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.