I feel this has been a valuable experience for me. I hadn't worked with a client before this assessment, and it's given me some insight about the business. I'm sure this will come in handy somewhere in the future.
I can't say that I've finished working with this client, at least in the short term. She has recently come to me with more ideas for the site, which has caused me to revise my statement in my previous entry about the completion date. If this were a real job I'd be making so much money for this.
Putting all that aside I can't say that I really like designing websites. It's not my thing. I can see how it would be useful to know how, and I'd probably feel differently if I were making one for myself, but for the most part I find it extremely boring. Coding, error-checking, getting PHP forms to work, I'd rather be focusing on design than construction.
No-one made Michelangelo build the Sistine Chapel before he painted it.
Well, at least I know I have the skills to fall back on another aspect of graphic design should I not find a job in my preferred area right away. Yeah, I'll go with that.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Client Website - Almost Complete
I had the chance to show the client my progress on the website. She liked what she saw so far, we just need to nail down the content and get a few more images up there. The website should be completed this month, and for anyone who's interested I'll put a link here to it's address when it's uploaded. Or at the least, I could mirror the site on my free webspace at Dhost.
You can go there now to see some of the things I've been doing this semester if you want.
http://dhost.info/clakedesign/
You can go there now to see some of the things I've been doing this semester if you want.
http://dhost.info/clakedesign/
Monday, June 14, 2010
Client Website - Final Mockup
After showing all those mockups to the client to review, she pointed out what elements she liked best. Then, I put together this mockup;
It's near identical to the sixth early mockup, I just updated it a bit to match the planned site structure. The client liked the background colour very much, as well as how the content stood out. I'm not sure I'll be able to duplicate the scribble box effectively in a web document, so the client may have to settle for a regular box. She also liked the idea of side links to new products on the menu page. Now I just have to build the site and get some images to use.
It's near identical to the sixth early mockup, I just updated it a bit to match the planned site structure. The client liked the background colour very much, as well as how the content stood out. I'm not sure I'll be able to duplicate the scribble box effectively in a web document, so the client may have to settle for a regular box. She also liked the idea of side links to new products on the menu page. Now I just have to build the site and get some images to use.
Client Website - Mockups
Here's a bunch of mockups I made to show the client about my ideas for the site;
These are very basic, and should only be reffered to as a guide.
These are very basic, and should only be reffered to as a guide.
Client Website - Questionnaire
Almost forgot about this.
I gave this to the client about two weeks ago, and didn't get it back until recently.
I gave this to the client about two weeks ago, and didn't get it back until recently.
Client Website - Storyboard
Here's the part where I show you my planned layout for the client site. Luckily it's pretty simple so I shouldn't have to rely on graphics to show you, which is good because I don't have any.
The setup is really simple, partly because I'm new to website design, mostly because the client doesn't spend much time on the internet. So going with an elaborate and confusing layout would have been useless for her. Keeping it simple will make it easy for everyone to use the site.
The index page is also the home page, and a display page for new products. The client sells jams by the way. There will be a page listing what products are for sale, as well as a contact page so that people can send her an email about making a purchase. These were the required pages.
The extra pages - which were my idea - were more to improve her business image. There is an about page, with a small bio about how she started her business, and an awards page that lists her dozens of accolades in the field of cooking. This would serve as proof of the quality of her products, something every consumer should be looking out for.
The only other page I think may be necessary is a thank page, to confirm when a contact form has been sent. This one is a little iffy at the moment, as I'm not sure how well versed the client is with regular emails, let alone PHP forms. We shall work on this.
So here's the basic navigation, very linear I might add;
index (home) page
about (bio) page
menu (products) page
awards page
contact page - 'thank you' page
Every page is accesible from every other page, except the 'thank you' page, because it's only purpose is for assurance, rather than any actual content.
The setup is really simple, partly because I'm new to website design, mostly because the client doesn't spend much time on the internet. So going with an elaborate and confusing layout would have been useless for her. Keeping it simple will make it easy for everyone to use the site.
The index page is also the home page, and a display page for new products. The client sells jams by the way. There will be a page listing what products are for sale, as well as a contact page so that people can send her an email about making a purchase. These were the required pages.
The extra pages - which were my idea - were more to improve her business image. There is an about page, with a small bio about how she started her business, and an awards page that lists her dozens of accolades in the field of cooking. This would serve as proof of the quality of her products, something every consumer should be looking out for.
The only other page I think may be necessary is a thank page, to confirm when a contact form has been sent. This one is a little iffy at the moment, as I'm not sure how well versed the client is with regular emails, let alone PHP forms. We shall work on this.
So here's the basic navigation, very linear I might add;
index (home) page
about (bio) page
menu (products) page
awards page
contact page - 'thank you' page
Every page is accesible from every other page, except the 'thank you' page, because it's only purpose is for assurance, rather than any actual content.
Client Website - Research
Okay, time to get up to date on my blog. So sorry I've been ignoring blog, I've been very busy.
Before I started working on the mockups, I did a little research on the competition. Here's a summary of some of the websites I looked at and my impressions;
Grainge Jams (http://www.graingejams.com.au/index.htm)
The Exotic Jam Factory (http://www.exoticjam.com.au/jam_factory/index.html)
I was seeking out some local small businesses similar to Monica’s to see what the competition was doing. Not surprisingly, there weren’t that many out there and I only managed to locate two. I can’t say that they’ve influenced my design, but they have convinced me not to be so boring.
The Exotic Jam Factory website is dull, and does nothing to interest me and possibly anyone else. I feel it was a bare bones task to make and all that was asked of whoever designed it was the bare minimum to get his business on the web.
Grainge Jams is little has a nicer layout, a little more interactivity, and better use of colour. But I’m not sure I’d use blues and greys when talking about food. I would think that websites about food would use more vibrant colours, and invoke some hunger feelings in the viewer.
Ozganics (http://www.ozganics.com.au/index.shtml)
Organic Road (http://www.organicroad.com.au/)
Organic Food (http://www.organicfood.com.au/)
With these sites I was looking at ways that other companies advertise their all natural food products. Monica’s jams are also organic and it would be wise to emphasize that quality. These websites work for businesses with a much larger target audience and capacity than Monica’s website will, but they can still be used for style ideas.
Ozganics is a nice website, with good layout and navigation. Colour is much more apparent with on this site, but I wonder if that many colours is necessary? Again I ask if blue is a wise choice for advertising food. Also, I’m not I like the font of the content. It looks a little like Times New Roman without the serifs, and I hate that font. It looks too technical.
Organic Road is a beautiful site. The colour scheme is simple but effective. Use of white space gives the impression of clarity and purity, important for all natural foods, while the green gives an organic, natural feeling. Great navigation, nice typography, this is a well made site.
OrganicFood.com.au is very similar in appearance to Organic Road. Whether this is intentional or not it sort of defines a theme for these websites. There are notable differences, like the banner and navigation. Organic Food got a little fancier with the presentation. The design of the navigation bar is inspired, a technique I may mimic for Monica’s website. The uneven appearance of the link buttons and underlining is interesting. It gives a sort of untamed nature feel, again working on that whole organic and natural angle.
Naturally Good Food (http://www.naturallygoodfood.co.uk/)
This is the only site I’ve reviewed that is from oversees. I was focusing on Australian sites mostly because they are more likely to represent views and beliefs from our culture. But Naturally Good Food is exactly what I’ve come to expect from health food sites. While a little more structured than some of the other sites, it stills runs with a predominantly white space and green colour scheme.
Before I started working on the mockups, I did a little research on the competition. Here's a summary of some of the websites I looked at and my impressions;
Grainge Jams (http://www.graingejams.com.au/index.htm)
The Exotic Jam Factory (http://www.exoticjam.com.au/jam_factory/index.html)
I was seeking out some local small businesses similar to Monica’s to see what the competition was doing. Not surprisingly, there weren’t that many out there and I only managed to locate two. I can’t say that they’ve influenced my design, but they have convinced me not to be so boring.
The Exotic Jam Factory website is dull, and does nothing to interest me and possibly anyone else. I feel it was a bare bones task to make and all that was asked of whoever designed it was the bare minimum to get his business on the web.
Grainge Jams is little has a nicer layout, a little more interactivity, and better use of colour. But I’m not sure I’d use blues and greys when talking about food. I would think that websites about food would use more vibrant colours, and invoke some hunger feelings in the viewer.
Ozganics (http://www.ozganics.com.au/index.shtml)
Organic Road (http://www.organicroad.com.au/)
Organic Food (http://www.organicfood.com.au/)
With these sites I was looking at ways that other companies advertise their all natural food products. Monica’s jams are also organic and it would be wise to emphasize that quality. These websites work for businesses with a much larger target audience and capacity than Monica’s website will, but they can still be used for style ideas.
Ozganics is a nice website, with good layout and navigation. Colour is much more apparent with on this site, but I wonder if that many colours is necessary? Again I ask if blue is a wise choice for advertising food. Also, I’m not I like the font of the content. It looks a little like Times New Roman without the serifs, and I hate that font. It looks too technical.
Organic Road is a beautiful site. The colour scheme is simple but effective. Use of white space gives the impression of clarity and purity, important for all natural foods, while the green gives an organic, natural feeling. Great navigation, nice typography, this is a well made site.
OrganicFood.com.au is very similar in appearance to Organic Road. Whether this is intentional or not it sort of defines a theme for these websites. There are notable differences, like the banner and navigation. Organic Food got a little fancier with the presentation. The design of the navigation bar is inspired, a technique I may mimic for Monica’s website. The uneven appearance of the link buttons and underlining is interesting. It gives a sort of untamed nature feel, again working on that whole organic and natural angle.
Naturally Good Food (http://www.naturallygoodfood.co.uk/)
This is the only site I’ve reviewed that is from oversees. I was focusing on Australian sites mostly because they are more likely to represent views and beliefs from our culture. But Naturally Good Food is exactly what I’ve come to expect from health food sites. While a little more structured than some of the other sites, it stills runs with a predominantly white space and green colour scheme.
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