Planning and Research

The layout of these charity websites are all very similar and all have some sort of pictures on them. There is a minimal amount of information that is important. All four websites i have looked at have a great use of colour and are eye catching that all go together. The colours on the websites are not too "in your face" and don't clash which makes the websites appealing to the audience. The main colours used on these websites are blue, red, green, yellow with black text. The target audiences for these websites are parents and children. The use of navigation is really good as nearly all four have pictures around the navigation bars. Also all the navigations bars are highlighted and are easily found on the websites.
Photo's and pictures are used really well as i've already mentioned that there are cartoon drawings and pictures around places like the navigation bar and around the top of the home page which will catch the audiences attention.
The text is used really well as there is only next that is needed on there, sometimes websites can put too much text on and tend to "waffle" which can bore the audience. So it's important to be straight to the point and explain well.
The logo's are mainly text that has being characterised and made eye catching by using bright colours and large text. Short and simple words are best for logos.
The over all design of the websites are all very eye catching and more importantly they all appeal to their target audiences and will keep the audience interested and give them the information they need.

Charity website design

These screen shots are screen shots of my rough design of a website i designed to learn the basic's on how to design a website. Doing this will benefit me when i come to designing my charity website. I think i did well for my first attempt at designing a website but i think there is room for improvement, esspecially pieces like the logo. I think the logo could have been more detailed and more recogition that it is a primary school logo. Also i think i could have used more colours that dark blue with black writing but i think i did well when it came to information about the school and the layout of the front page and the fonts and font sizes i used were well chosen. I think if i had used more pictures it would have made my rough design more appealing to an audience and would have shown them more qualities of the school. I didn't use my own photos because this research. The target audience for my rough design is parents and children.

Research and Planning: Logo design

Photo's will be up soon etc.

Preliminary task

Layout

These two wesites are both education websites, but one if a primary school for young children and the other is a college website for young adults. The layouts in both of the websites are very similar. They both have a large picture on the right hand side and a navigation bar on the left hand side. Both logo's are in the top left hand corner and at the bottom of the home page there are links and contact information.
Use of colour

The use of colour in both websites are completely different to eachother. The primary school website is bright blue and the picture is outlines with a yellow frame. There is also a lighter bright blue used for the back ground. The writing is white and it contrasts well on a bright blue back ground as it's easy to read off.

The college website has a white/bluey back ground, and a dark blue strip across the top of the website which remains on every other page. The navigation bar is a purple/bluey colour and the writing is black writing on the light back grounds and white writing on the darker backgrounds.
The target audience

Both websites show clearly what their target audience is aimed at. The primary school one is aimed at parents and adults, and maybe some children, and it stands out and catches people's eye. The college website is aimed at young adults/adults so it doesnt have to be quite as catchy as its not a childrens college.
Ease of use/navigation

The navigation bar in both websites are on the left hand side and it is made easy to use, and you can clearly see how it works.
Photos and images

The use of images were used well, they both had a large image on the right hand side of the home page, which makes both websites stand out and eye catching. The college picture on the actual website was a slide show of photo's and one was of the school, and the primary school photo is a picture of the school. Putting a picture of the premesis is showing users what the places look like, so they can see if it appeals to them.
Use of text

The use of text on the primary school website was used well as there wasn't too much text on the home page, sometimes too much text can put people off as they don't want the hassle of having to take in a lot of information all at once. On the other hand the college home page had more information on, which isn't nessassarily a bad thing as there wasn't a great amount.

Logos

The primary school logo is of a flag and then across the flag the name of the school is written in yellow writing. The logo is eye catching, and is a similar sort of design to other primary school logos i have seen. The college logo wasn't quite as eye catching, it's a white square with a tick in it with writing saying "Lincoln College".

The overall design of both websites would be rather appealing to their target audiences, i think that they have great design conventions and have used sensible colour choices and the over all design.

Good web design and conventions

A convention is either colours, shapes, fonts, layouts or patterns that have become so reconizable over the years that they connote things that don't actually have to say what it's use is, and there is hundreds of them. For example a yellow triangle on a road sign stands for 'warning', which has crossed over to become the convention in software.
Design conventions are usful because over time it becomes easier to design a website by using these conventions because people now reconize what each convention sign means over time. Also, design conventions not only make designing a website easier, it also makes it easier for the users using the website.
Design conventions should be used all the time, because it's like not putting a disabled sign on a disabled toilet door.

Some examples of design conventions

If you see a set of words seperated by "" , vertical lines at the bottom of a web page, you automaticly think that they are a set of links within the web site you're on.

An area of screen that looks like a button (raised or rectangular) will conventionally perform an action when clicked with the mouse.

Researching and Planning

Fossway Primary School - http://www.fosse-way.lincs.sch.uk/

What is the websites purpose?
The purpose of these websites are to advertise a school to the public and to give the audience online information about the school. Also if someone is browsing the internet for a local school, the website would be really helpful for contact information.

Who are the audience of the website?
The audience for school websites are Parents and Students.

What does the website have to communicate?
The website has contact information on such as telephone number, email address.

What will the personality of the website be? (e.g formal, informal or fun if for a primary school)
I will do a bright and colourful website, it will be a mixture of informal and formal. I want to do it cheerful and welcoming so that the audience get a warm feeling towards the school.



Story Board