Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Communication Artifact - Web Site


As my title states I chose to do the web site for our group. Our group project is designing artifacts for a food truck called Get Sconed. Now with the web site I really wanted to focus on three things and you can see these three different design elements throughout each of the different pages. Of course there are more than just three different elements at play here but there are three that while I was creating the web page and as I was conceptualizing it I had in mind. Those three things are first simplicity, second the law of continuity, and third is balance and specifically symmetry. 

The following pictures are in order of menu and I will talk now about how I executed these three design elements and others. 

First The simplicity design element. The thing that I think makes this web design really simple and not to busy is the background. I kept it simple and stuck with a single color. This plays into also the continuity with the style guide and the colors we chose which are incorporated into our logo and color scheme. Also I kept the menu system simple with everything located at the top of the page. The font style which I chose for the web page I also tried to keep simple so it is easy to read. Another thing you can do is simply send an email to us from the web page instead of having to get onto your own email. We also have a calendar making it easy to locate where we are going to be. Also if you wish to call us our number is big and in continuity with that the most important information is easy to locate and read. All of these things I used to try and simplify and especially from a design stand point I felt that it was important that the web page was simple and not to busy.

Another huge design principle is seen only when looking at the different articles that were created. I tried the best I could to keep continuity not only on the web page but especially with all the different articles to make sure that when people saw our truck then our web page and whatever else we end up making it all conveyed the same message and they new that it was Get Sconed. The color is of course the most obvious that is strung throughout the entire web page. It isn't just simple but it is also a form of continuity that all the colors are in the logo then they are the back splash for each individual page. Along with this continuity there is also an element of contrast. When you go from right to left as you can see below top to bottom the colors alternate from the orange/red to the different teal colors. This was done on purpose to add some contrast from page to page so you know you are switching pages and also it portrays the law of continuity because of the logo which is constantly in the header on every page. Also if you notice on the scone gallery page I tried to keep the vertical theme that is seen throughout the different articles which we have such as the packaging and the apron. Another thing that is seen on this web page with continuity is the starts that are in the logo and that are seen throughout the different pages as different designs or as a type of line. It helps separate the different information and keep your focus on what you need to be reading and paying attention too. Something else is the home page header and body have the same background color to help you know that you are on the home page and then the sub pages or the other pages have different colors for the back ground colors. But again as I mentioned to keep the continuity the header stays the same color throughout every page.

The last design element I mentioned was balance. If you go throughout every page the entire page is symmetrical. I felt that this was also a very simple approach and it was in continuity with our logo. I know that there are benefits for each form of balance and perhaps part of it is personal preference but I enjoy having things being symmetrical and so that is also part of why I did it.  It is important to note also though in the last page "our design" I had to twice break that symmetry but I made sure to keep the balance by putting the next broken symmetry on the other side of that middle line. I think what is cool is symmetry to me seems simple and so in and of itself the design element of symmetry, at least in our web page is simple and shows continuity with a lot of our other articles and our logo. So with this one design principle it includes in it at least two others. 

Of course I beleive there are other design elements in play such as the different shapes that I mentioned like the stars and the spiral curly lines. These are used to, as I mentioned above, draw your attention one way or another and focus your attention. I think other things that come into play are the textures that are seen in the pictures but I wasn't the one to take the pictures but they are still part of the web site and a big part of the web site actually. If there are going to be pictures on your web site, especially if they are of food, you are going to want them to look appetizing. Something you want to make people pick up the phone and call or pick up the keys and drive to where you are. I think it is important to note that they are the first thing you see when you enter the web page to show that we are all about the food and this is what we are. I think that it is important at least for our web page that the pictures are the first thing you see and as you can see they are strung throughout the entire web page. There is actually only one page that there isn't a picture of food on it. This also adding to the continuity of the web page. 

Over all this was a very fun project and I think I learned a lot trying to actually think about a product and how we would apply the different things that we have been learning all semester. What is interesting is sometimes when I made a decision sometimes I made that decisions based on what I thought looked better or good. Then when going back I realized that the reason it was appealing was because of certain design principles. It was also interesting to see looking back that there are a lot of things we decided to not do or take out because of the design principles. What is interesting is a lot of those decisions go unseen or unnoticed but I believe that it is the point, to avoid bad design decisions before they happened. Which in my opinion is one of the coolest things to take away from this is avoiding bad design. I hope that all made sense. It made a lot more sense when I was explaining it to my self in my head. 

I believe that the simplicity, continuity, and balance really applies to the target audience and reaches each of them. I believe that coupled with the web page it is going to be huge to make sure the social media that is connected to the web page be these three things as well so as to reach the audience which we wish to reach. I think that it applies to the high schooler, college student, and adult with the family as well as others. Also it is important that the brand Get Sconed stays connected through every article that is put out there and produced. Again I learned a lot with this project and had a ton of fun doing it. Thank you so much. Hopefully you enjoyed our web page and my analysis of it.









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