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.

Main Task - Charity Website

For our main task we were instructed to create a charity website for a chosen issue. I have researched into different charity websites in order to find an issue of which i can create a website for. I have chosen to create a charity website for neglected, abused and vulnerable children. I have looked at and reviewed other, simliar websites in order to help me gain ideas for the website of my own.

Other sites

I looked at a number of similar sites such as the nspcc website, every child website and the action for children website. I straight away noticed that each site showed much of the same things, with a conventional and easy to navigate lay out. A big similarity between the websites was the fact that they were all very simple and clear, so as not to be to complex to a possible donater. I therefore decided that with my website i would follow these conventions in putting my navigation bar in an easy and conventional place, and making sure my website was simple, with soft colour schemes throughout. I also noticed that most sites had a distinctive logo and so set about designing my own.

Target audience

The audience of which i will aim my site at will be adults over the age of 18 who will be most likely to donate money to the charity. I will therefore have the task of making sure my website appeals to a wide range of people of all ages rather than just a defined group. This is one of the main reasons of why i plan to keep my website very simplistic so that no particular group of people feel alienated to visit the site.

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Looking back over my website, i think that it turned out as i had wished, although it was rather simple and given more time i could of made it more complex. I included 4 pages in my website, being a homepage, about us page, kids page and subjects page. These pages were all linked together with a simple navigation bar of which served its purpose well. My website included lots of pictures of the school, and helpful information about the school in general. I tried to make the colour scheme go well together so that the website is pleasant to look at, and looked at other websites in order to try to follow conventions of similar schools sites. This could include a navigation bar down the left hand side, and a title and logo above the fold, at the top of the page.

This is the home page of my website, with a general introduction to the school with contact details, and general pictures of school activity.

This is the 'about us' page, it displays the mission statement of the school with school values and beliefs, with an introduction from the head teacher.

The 'kids page' is directed at children, with links to educational games.

This is the 'subjects page'. It gives website users a general overview of the main subjects taught in the school, and what they entail.

Research and Planning

What is the website’s purpose?
I Plan to create an informative website about a primary school, one in which shows prospective or current parents and students a general overview of how the school operates. It will include information for children about current subjects of which the school offers, with help for students for homework and general learning resources.

Who are the audience of the website?
The audience of my website will be parents of students in the school looking for information on the school, primary students who attend the school, and prospective parents and students who may be planning on joining the school

What does the website have to do to communicate?
The website has to communicate the general school operations putting the school in a positive light to students and parents who are currently part of the school and those who wish to join.

What will the personality of the website be? (e.g. formal, informal, or fun if for a primary school)The personality of the website will be quite and informal one. This is down to the fact that the website will be targeted towards both parents and primary school students. Therefore the site will have an informal feel but will contain all of the necessary information for parents. The fun page of the website however will be targeted solely at children, so will have a very fun and informal feel.