Office by Alex Penny
Describe what works and does not work with the design of the current website:
What doesn’t work is that there is no clear idea of who the target audience is and what they do. Also it is hard to navigate the page, there is no nav bar. What works is that it gives you all the info you need to contact them and lets you see who their talent is.
Who is the target audience?
The target audience is anyone in the entertainment business who is look for talent, such as, casting directors, producers, directors, writers etc.
What did you learn from your competitive analysis and how did this impact your re-design?
Most of the sites were pretty simple which I liked but some were too simple, I wanted to have great design with an easy to navigate page, with enough information so visitors know something about the company.
The Grid-I used the grid to place my nav bar and footer bars along the same axis. Also to place my text on the page, since it is a messy desk not everything is aligned but I tried to keep margins consistent from page to page.
Color Palette- I liked the cherry cheesecake from kuler. It gave me a feel for the envelopes colors with the white and then the red. I didn’t totally use this palette all together. But it inspired the pop of red for the font colors. I combined that with a slate gray for the rest of the nav font to make it pop. Since the background is in neutrals I thought the red font would give a nice contrast.
Navigation-I wanted the most important navigation at the top of the page it is pretty straight forward. I had originally wanted on the home page there to be an image map with the male and female icons to navigation the the male/female talent pages. However due to the way the images where used in CSS I had to rethink the bottom nav and make it in html. This seemed work well and I grouped them together so it created unity.
Design Principles-
Identity-I added identity with a clean and simple Ariel font for the logo on the envelope. Also makign it a lower case defined it more. Making it strong and clear.
Whitespace-by removing the image icons I originally had it created more white space below the logo. although its a messy desk I tried to leave some areas free to breath.
Balance-I created symmetry with have the nav on one side and the logo on the other side. Also having always one large item on the pages with the pink paper to balance out the desk.
Proximity-By placing the bottom nav bar close together on the yellow paper it becomes a group. Also by placing the desk elements sporadic on the page they all appear like they belong to the desk .
Emphasis-By using the red color font it emphasis the text on the page, with the surrounded neutral background
Proportion-I tried to have always one large item on the desk to create a focal point. Such as the typewriter and then with the scale of the yellow paper at the bottom it gives a nice proportion
Typography-I wanted to do more the typography but since we were limited I wanted to give that typewriter feel so combining the courier with American typewriter font achieved this.
I picked 3 sites that are boutique agencies on the same level as my site:
http://www.rogersorionagency.com/
pros- I like that it is simple and clean and their logo stands out. Also the actor submission selection is a nice addition. Cons- it is quite sparse and leaves me wanting more, I am also not sure what they do, there is not much design here. I think they could say more about who they are without so much text on the site.
http://www.rpmtalent.net/RPM/home.html
Pros-I know that they are in the talent business by their logo, It is also pretty clear from what is on the front page that they represent talent, I think the colors work well. It has slickness about it that I like. cons-there is a lot going on on the home page and some of it redundant. Also there is a bar that says excel- not sure what that is for. It is seems they could tone down the site a bit to make it not so busy.
Pros- it is a straight forward site, well organized easy to navigate. Cons- not sure the logo says that they represent acting talent, also a bit sparse not sure what they do just from looking at the site. Also the design does not stand out.
1) What is “Grid Theory” and why is it important to web design?
Grid Theory is a way of using a grid to design a website. It uses the theory that compositions which are divided by lines which are proportionate to the golden ratio are thought be more pleasing. By dividing a square such as a web page into horizontal columns and vertical columns it can help the designer place content and the layout of a page. So the idea of using a grid to design a website allows the designer to create layouts that can enhance how visitors use and view the site, hopefully in a better, more pleasing way. It also allows the designer to create different versions of a website layout within the grid as well as assist in not making everything on the site too centered.
2) In addition to “balance,” what are the other design principles important also to Web design?
Proportion, Identity, Emphasis, Proximity, White Space
3) What are the “Bread and Butter Layouts” in web design?
They are the most common layouts in web design:
Left-column navigation
Right-column navigation
Three-column navigation
http://www.topshop.com/
I love this site not only because I love the clothing but I love the clean sleek layout. I also like the use typography on this site and how the size of font draws your eye to different areas on the site. I would categorize this as a commercial site. The audience is young, hip women in their twenties to late thirties though I feel women of any age can wear the clothes I think that is their target age range. The goals of this website would be to attract the viewer to buying the clothes. They do this by making the site user friendly and categorizing items in a clean sleek navigation bar with pull down menus as well as the rotating photo that adds pop and a gives a feel for the clothing.
http://flashjackthehero.com/
This is a personal website, that a friend of mine designed. I love the simplicity and minimalism of this site has. I also like use of typography. The audience for this one varies since its a personal site but I think it would be draw in potential clients since he is a designer and musician. The goals of the website are to showcase the designers work and attract potential work for the designer/musician.
http://www.chipotle.com/
I wouldn’t have expected this but Chipotle has a super cute website! I love the playfulness of the site and the use of the floating pig. I also like the use of color on this site. This would be another commercial website. The audience for the site is for food consumers on the go, since Chipotle has now changed their target audience to be more health conscience, I actual ended up going to the site because I saw the new “Back to the Start” commercial for Chipotle and wanted to find more out about the ingredients used in their food. The goal of the site is to be interactive and user friendly. Such as for customers wanting to find a location, menu and like me, ingredients.
