img. for logo development

Mon. 11 Oct

I modified my layout so that it will be easier to code etc.
I think i like it better now so the change was positive....
This week i have to talk to my client about content for the site etc.

Another moc layout

Moc Layout #2

Miranda.

Layouts + Skills

I have been working on layouts, today, while practicing my skills, I came up with this,
a moc layout...



Miranda.

Working on....

this... a couple of screenshots of what I've done so far today...

Starting my layouts....

I have started to sketch layout concepts for my website, I've also been messing around today with banner ideas, ...



Miranda.

Update!

THINGS TO DO...
1. Design and Extended Research, -
I need to research design trends further and begin to apply them to an actual design.
I should draw concepts and experiment in photoshop etc.
I can then develop these further and decide on one or two final layouts.

2.Consult clients,
Show client two final designs...
They can decide which one they like because they will be the ones who I have to please.

ALSO!!!
As I am doing this I shall take screen shots and blog as a documentation of my work process.
I should also create a folder under my IT folder entitled ‘Website’,
I will apply my images to this folder.
It will help in organisation for when I have to add the images to my layout in Dreamweaver etc.
I should also slice the layout chosen by my client.

IT Update

I am now ready to start working on my designs, this includes layouts, banners etc.!
Because I have all the Basic and some Advanced skills in Photoshop, I should have a limited proportion of issues while working on this element of my website. I am also a Yr 13 Design student so being able to work on Brief based designs while working on IT designs will compliment my work style and allow me to reach my full potential at this current moment. I will make a new blog including trends and examples I am fond of and also what i think would be similar to what I want for the TGL Insurance Website.

Blog Entry #25

Last week I proposed my website plan to my client. They are quite happy with the overall proposal and I will add further insight to this later. Today I continued researching information on website production and typing up research in my own words to do with this. By Thursday, I hopefully will have completed all of my documents on how I will construct and organise the website.

Blog Entry #24

I have continued reviewing information...
here is what I typed up about the Design of a website in Microsoft Word...


Website Design
Website design consists of logos, banners, imagery format, navigation bars and links etc. The way all of these elements are composed, contributes to the look presented to the viewer as well as the feel e.g. sophisticated, edgy, professional.
Excerpt: http://sites.google.com/a/carmel.school.nz/carmel-it/home/web-design/website-design
“The Common Area: This must be consistent on all pages. In this case, the common area is in two shades of orange. It includes the: -
o Site Logo/Theme Photo.
o Navigation areas (pale orange).
o Page heading.
o Keyboard navigation help.
o Right hand bar.
o Footer bar.
And
The Content Area: Which is used for the remainder of the page...”
The look and feel that is channelled to the viewer is thoroughly important as their opinion will be reflective of what my website is promoting e.g. TGL Insurance.
ELEMENTS of COMMON AREA
Navigation – This consists of a bar of links, which allow one to choose different pages of content. When you have your content organised and you know how many pages your site will contain, you can create your navigation bar.

Peace.
Miranda Larkin.

Blog Entry #23

I reviewed some info on the school email account, I put it into my words:

Organising Material - Web Design
First I should decide the size of number of web pages. I must do this so I know what type of images and content I will need, and the amount I will need to fill my web pages sufficiently.

IMAGES
Before saving a picture to a designated folder (for website images), I must check the copyright laws attached to the image. For example, if an image is copyrighted, I may not use it for I would be breaching the Copyright Act 1994. Here is an excerpt from the basics of this copyright law:
“What does copyright protect? In New Zealand, copyright protects original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, sound recordings, films, communication works and the typographical arrangement of published editions.’’

I must consider other factors regarding imagery...
- The use of thumbnail images linked to larger displays of the image. This allows web page to load faster, displaying all information to viewer faster and more efficiently.
- I may have to consider different ways of obtaining my imagery, e.g. taking my own photos, use of clip art photos, royalty free images and images under Creative Commons licences or Wikimedia Commons etc.
- In order to enhance my website, I must also be able to manipulate imagery into design concepts etc. This will allow for a better visual presentation and will improve my overall website.
- I must use the right image formats to be displayed on my website e.g. jpeg, gif, png.


MULTIMEDIA
- I can improve my website content by adding video and audio clips. I must apply these effectively (if I want to include them) so that they do not slow down the loading time of the web page.

All imagery and multimedia are a part of the CONTENT of the web page.




I may add more to this,
Peace.
Miranda.

Blog Entry #21

Yesterday I created a new banner for my blog so that I could replace the generic looking text. On the Dashboard page, I clicked the "Design" link, on the template, I then clicked edit where my original banner was. From here I could upload my banner (created in Photoshop) and shrink it to size (automatically).

I'm pretty happy with the change, it makes for better presentation as it doesn't look generic. I may be able to use this practice to help others with their blogs, I could find blogs I like and offer to create their banners etc.

I also moved the followers box. this makes sense as I don't feel like showing off that my blog has 0 followers. :b

Miranda.

Blog Entry #20

I haven't edited my blog recently, here is some information on the amount of work I have completed compared with my intended completion of work by this time....




As you can see from this, I am more than one month behind on my schedule. After my colour scheme (and font) research, I created a business proposal. What has put my project on hold is the fact that I have not yet shown this to my client so that I can discuss the options and variables relevant to my website. If I show my client the proposal, i can gain the knowledge I need to look into and produce desigs for banners, layouts etc. That is the solution to my problem right now. It can easily be solved. Otherwise I have been on track since about May 10th (in the adding of the Proposal activity).

Miranda.

Blog Entry #19

I have created my website proposal document, it includes layout styles, colour schemes and fonts I think would work well for the TGL Insurance website.

Main choices:
Font: Cambria



Colour Scheme:








Layout Style (similar to):









Miranda.

Blog Entry #18

I have finished all of my initial research including font research. I now have to compose this research into a proposal for my client.

This will include:
-fonts I will use
-type of layout
-colour scheme ... etc.

Once I have proposed this to my client, I can design a revised brief including changes that meet my clients needs.



Miranda.

Blog Entry #17

I am currently working on a Gantt Chart. It orders the tasks I must complete in order to complete the whole project. I am doing it in Excell, in columns I am able to insert a number which represents what percentage of work on each task I have already done.



Miranda

Blog Entry #16

I am currently on this website: http://browsersize.googlelabs.com/ ...

It displays different types of resolutions that can be used for websites and it says how many people(%) can view these resolutions.

All over the world, people have computer screens with different resolutions. Over the years, high resolution screens have been developed increasing the amount of high resolution layouts being produced. The resolutions range from 600 to 1000. Most people have computer screens that can handle resolutions of 800.

I will most likely use this resolution(800) for my website as it will allow most people to view it and most if not all potential clients will have computer screens that can handle at least 800. I might decide to use 900 also as even though only around 90% of people can see it, I'm sure that 90% or more of potential clients will have a resolution of at least 900.

Blog Entry #15

Today I finished my main research on use of colour in web layouts. Over the past week I've been creating new schemes that would be approriate to use for a business website. I've included screenshots from kuler.adobe.com in my research. It's important to document what you learn as gaining knowledge is a huge part of any project. It's also important to add as much new information as you can.

Miranda.

Blog Entry #14

Today, I added more to my colour research. I continued to learn about what some colours are associated with and why. Here is an excerpt from my research...

BLUE

Blue can be associated with tranquillity. It is a symbol for wisdom, loyalty as well as trust. Blue is a great colour to use in the promotion of products as it holds an aura of cleanliness.

BLACK

Black is associated with many things including power, evil, death as well as elegance, formality and mystery. It often has negative connotations due to its darkness.

I gained information by going to http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html.

Miranda.

Blog Entry #13

Today, I continued creating colour schemes on Adobe Kuler. Here is an image of four colour schemes I've created so far.



Miranda.

Blog Entry #12

Today, I went to kuler.Adobe.com. It is a website that allows you to produce your own colour schemes using different formats. It allows you to upload a picture and it then automatically produces a colour scheme using the colours in that image. I used this tool with one picture and got a great sophistocated colour scheme. I only changed one of the colours slightly as I was completely satisfied with it.

Here is a print screen from the website, it includes my colour scheme I named 'Sitting Room'...



Miranda.

Blog Entry #11

I have just finished doing some short research on my client and stakeholders. It was concerning their age and social status. From my research I found out that those with high status jobs and large salaries are often more motivated to have social lives. These types of external factors can also influence people to choose who they will socialise with.

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia...

Herzberg’s two-factor theory
Main article: Frederick Herzberg
Frederick Herzberg's two-factor theory, AKA intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, concludes that certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, but if absent, they dont lead to dissatisfaction but no satisfaction.[6]

The factors that motivate people can change over their lifetime, but "respect for me as a person" is one of the top motivating factors at any stage of life.

He distinguished between:

Motivators; (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive satisfaction, and
Hygiene factors; (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) that do not motivate if present, but, if absent, result in demotivation.

Frederick Herzberg

Miranda.

Blog Entry #10

Today I finished placing my key factors in order and explaining why I put them in each position. I'm very proud of the work I've done so far and feel confident that it will help with the development of my website enhancing my final grade. I feel that the more insight you add to the preparation stages of the project, the better the project will be. This is because the more you go into depth and think about key factors, the clearer each factor becomes. I feel confident that if I keep working to my current standards, I can gain an excellence at the end of this unit.
Miranda.

Blog Entry #9

Today I finished my research on the key factor Future Trends.
I thought it was interesting thinking about trends in web development and how advancements cause websites to change their designs.
Here is an example of how WWE.com has modified their design layout over the years.

2004



2007



2010



Miranda.

Blog Entry #8

In the past few lessons I have been typing up information on my key factors, going into depth and answering questions. My main key factors include TIME, SOCIAL, RESOURCES, SKILLS, STAKEHOLDERS, EQUIPMENT, LEGAL REGARDMENTS and INNOVATIONS. Minor key factors include CULTURAL, MONEY and MATERIALS.

I'm almost finished my key factor research as I'm just finishing working on my minor factors.

Doing this research is beneficial because it clarifies all the elements which go in to making the project.




Miranda.

Blog Entry #7

Wednesday 3 March 2010

Yesterday, I began evaluating the resources I will need to make my project successful. Studying 'Resources' is an element of key factor research which I will continue working on today. Other key factors include... money, stakeholders, skills, time, legal regardment, trends etc.






Miranda.

Blog Entry #6

Last Tuesday (I visited a Maori marae so I haven't been working since then) I continued my layout research extensively, analysing logos, colour schemes and fonts used in other insurance websites. I finished writing up this research today and may add more to it. I discovered most of the insurance websites stick to basic Arial fonts ensuring simplicity for their layout. The use of Arial is effective as it is a clear font which can look professional when formatted correctly in a text. I will continue to do research work allowing efficient preparation for my final website design concept.



Two of the best insurance website layouts that I researched...







Miranda.

Blog Entry #5

Today, I continued my website layout research. I copied my notes and added further analysis into a Word document. I also copy and pasted my first brief into a Word document. I can print these off later and paste them into my visual diary. It will count as my briefing research and preparation for final product. I would like to do a lot of extensive research as the more time and insightful work that I put in, the better my mark will be and the more successful my client's website will be.

Miranda.

Blog Entry #4

First Brief

I interviewed my client last night, here is a first brief. It was constructed upon my opinions and my client's view also.

ISSUE:
A website must be produced to inform existing and prospective clients about the business and its philosophy, facilitate efficiency and promote TGL Insurance overall.

AIMS:
- Website must have a simple layout, with easy to use navigation and it must also give off a professional aura.
-Website must be up with technological trends displaying a professional attitude reflective of the business.
-Must inform the stakeholders on all they need to know about TGL Insurance and its beneficial unique qualities which make us a favourable business to work with.

SPECIFICATIONS:
-Access to advanced programs including PhotoShop, Dreamweaver etc.
-Access to a computer, internet, memory stick.
-I may need money to run website.
-Links to affiliates(allowing a positive sense of networking).

SKILLS: Skills needed...
-Advanced PhotoShop and Dreamweaver skills.
-General research skills.
-Communication skills.

STAKEHOLDERS:
-Existing clients
-Prospective clients
-Insurance companies affiliated with TGL Insurance

SOLUTION:
I must produce a website that is ethical, one that represents TGL Insurance fairly and honestly with a confident approach to the philosophy of the business. It must appeal to TGL Insurance's target market.

Blog Entry #3

I have yet to interview my client so today I copied my brainstorm brief into my visual diary. I also started to copy my written research on insurance website design layouts into my visual diary also. The more relevant research I do now, the better my mark will be for my project at the end of the year.
Miranda.

Blog Entry #2

Tuesday 16th Feb. 2010

Today I made a brainstorm of AIMS, SPECIFICATIONS, STAKEHOLDERS and SKILLS affiliated with my project. I have done a project like this before and that will help tremendously. The only difference is that this time I will have a real client that will work with and I will use advanced features in two programs that I already have basic skills with.

Tonight I wll nterview my client and get their opinion on what they want and what is needed for a successful website promoting their business.

Miranda.

Blog Entry #1

Welcome to my blog,

I am writing this blog to document the process of my IT project throughout the year.
I am going to produce a website for my dad's insurance business.
My blog will include the information on the actions I must take in order to complete the project. This means I'll be writing about the new things I will learn, components of advanced programs and the easy and hard parts of the process as a whole.

Miranda.