Design Practice: DESIGN PRODUCTION - BRIEF 2

At the start of todays session we were tasked with creating a mind map that explored different pages that our websites could have, this proved a challenge for me as I was originally planning to have a simple, one to two page infinite scroll website.

After creating my diagram I explored how my site could navigate through the different pages.

Next, we were asked as a class to name different pages and their functions.

CLASS LIST;

Home - Indictive of content, Introduction.
Contact - Social media links, Contact details.
Information/About - Ethical message, Facts, Manefesto.
Gallery/Portfolio - Images, Only subcategorise when appropriate
Forums, Blogs, User posts - two way interaction.

Next, we were asked to get a large sheet of paper and draw up a concept sketch for our home page. Firstly, I want my design to be simple and communicate the function of the site straight away. However, I also want the first page to be aesthetically engaging to capture the audiences interest. To achieve this I have decided to create a minimalist title page that will act as a brief introduction to the website before the audience can access the informative content. The page makes use of a large legible typeface for the title and a full screen size background image. To progress into the site users will click on the websites title which will act as a link to the contents.

Finally, after creating our concept drawings we moved tables to review and critique other peoples designs.

Below is the feedback I received.

How useful is the feedback?

Firstly, one comment regarding the background image made me consider what style of image I will use and where I will source it from. It is important to get a relevant image that the target audience will find interesting and engaging.
Moreover, another comment made a remark on the amount of information/content that the website will have. At the moment this is something I am still considering as I want the focus of the website to be on the illustrative timeline. I think that for the timeline to function in my imagined manor there needs to be a balance between the images and small, focused amounts of text.
Additionally, a lot of the feedback I received comments on the fact that the homepage lacks the links that can be found on all of the other pages (as seen in my earlier diagram). I believe that this is due to a misunderstanding of the homepage's function. I want the page to act like a title page, it should grab the audiences attention with the aesthetic elements like the background image, but also give viewers a brief introduction about the websites purpose.

Task

At the end of the session we were set a task to collect 5 printed examples of well designed websites.