My second artefact was two websites comparing peoples views of a music download site. One of the sites featured completely still images, whilst the other had interactive imagery, such as a slideshow and different effects when images were hovered over.
I wanted to design it so it almost looked familiar when people first visited, so I took inspiration from the iTunes layout and am very happy with how it turned out. I got people to visit the two sites and then choose which one they would prefer to download from. I then asked for their reasoning behind their decisions.
I am happy with the design and I don’t think I would change much if I had the chance. I would add in more films and songs however in order to bulk out the website and make it look more filled. I felt having not much content on there made it less realistic, but with the time constraints I think I did well.
I managed to get a good amount of people visiting the site and filling out my questionnaires, which helped me gain a decent amount of statistical evidence to back up my claims.
Further on in my artefact process I would like to develop on the websites I made for this artefact and add in some HTML5 and CSS3 to see what, if any, effects this has on the results.
When designing the site I wanted to make it feel calm and as if there was lots of space for the user to operate in, I feel this is one of the ways iTunes has been so successful and I think I managed to make a site which isn’t too cluttered but allows the user to see enough functionality to give me a good idea of which adverts work best.
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Client Phone Call
I recently spoke to my client and they said they urgently needed something putting online as they have been questioned numerous times by customers about the Bluebell website. Therefore I decided to scan in some of their advertisements and upload these to the homepage. I saw this as an opportunity to get across the feel I would be hoping to achieve when my website is complete and therefore I used the same background as I am using in the proper site. This way people will remember the site next time they visit and it will link in well.
The current homepage can be found here.
The current homepage can be found here.
Bluebell Slideshow
For the slideshow on the homepage of my website I needed something which looked smooth and ran well allowing the website to look trendy without having lots of flashy gimmicks. I chose to use the jQuery Panel Gallery slideshow within my Bluebell website.
The slideshow can be found here and I chose to use this slideshow for a number of reasons. The slideshow has many different slide effects which can either run randomly or can be edited within the JavaScript so it is just one effect. I will discuss the effects with my client at our next meeting to see whether he would rather keep it random or have a specific one, this may make it more professional.
Below are some screenshots of various parts of the JavaScript where it can be edited to change what it does;
I also spoke to my client and uploaded an example of the slideshow working within their website so I could find out what they thought. It can be seen here.
The slideshow can be found here and I chose to use this slideshow for a number of reasons. The slideshow has many different slide effects which can either run randomly or can be edited within the JavaScript so it is just one effect. I will discuss the effects with my client at our next meeting to see whether he would rather keep it random or have a specific one, this may make it more professional.
Below are some screenshots of various parts of the JavaScript where it can be edited to change what it does;
I also spoke to my client and uploaded an example of the slideshow working within their website so I could find out what they thought. It can be seen here.
PRP Artefact Three
My third artefact is online now and I need as many responses as possible, so if you could go to http://www.georgewood.me/artefact3 and follow the instructions it would be a big help.
Why I'm Using Cushy CMS
I have decided to implement Cushy CMS within my website for the Bluebell. It is probably the easiest CMS to implement and use I have come across and makes it very easy for my client to log in and change any details they wish to on their website.
The first thing I had to do was tell Cushy the FTP details to the site and then enter these, then by simply using the "div class" function and then using the class "cushycms" it automatically finds these areas and makes them editable. With Cushy you can also do the same for photos and these will be replaced and resized automatically. This makes the whole process less time consuming for my client.
When editing text there is a plain text box, which allows my chosen 'editors' to enter any text they want making it bold, italic, or underlined as they desire.
Below is a screenshot of my Cushy CMS homepage, you can see several sites which I have already uploaded, as well as the editors at the bottom. I have the ability to decide which websites they can edit, and which pages within these sites.
I have used this site throughout many previous websites I have made whilst freelancing and have always found it very reliable and user friendly.
The first thing I had to do was tell Cushy the FTP details to the site and then enter these, then by simply using the "div class" function and then using the class "cushycms" it automatically finds these areas and makes them editable. With Cushy you can also do the same for photos and these will be replaced and resized automatically. This makes the whole process less time consuming for my client.
When editing text there is a plain text box, which allows my chosen 'editors' to enter any text they want making it bold, italic, or underlined as they desire.
Below is a screenshot of my Cushy CMS homepage, you can see several sites which I have already uploaded, as well as the editors at the bottom. I have the ability to decide which websites they can edit, and which pages within these sites.
I have used this site throughout many previous websites I have made whilst freelancing and have always found it very reliable and user friendly.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Event Display For Client
I have been trying to think of a way to display the list of events my client requires on their website. I don't want to do just a normal boring list but I want the information to still be easy to see straight away. I have found two possibilities which display the information nicely, but I don't think it would be that easy for my client to go in and update it.
Idea 1;
This is called an Accordion and it displays the information in tabs in a vertical navigation style. This way would be good as it uses a minimal amount of space and still looks good. It also allows for quite a bit of information to be input into each event, and there is space for a picture.
Idea 2;
This way is slightly more advanced. It works by displaying the information in two different ways, one as just images, and then one with images and some text. This way looks cool but may not work aswell if there are lots of events as it would lead to the page being very long.
Tutorials for these two functions can be found here and here.
Idea 1;
This is called an Accordion and it displays the information in tabs in a vertical navigation style. This way would be good as it uses a minimal amount of space and still looks good. It also allows for quite a bit of information to be input into each event, and there is space for a picture.
Idea 2;
This way is slightly more advanced. It works by displaying the information in two different ways, one as just images, and then one with images and some text. This way looks cool but may not work aswell if there are lots of events as it would lead to the page being very long.
Tutorials for these two functions can be found here and here.
Client Update
I am slightly behind with my client project, due to the SPP3 deadline being pushed back. This meant I had to re-do my rationale and that teamed with PRP meant that my client project was pushed aside. My gantt chart states that I should be adding JQuery to the site now, which I am actually doing and some has been added, therefore I cannot be too far behind schedule.
By the end of this month I hope to have the site finished and will attend my third meeting with my client to check if they are happy and see if any changes need to be made. So far each page of the website has been created and basic elements, such as the homepage slideshow, have been put into place. I am now looking at new and exciting ways of displaying information to make the site stand out amongst other pub/restaurant sites.
By the end of this month I hope to have the site finished and will attend my third meeting with my client to check if they are happy and see if any changes need to be made. So far each page of the website has been created and basic elements, such as the homepage slideshow, have been put into place. I am now looking at new and exciting ways of displaying information to make the site stand out amongst other pub/restaurant sites.
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