Luke Garwood 20260301
After being fluent with computers and various computer programs for well over a decade I assumed that I would find this module comfortable, I was wrong! In this essay I will show how I came to my final web site and what aspects of the design and build process worked well, and others, not so well. I will also give evidence of my research methods to see what inspirations and ideas helped me complete my objective.
As soon as this task was set I knew I wanted to keep my website contemporary and classic looking. I did not want my website to have eye catching graphics or bright daring colours. I instantly made this decision due to the nature of photographic exhibitions. I planned to bring a sense of an exhibition into my website.
My first process of research was to analyse other photographer’s websites. This was an easy and simple form of research but one that has been very effective. Using this method I was able to see first hand what aspects worked in a website and what areas are best left alone. I assessed numerous websites and found various styles that make a connection with the viewer.
The two photographers websites that really stood out and used a similar design that I wanted to achieve were Richard Avedon and Rafal Milach. The photographers have both used a white background which I personally feel works best with a website of this nature. Using a white background successfully displays, and guarantees the viewer is focused on the image. When trying to dig further into what methods they have used I discovered both had used Flash based sites. This then became a problem for me because I was not sure on how flash is used in dreamweaver. Although not certain on how to use flash I took a lot of useful information and ideas from both sites regarding layout and content.
The next step in my process was to decide on what content I would like to have within my website. I decided to build a rough diagram to brainstorm ideas…
Once I had my brainstorm ideas, the task of deciding the final content for my site became easy. Obviously as a photography site the inclusion of a portfolio is essential. The idea of enquiries was for potential clients to have relevant information before making a choice on contact. I made the decision not to include this section because I felt I am at the start of the ladder in the photography business and it is not necessary to include this subject yet. I also felt that in the small chance a client would want to contact me, at this stage this could be handled in a contact section. I decided to include the biography section because I feel it is of great importance to give the viewer a taste of the photographer’s personality and beliefs to help make a connection with any potential customer. The CV idea in my brainstorm was also scrapped because I thought I could mention brief experience and education within my biography.
The plan to include a features section is something that I am very keen on. After researching into the subject and presenting my findings and ideas to the class, I feel that it is an idea I would like to develop based on my own ambitions and feedback from my presentation. The features section will be a blog style archive based on my own adventures and personal projects. At this moment in time I do not have the content to produce this section. it is something I will definitely include in the near future once I have completed the necessary journeys needed to produce this area of the website.
Having completed my brainstorm and research I had come to a point were I was confident on what content I wanted to put into my website. I had taken eight initial sectors and downsized them to five, without loosing much information, and obtained a clear view of what colour base and structure design my website would contain. With these ideas firmly in mind I now started to produce mock-ups of my website.
I decided to create mood boards to further my findings on website research to help me create my desired website. I used these boards to analyse different layouts, fonts and content.
Once my mood boards were complete I then went on to designing my first mock up web pages. I was positive on my content and design plan so my personal brief was to:
- Create a simple yet effective website that was easy to navigate.
- Produce a professional looking portfolio that loads images quickly.
- Avoid any colour that would risk conflicting with images and stick to a simple colour base of black, white and grey.
- Use Orator font
- Include webpage’s on Portfolio, Biography, Features, Contact and Links. Make sure all pages link together!!
My main aim when starting to build my website was to keep it simple. Dreamweaver was a program I had never used before this assignment and something that i struggled to understand after my first number of attempts. The unfortunate result in keeping it simple was the inability to use flash based sites. This was something I attempted to use but after numerous attempts I found myself going round in circles and not advancing. Although I decided to use the most basic form of web building I firmly believe my end results have not been hindered.
I started by building a straightforward html page. I used AP divs to structure my website and position certain pieces. At first this seemed complicated but with practice I was soon able to achieve the desired results. I started to understand the code within the website and realised I could use this understanding to great effect. Due to the design of my navigation, once I had built my homepage the rest of my website could easily fall into place. When the homepage was complete I was able to copy the code and create a new html page for each link. In that page I then copied the code, deleted the main image then insert the required information for that page.
The build of my portfolio was of mass importance. The design was to originally have rollover thumb links that then linked to a larger image. After many attempts at making this page I was unable to complete my objective. I then looked into other methods of producing my portfolio. I decided to design a slide portfolio that suited the style of my website. I searched through the Internet and was lucky enough to find a website devoted to slide design (www.pictobrowser.com). I selected images I thought displayed a variety of my photography and uploaded them to the website. After making my slide on Pictobrowser I then generated a code that I could use in dreamweaver. I then centered the slide by inserting the code into a Div tag. I have been delighted with the end results of my Portfolio page. I came to an obstacle that I was able to work around and positively feel that my end results of this page have worked out better than my original idea.
Now that my website was complete I had started to get my own sense of web identity. I felt that my ability had gathered pace and improved to that of one month ago. This had turned from an assignment into an enjoyable pastime. To further my learning and give me more identity I decided to purchase a domain name. I felt this was a good decision because it will give me a stronger identity to what was previously available and also encourage me to further my website and photographic ambitions. Having a domain name has many benefits that are essential in creating a successful website. It will make your business/website more professional, it is easier to remember, an easy to remember domain name will result in more traffic to your site, it will result in better search engine traffic, and most importantly in photography, it gives you your own identity.
I went into this module over confident and at times have paid the price. I feel that a slight level of ignorance has resulted in me playing catch up instead of understanding various techniques within dreamweaver. I assumed that I would be able to understand dreamweaver easily because of my fluency with other computer programs. I was wrong! Never before have I used computer software that takes so much time and attention to understand. I have had difficulty understanding CSS (cascading style sheets) but firmly understand their importance within dreamweaver. CSS is an essential tool that can contain positioning, layout, font, colors and style information for an entire website. That information can be changed for the entire website in quick, simple steps.
Although there have been some downsides to my learning process I am delighted with my final result. Even though I have not used CSS in my website I believe that the html pages I have opted for have been used to great effect. They have worked with my original design brief and given me a website that I am proud of. I set out to complete a professional looking photographic website that provided information about my ambitions and personality whilst displaying my work in a proficient manner. With the specific combination of fonts, colour scheme, layout and images I believe that I have built a website that successfully matches the target I set myself at the start of this project.
Bibliography
Evening, M (2007) Adobe Photoshop For Photographers CS2
Warner, J.C (2007) Dreamweaver CS3 for Dummies
Webography
http://www.pictobrowser.com/ [accessed 29/05/08]
http://www.yourhtmlsource.com/ [accessed 01/06/08]
http://www.bigwetfish.co.uk/ [accessed 03/06/08]
http://www.webmillers.co.uk/getdomain [accessed 03/06/08]
http://www.rafalmilach.com/ [accessed 20/05/08]
http://www.richardavedon.com/ [accessed 20/5/08]