Evaluation

For my task i had to design and create a website for a chosen charity, either already in existance or made up. I was given the task of creating the site using webplus 10, including some of my own photos and a video, and i had to create a logo to put onto the site. It also needed to have a working nav bar included so that the website could easily be used to anyone who wished to visit it. I chose to create my own charity called 'Help For Children', which trys to stop cruelty and abuse towards children.

When making my website i looked at similar websites beforehand. I noticed many different conventions which stood out and stayed consistent throughout each different site. I saw that the logo is usually positioned in the top left corner of the page. Also the nav bar is usually placed at the top of page, just 'above the fold'. i think i mirrored this as the logo i created was put at the top of the page in the left corner. the Nav bar was also in the conventional place, below the fold. following the conventions of web design makes it much easier for the website user to navigate around the site, so makes people more comfortable in visiting the web site.

My project was set to represent children in need of help due to abuse and neglect. i think i represented this group well as i used a number of pictures displaying children, showing their different emotions. For exaple i used a picture of a happy child, and a sad one, to represent how they are feeling, therefore encouraging people to donate. i also used a video which showed a childs view from being abused, to put the feelings of the child into perspective and once again encourage people to donate.

My media product would firstly be distributed on search engines such as google and bing. Once a user types something regarding abused children charities, my website would come up in the list. This would mean that my website would good coverage as people searching for a charity regarding the cause would find it using a search engine with ease. I think that my media product may also be distributed by television institutions, as the charity is for a good cause. Tv institutions are known for holding live events such as sport and comic relief, so i feel that if my charity gained lots of recognition it could gain coverage or campaigns from tv and broadcasting institutions.

My website was targeted towards adults who are willing to donate to the cause of helping abused and neglected children. This means that the types of people will have to be interested in making a difference and helping children in dire need of help. I attracted this targeted group of people in a number of ways. First of all, i made the website colours very neutral and calm, with just white and blue as the colour scheme. This will make sure people arent detered from the site by unnattractive colours as a starting point. I also used a simple and easy to use nav bar, so that people feel comfortable in using the site, and can navigate around the site with ease. I then took plenty of photos of which tryed to represent the abuse of children. Using children's different expressions in my photos this may attract my audience as the pictures make an impact, and they mirror the slogan which was 'put the smile back on their faces'.

In making this website, i learnt how to use a number of technological programs which were vital to the success of my site. The programs i gained knowledge upon were Serif Webplus 10 and Adobe Photoshop, both unfamiliar programs of which i had never used before. I learnt the basics of Serif Webplus 10 during my preliminary task, as it was the program i used to make my preliminary site. I therefore had a limited knowledge on the program and used it towards making my final site, using hyperlinks and anchors to change from page to page. I also had to use Adobe Photoshop, which was also unfamiliar to me due to the fact that i had never used it before. I desinged my nav bar using this program, using a number of layers on top of each other to create the flashing blob when the mouse is rolled over the headings. i also made my logo using photo shop, which i had to save as a JPEG and insert onto webplus 10.

Looking back over my preliminary task i see how i developed my final website from the skills i learnt during that task. i learnt how to create a nav bar on the preliminary task, and used these skills to make one on the final task. i even added a roll-over which i didnt use during the preliminary task, and i wouldnt of been able to do this without the time i saved in being able to create a simple nav bar first off. i also learnt a bit about colour theory, and with testing some colours on my preliminary task, saw which colours do and dont look good when put together. i also made a very simple logo on my preliminary task. this gave me some basic skills which i then used to create my final design logo. without the previous knowledge i gained from my preliminary task, the whole process of making my final website would of took much longer, as i wouldnt have the correct knowledge on what to do. If i were given the oppurtunity to create my site again i would make some changes. I would take much more time planning my site, as it would make it much easier and quicker in the long run when i finally come to creating my site. i could also of chosen to break some media conventions, as i researched some unconventional sites of which looked very stylish. I could in a future project try to mirror some of the things i saw in unconventional sites, in order to make mine a more stylish and attractive website.

My website - Donate page

Much like other pages, this page includes text and a picture. The text describes how people can donate, and has a link at the bottom of the page for people to use if they wish to donate. The picture shows a saddeded looking child, and this maybe encourage people to donate, in order to 'put the smile back on their faces' as the website slogan suggests.

My website - What you can do

This page gives the viewers ideas as to what they can do to help vulnerable children and to help the charity carry out their work. It also encourages viewers to use to ring the contact number in the top right corner of the page. The picture shows a vulnerable looking child, showing that he is in need of help and encouraging people to donate.

My website - What we do page

This Page gives an insight into the workings of the charity telling the viewers the general aims of the charity, and their cause. it also includes a picture of a child recieving help, portraying that what the charity does is helps children

My website- home page

This is the homepage to my website. It provides a short snappy intro into the workings of the charity and what it stands for. it includes a picture of a child with a smile, which is in the slogan of the charity, to put the smiles back on childrens faces. It also includes the charity video which gives a positive message.

Similar website analysis

Photography composition and non verbal communication work

In order to construct my website i will have to include photographs of which i have taken myself. in order to make sure the photos i took were of a good standard there were a number of photography rules of which i had to take into account.

Eye Flow

These pictures should have a flowing element, of which guides the viewers eyes through the entire picture

Dominant element
In this type of photo there is usually one main element to the photo of which it is focused on. the subject may be a single object or a relationship.

Simplicity
this is when only what is essential to the scene is included in the image, maybe to show the importance of the essential element

The rule of thirds

In the top photo, we see how the footballer is dead centre in the picture, and there is alot of wasted space around him. To make this photo more appealing to the eye you can use the rule of thirds, where you take a photo and make the subjects take up more of the wasted space.

Diagonal Rule

This is where a side of the picture is divided into two parts, with a diagonal line (in this case the start of the sand) separating the parts.

Triad colours

These are colours of which are three hues equidistant on the colour wheel. Preferred technique when looking for a colourful yet balanced website.

Split complimentary colour

This is the use of a colour, and the analogue colours of its complimentary colour. This technique can give a design with a level of contrast, yet not as high a level of contrast as the use of complimentary colours therefore resulting in greater harmony.

Complimentary colours

Complimentary colours are those of which are directly opposite each other on the colour wheel. They are contrasting and stand out against each other, so are often good as highlight colours as they stand out with an impact.

Analogue colours

Analogue colours are those of which lie next to each other on the colour wheel, often the colour schemes found in nature and so is automatically familiar to the audience. Can make a website seem harmonious.

Colour wheel

Useful in choosing an aestheticaly pleasing set of colours.

Use of colours

When creating my site it is very important that I consider what colours i use on the different pages and the logo of my site. Colour theory is the form of guidance as to which colours compliment each other when mixed and put together, and which do the opposite and make a colour scheme which isn't very aesthetically pleasing.

The first big thing to concentrate on is how many colours to use on your website. Research suggests that using fewer colours is far less risky than using lots, as this could mean the site would look too busy and may make it harder for the audience to navigate around the site and find the information they want.

In the decision of choosing a colour scheme for my website I could choose to look at a number of elements. A simple rule regarding colours can be followed to prevent displeasing colour schemes.

Primary colour, this is the main colour of the page and will set the tone of the website. It should stay consistent throughout the website and should cover most of the surface area of the pages.

Secondary colour, this is the second colour of the page and is in place to back up the primary colour. Will usually be a colour of which is pretty close to the primary colour.

Highlight colour, often used to emphasise parts of the page, so may be different and contrasting to the primary and secondary colours.

Logo research - nspcc

This is the final logo I am looking at, and once again it is very simple. This is to make sure that it has an impact and doesn't cloud the views of the charity and what they wish to achieve. Unlike the other logo's, it doesn't have a picture displaying a help for children, it has taken the opposite path in leaving a serious message with a large bold full stop, promoting the phrase below, that child cruelty must be stopped. Similarly to the other two logo's, it was found in the conventional place at the top left hand side of the page. This makes sure it is one of the first things of which the audience view when visiting the website, meaning it stays in the audiences head. It also shows minimal use of colours to keep it simple and meaningful.

Logo research - Action for children

Similar to the barnardo's logo, this logo is also very basic and simple, yet still catches the eye with a bright red colour. The word children has also been written in bold so that its emphasised as the most important thing. the picture shows relevance to the cause as it shows an adult holding hands with a child, to show the unity and how the child may have been helped.

Logo research - Barnardo's

Barnardo's is a charity trying to protect vulnerable children across the UK, and their logo show's the simplicity of which I wrote about earlier. You can see how only 3 colours are used with green white and black, so that it isn't too complex with too much going on. Despite this it is still a memorable logo and the picture is relevant to the cause as it shows two grown adults lifting up a child, as if to protect them from harm.

What makes a good logo

When designing a logo I made sure i decided to look at and analyse other similar websites logo's in order to get a good idea of what a good logo should look like. I decided that a number of elements make a good logo, and wanted to convey this in my own logo.

Firstly, the logo must show some relevance of what the charity is trying to stand for, and so should make sure to stay on topic and about the cause. It would look wrong if a children's charity website displayed a picture of a neglected animal and so this is the most obvious yet most important element to making a good logo. When making a logo another two points must also be taken into account, the simplicity and the impact of the logo. When making a logo i think it is important that it must be fairly simple, as i have seen this on many different websites. This is down to the reason that it is easier to replicate and doesn't seem like there isn't too much going on and isn't too complex. although i believe this, i think it is also important not to make the logo too simple, or boring, as it must make an impact on the audience. The charity will want to make it so that the logo and therefore the charity is remembered. this is because once it has become memorable more people will hear about the charity and the cause and it will soon start to become a more recognisable charity. The majority of logo's showed between 1-3 colours so as not to become too complex, but showed a memorable design which would stick in the audiences head.