Yo Future!

The last two years seem to have flown by. It feels like only yesterday we were writing the blog for "Where did we come from?" but now I feel a lot more confident than I did back then.

Starting this course the only knowledge of web design was some code, no image manipulation knowledge and how to use Dreamweaver. Any website work I had done for previous courses had been in tables and minor CSS.

One reason for joining this course was wanting to learn Photoshop as I felt that my Image Manipulation knowledge was not as strong as other skills. I have learnt the basics and keep doing tutorials to try and help me improve. I also wanted to learn more CSS because creating websites in tables and cells can be quite limiting and hard to update.

Upon learning CSS I could never seem myself going back to using tables and cells and would try to 'ease' the use of CSS into design companies [future employers] that still use the old methods of web design.

Something else that will help me to create better websites and 'up' my employability is the knowledge of validation and the levels to validate to. Having created all sites to validate to level 1 [either Strict or Transitional in the first website] I think this is a good skill to show employers.

Throughout the course I feel that I have become more of a developer than a designer. I think the change of direction was most visible in the Professional Project where I assumed the role of Developer. I also chose to learn PHP as it would be more of a beneficial skill to have.

Having learnt PHP I now understand how much of an important coding language it is to know. This language can make websites even more updateable with the aid of PHP Include pages [a page that is included into multiple pages and once edited will affect the whole website]. The last website also included content that was taken from a database.

Overall I have learnt a lot more than I have done on previous courses. I think one of the main skills I have developed is not a Technical Skill but more of a Personal Skill. From the iMe assignment [and others] I have now developed the discipline to help me sit down and learn a new skill, which I intend to put to good use.

I am going to continue to learn more of the coding side of Web Design but also want to develop my skills in programs such as Flash, as most Developer jobs seem to ask for this. However this isnt the only reason for wanting to learn it. I have always been fascinated by animated sites and projects and would like to develop the skill to do this myself.

A Digital Request

I have created some screen designs for the FMP if you can drop me some feedback it is most appreciated. Thanks

Design 1
Design 2
Design 3

Some Rough ones

Design 4
Design 5

More can be found here chris-towell.co.uk/a14

Once again thanks

CD3.0

Track Listing

1. Black Lab - This Blood
2. AC/DC - Back to Black
3. Texas - In Demand
4. U2 - New York
5. Nickelback - Too Bad
6. Chemical Brothers featuring The Flaming Lips - The Golden Path
7. Gorillaz - 19/2000 Soul Child Remix
8. Cobra Starship - Snakes On A Plane
9. Propellerheads - Spybreak!
10. HelloGoodbye - Here In Your Arms
11. Stereophonics & Tom Jones - Mama Told Me Not to Come
12. Brad Paisley - Route 66
13. Coldplay - Fix You
14. The Corrs - Summer Sunshine

Screen Design V3

Well after a bit of nudging and slight colouring in the screen design has been edited again. Here is the final screen design, comments are gratefully accepted and thanks in advance for any given.

I am bit stuck whether to go with Final Content Design 1 or 2.

Index Page

Main Content 1

Main Content 2

Portfolio Version 2

Due to a few comments I have made a few changes to th initial screen designs. This time I have added two designs to show what the site will look like with content on it.

Homepage

Content

Screen Design for Portfolio

Here is my 1st version of my Portfolio website. Please click the link to view the PDF. Portfolio Screen design link

I have decided to go mininmalistic with my design as I intend for the work to speak for itself. I have not added all of the measurements yet if you wish to see them I will add the second PDF soon.

Any feedback will be gratefully accepted. Thanks in advance.

Competitive Analysis

Professional Designer - Digital Portfolios

Design
This portfolio is easy to navigate around and I think that the colours work well together. I am not really sure about the Flash header as some of the circles seem to be closer than others. Upon closer inspection this is actually a repeated pattern and they are supposed to be touching in places. I don't really think this works and looks a bit out of place. I can understand why they have chosen the two images as they are a design company based in London but they could have picked some more relevant to design.

The site has a clear and understandable navigation system so the user can click and find what they would expect to find on the page they are navigating to. It is clear that this company offer a lot of services and have a good range of work to show in the 'Our Work' section.

Something else that is evident is that they have a large client list which they display on the Our Work page. I would think this would be more effective if they were a list of links instead of just being a list of words. The companyt could also do to add a space between the name of the client and the red cross as this feels a little compact in places.

Personally I would not think that this is a good idea putting a full list on the website, it does show that they have a large client selection but it might have been a better idea to put a sample list of clients with their best work.

On the portfolio page it has a clean effective layout showing what software was used, tasks performed etc but I would have preferred a bit more information about the project and possible some development examples.

I do prefer this to the Student Portfolio I have found as I feel this is a lot more user friendly, however passing this through a validator showed a higher number of Validation errors than Matt Gibsons Portfolio.

Student Portfolio - Matt Gibson

This website has a varied range of work on including web design, games and photography. Personally I think his website is a bit dark and needs a few brighter colours, I do not agree with the white text on a black background as this will make it hard for some users to read. The blue links make it even harder to read what they say being against a black background.

Using tags as his headers are not a good idea. I think they look a bit out of place and it is more code to add them in.

I do think he has a good layout though and it allows him to show his work effectively. The pages are consitent and he is using CSS to control the layout and presentation of the site but neither pass the W3 Validators and for someone who claims to do this it is a big issue. I have also noticed that one or two pages do not work or are linked up incorrectly.

I think my main issue is with his use of colour and not making it very accessible to other people. Another concern is with the line length, some users will not read long lengths of paragraphs and might find themselves losing there place. If it were a shorter paragraph this may be more manageable as a bigger chunk of text.

It is clear that he is using PHP to help drive his website which is helpful for updating. He can add a new record to the website and it would be updated quite easily.

All in all I think that this could be a good website if changed the colour scheme, mainly the background colour, and made the text a bit more readable.

Technology

The Interactive Media Portfolio will use a wide range of technology to a) create it and b) to view it. In this post I will discuss which ones will be used and where.

1. XHTML 1.0 Strict
2. CSS 1
3. POP3/Email Link
4. PHP 5
5. MySQL 5

XHTML 1.0 Strict
I have chosen to aim for XHTML 1.0 Strict as this will allow the majority of my Target Audience to view the Portfolio that I am to create. I have chosen to complete it in 1.0 Strict as this is one of the highest validation rules and therefore should be accessible to all users.

CSS 1
This website will be created in CSS to manage the presentational side of the Portfolio. Making the code separate to the content may allow higher search engine results, and is common practice in the design world. Using CSS will also make the Portfolio site easier to update.

POP3/Email Link
On the Portfolio I will add a contact email address so users can contact me. This will be in the form of an email address and an email form as some users cannot access the mailto link.

PHP 5
I will be using PHP 5 to make a simple feedback form and a section where I can view the feedback. PHP will also be used to make a simple Email Form as well in case a user can not access the mailto link.

MySQL 5
MySQL will be used to handle the data sent from the Feedback forms and the Emails that are sent. It will handle information stored in the database and display it on th e website.

Game Over....

So... here is the list of all the songs from the CD 2.0

1. Take A Look Around - Limp Bizkit
2. I Think We're Alone Now - Girls Aloud
3. This Is The Life - Amy Macdonald
4. Wow - Kylie Minogue
5. You Raise Me Up - Russell Watson
6. Let It Roll - Velvet Revolver
7. Bad / 40 / Where The Streets Have No Name - U2
8. Tao Of The Machine - BT & The Roots
9. Ghost Rider's In The Sky - Spiderbait
10. Here I Go Again - White Snake
11. Cold Rock The Mic - Apollo 440
12. From Yesterday - 30 Seconds To Mars

I want to play a game...

I have moaned about this being secretive so here's mine with a bit of a twist. All I have put is the first letter of each word. There maybe a prize of somebody gets a track correctly (but not an easy one!). Track Title - Artist *ones are easy

1. T A L A - L B*
2. I T W A N - G A
3. T I T L - A M
4. W - K M
5. Y R M U - R W
6. L I R - V R
7. B / 4 / W T S H N N - U
8. T O T M - B & T R
9. G R I T S - S
10. H I G A - W S
11. C R T M - A 4
12. F Y - 3 S T M

Now number 6 has been changed as I think the lyrics are a bit too much swearing.

Target Audiences

There will be many different types of users that will visit my portfolio site. Below I will define the main category of users that will be accessing this portfolio.

Category 1 - Course Lecturers
User's would generally be a Male/Female aged 25-40. They would have Degree level education and teaching in the area of Website Design and Interactive Media. Due to this the user would be computer literate to a higher standard than most and would probably log on to the Internet 1-2 times a day. The browser of choice would either be Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 7. As they are computer literate they will also have all the major plug-ins for supporting web based content.

Category 2 - Design Professionals
Users Male or Female aged 30-50 looking for new members to join their design teams. Due to the nature of their area of work they will be highly computer literate on both Mac and PC. The browser of choice would be either FireFox 2 or Safari, although due to work, they would also have a range of older browsers including IE5.5 in order to browser test websites. Activity on the Internet would be very regularly probably at least 5-6 times a day maybe sometimes even staying on the Internet for extended periods. Due to the nature of their work they would have all the latest browser plug-ins for all browsers. As they are working in the design area they will have a fast Internet connection.

Possibly be looking for young talented designers coming to the end of University Degrees.

Category 3 - Small Businesses
User would probably be self employed with a small team of employees, wanting to make a presence on the Internet. Would be aged between 25-50 and not have a lot of computer literacy a reasonable Internet speed, browser of choice would be Internet Explorer 6 or 7, may have the recent plug-ins. Would be looking for a local firm to design a website for them at a reasonable cost. The user may have aspirations of becoming number one on the Google Search Engine.

Category 4 - Students
User would be Male or Female aged 16-40 possibly studying a degree or course in Interactive Media. Browser of choice would be FireFox 2 or Internet Explorer 7, and recent browsers if on a Degree design course. Will have the recent browser plug-ins and will have a fast internet connection. Would be looking at work as a source of inspiration and/or research.

Goals for Portfolio Site

1. Create a Portfolio website using Standards Compliant XHTML 1.0 Strict & CSS1
Using standards compliant XHTML 1.0 Strict create a Portfolio that can be viewed in all browsers.

Using standards compliant CSS will aid in keeping presentation and information separate which will result in faster download of the portfolio.

2. Create a Portfolio which appeals to the Target Audience
This can be measured by either adding a "Did you find this website appealing? Yes or No Button" and view the findings. If the majority say yes than it is a success. Post the website on design forums and note down the results again if the general consensus is yes then the goal has been accomplished.

3. To implement an effective navigation system
In order to have an effective portfolio the user must be able to navigate around with out "getting lost". This may then keep the user on the site longer as they are not getting irritated by poor navigation. Another point to be taken into this will be the 3 click rule. With this in place a user will not have to click through endless pages to find the information they desire.

4. To gain higher Search Engine Rankings
Will look into ways of attaining a higher search engine result. This would in turn allow more prospective employers to see our work. To ensure that I could make this attainable is to launch the website a few weeks early and then check the website after a set number of days to see if the Portfolio has climbed the ladder.