kind. The website also allows people to post saying what kind of tattoo they are looking for, then artists can get in touch if they are interested and potentially gain work. This is why I think it is an excellent tool if you are in, or interested in, the tattoo business.

Website 3;

http://www.football-networks.com/

The third website I looked at was a football related social network. This site allows people to upload images, videos, and other football related things. People can then comment on each of the items and people are able to share content. The website also features a forum, and other areas where people are able to able to converse with each other and talk about football related subjects. The website also features a shop and other interesting features. This was my least favorite of the three websites and I wasn't highly impressed by the layout of the site. It was a really basic website but it still did the job and had some interesting content.

Screenshot

Managed to get the screenshot to upload properly. This is a photo of the design I am working on for a website of a local band.

Update

Just a quick post to let you know what I have been up to over the past weeks and months.

During the summer I did a lot of hours work experience at a local design company. Spending my time working alongside their web designer, this gave me a great insight into the industry and how it worked. It also gave me the opportunity to make lots of website and get to grips with different coding languages. Here is a link to one of the many websites I made during my time there; http://www.thinkpebble.co.uk/

Since I finished my work experience I have been designing other websites for a few different clients. Personally I like to design the website first using Photoshop, and then build the website at a later stage, this means I know exactly what I want the website to look like, and it gives the client an idea of what the website will look like without me having to change lots of code and almost completely redo the website if they do not like it.

I tried to upload a screenshot of one of the websites I am currently working on, but for some unknown reason parts of the image were removed and the colours were changed.

Interview Analysis

Dan Saffer; 'Interaction design is an applied art'

I found this article really interesting, I found it a really useful way of getting into the head of a successful interactive designer which allowed me to compare the way he works, to the way I work. The part of the article I found most interesting is where he is outlining all the other disciplines which are related to interaction design. It is amazing how many different disciplines are actually related and it makes you think about how big the interactive design industry actually is. I also found this article helpful with his pointers on what the typical mistakes made by newbies to the industry are. This allows me to avoid making these mistakes myself.

Joel Schafer; 'I'm into minimalistic clean design'

I really enjoyed this article. He gets straight to the point and also gives you a good idea of what his thought processes are when creating a website. I really like the idea of only using "greyscale + one color" when making a website. This is such a simple but effective idea, and it really allows him to put his own creative stamp on each website, this will be recognised by people and they will instantly know that he created the website. This article also had some really interesting tips and pointers for people who are new to the industry and this could prove to be a huge help to me.

The Box

The box all my things will be contained in is either going to be a midi keyboard or a sampler. The user will then be able to click on different buttons of the item and this will take them to a different part of the box and will enable them to do different things. For those who are finding it difficult to understand what I mean, below is a sampler similar to the one I will be using;

Audio Jukebox

I got the idea for an audio jukebox through researching last years projects. I'm not entirely sure how I will manage to make this part of the project. Hopefully I will make it so the user can select a certain song from a playlist and then the song will begin to play, I have also thought about the possibility of adding some information about that particular artist being displayed whilst the song is playing.

AV Part

For the AV part of my box I will be doing a pixilation video. This video will incorporate me playing guitar as I feel this is something which represents me very well. At the moment I am working on making an audio soundtrack of me playing certain chords and then I will take pictures of my playing these chords, I will then try to match these up in premiere in order to create a song out of the images. I am quite far through this process and it should be finished within the next week or so. It's just a bit of a struggle to match the two and make it look effective.

Logo Cont...

Here are another five logo ideas;

Logo

After researching the logos of many famous brands I decided that it was best to keep the logo simple. I wanted to logo to say GSW, these are my initials and I thought it was the best fitting thing to represent me. Below are the first five possible logos, this probably won't be the final colour scheme but it gives you an idea of what the logo will look like.

Avatar

When deciding what my avatar would look like I spent a while sketching basic ideas and found it hard to create something which fit my personality well. Then I remembered a music video I first saw a few years ago, its by a UK Hip-Hop group called the Planets, although a fairly underground group the video had been created by a design company and was a quality video.

The video can be seen below, and in a few days I will upload the final sketches for my avatar.

My avatar will look similar to the characters in the video, except they will be wearing different clothes and have slightly more hair.

Identities Update

Realised I haven't updated for a while, so in this post I am going to sum up my ideas and the things I plan to do for the project, then in other individual posts I will go into more detail about specific things for the project.

Box; Either a Midi Keyboard or Sampler pad.

Avatar; Inspired by music video

Logo; Simple but effective

AV; Pixilation with guitar

Choice 1; Audio Jukebox

Choice 2; Not 100% certain yet.

My Creativity

Over the past few years the majority of my creative work has been done for sixth form. Whether this be through art and design with such things as paintings and drawings, or through IT and Business by creating websites, and presentations. Outside of that music has always been my way to creatively express myself; whether it be through playing guitar, or making beats. Most of my creative work has been done for teachers and has been things I have been instructed to do. Sometimes I like to draw outside of work set, and this is always for my own pleasure. 

I have always been like this because throughout my school life I took subjects which were all coursework based and had very few exams. This left me with little time outside of completing work for my own personal creativity. It was however my decision to take mainly coursework based subjects as I felt I would not be able to get enough revision done when the time for exams came around.

In the future I would like to be able to use my creativity to express myself and give others an idea of how my mind works. I would like to impress people by what they see, and influence others with the work I do.

For me the starting point in front of, seems irrelevant. I don't see how I could benefit from other peoples reactions to the piece of work, for me it is more important to see my own reaction to it. The starting point I feel drawn to is behind. This is because I feel by doing this you can gain a much greater understanding of the work and what it is all about. I feel weary of the in or through starting point, this is because I feel it would be hard to work out someone's writing process from just reading the piece. I also feel that the behind process would be a much better way of creating an interesting piece of writing.

My Practitioner Development

It is important to me to develop myself as a practitioner, not only whilst completing set tasks from my course, but also by undertaking personal tasks which will help my gain a greater understanding of different elements of the course. The main thing I do outside of the course is to create music, this is either by the use of computer programs such as Reason, or by using my guitar. I like to record the music I make and then use other programs to edit that music. This gives me experience for when it comes to such things as editing a film. Using these programs will allow me to have greater knowledge of certain areas, for example what certain sound effects do.

Another thing I like to do in my spare time is to play on my Xbox. This allows me to get a greater understanding of how 3D areas work and how the big names in the computer gaming industry create realistic 3D backdrops. Xbox also have recently introduced a new avatar system so using this I have been able to create my own basic avatar and can easily edit it and play around with it. 

Since a very young age I have also been drawing, whether this be for school or my own personal entertainment it has always been something I enjoy doing. This has continued in my university life and I still draw whenever I have some spare time.

One more thing I enjoy doing is watching films. Doing this allows me to see how professionals in that field interpret different things. It is interesting to see how people put across different messages whether it be through lighting or editing perhaps.  

Update.

Here we are again!

So, I'll start by updating you on my activities of the past month. Like the majority of people I know, I have been ill and stuck in my bed with some mumps type illness for a week or so. This left me a little worse for wear, but I'm getting back on top of things now.

On the work side of things I have recently begun to play Second Life, it took me a while to get into it at first and to properly understand how things worked. After a bit of practise I eventually found my way and began to get a little more into it. The diary I have been writing is saved in a separate document, so I will upload some of that later so you can see what I've been getting up to.

Other than that I've been working on my music and things. Some of you may know I enjoy making soundtracks, and where possible I like to include them in my work. The soundtrack for my interactive narrative has been on MySpace for a few weeks now and has almost hit 1000 plays! You can see it in the player I have embedded below (it's called Grimestar).

The player below also contains some of my other music stuff, a few beats I've made for people and some instrumentals aswell. If the player doesn't work then you can find me at http://www.myspace.com/w7f

Always appreciate feedback so please let me know what you think!

Cheers.