Website Font and Colour Research

I have been researching different fonts and colours recommended for websites. www.buildyourwebsite.co.uk suggests that there are two main things to consider when deciding on a suitable website font:- Font Typeface, and the Font Family. There is also Font Size but the website explains that the font choice is up to you as there is no perfect font size. The website says that fonts fall into one of two typeface categories; these are either serif or sans-serif. The website says that the ‘serif’ typefaces are easier to read on paper, and are used in newspapers and books, but the ‘sans-serif’ typefaces are easier to read on a computer screen. The website also explains that when building a website I need to remember that the computer displaying my web page must have the fonts installed in order to display the page correctly. So I need to be using a popular font like Arial, Times Roman, Verdana or Georgia which is installed on all computers so that everyone can read the content on my website. This is very useful information that I didn’t know before using this website. I will take this into consideration when building my website.
Here is a screen shot of the website I used with the relevant information :)

I used another website called 'www.newbiewebsitedesign.com' which discusses the best text/background colour combinations to use in websites in order to improve the usability and the overall design of the website. It advises that a website shouldn't have white or light text on a black or dark background. It also warns that the use of 2 colours with little contrast between them, such as two tones of blue, would be difficult to read against a background of a similar colour. Another choice which this website advises against is having black text on a yellow background as this can cause eye-strain; there is a useful example of black text on a yellow background on the website which proves this.

This is a screen shot of the second website I used.

All the information I have found will affect the way that I design my own website as it suggests a limit in the combinations of colours that I can use in terms of font and background colour. I think that it will be a good idea to use the same or complimentary colours for the font/background to the logo of my website in order to increase the effect of the branding and brand recognition in the website. However I’ll have to take into consideration the overall effect that these colours will have. I have decided to use Arial font as it is bold and clear for good usability. I have also decided to use bright colours against a black background. I like this as it produces an effect which makes the colours look almost like lights, or like fireworks in the night sky which most people find exceptionally eye catching. I find bright colours like lime green and bright pink create a fantastic contrast with a black background, it produces a funky modern feel which is what i wanted for my website. I will use this colour scheme for my logo so everything will link. I will also use this theme when producing my magazine advertisements, I think that if people get used to this colour scheme they are more likely to remember my website and TV channel.

Research (Jakob Neilson)

To get the best and most usable website I have decided to get information from Website Creator Jakob Neilson. He has put together a website with info on making usable and easily accessable websites, I looked at one page called 'The Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design'.

Summary:
'The ten most egregious offenses against users. Web design disasters and HTML horrors are legion, though many usability atrocities are less common than they used to be.'

The top 10 mistake which I read and took into consideration before the creation of my website are: (These are the headings followed by long paragraphs)

1. Bad Search
2. PDF Files for Online Reading
3. Not Changing the Color of Visited Links
4. Non-Scannable Text
5. Fixed Font Size
6. Page Titles With Low Search Engine Visibility
7. Anything That Looks Like an Advertisement
8. Violating Design Conventions
9. Opening New Browser Windows
10. Not Answering Users' Questions

This is the link to where I found the information:
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html

Tv Listings Research

My second analysis of a double page spread of television program listings is found in the "TV Choice" Magazine. The main channels are structured into different columns and colours, for example, BBC One is blue, BBC Two is green, ITV is pink, Channel Four is light blue and Channel Five is orange. The TV listings magazine also uses different colours throughout the different days of the listings, for example, Monday is purple. This differentiates between the channels and days. This is similar to the listings I’ve analysed in ‘Film Choice’ magazine. Each column contains a time scale and the programme title, both in bold with a brief description below, this attracts readers to the programmes and helps create easy reading for the audience. Some programmes have a 'New' symbol on the left hand side, or a 'Film' symbol and a black box around the synopsis. I do like this, but I think it would be impractical to use on my double-page spread because as my idea is for a new teen music channel, all of the programming will be new. On the far left hand side is a small "Today's Choice" Column, containing the editor's choice for the top rated shows of that day. This promotes not only the programme, but the channel it's on; it also adds diversity to the page. It makes the page more visually appealing as it contains the only two images within the piece. The images are of the programmes being advertised, for example a picture of Jack Duckworth for Coronation Street, this is a good way of attracting readers as people are visually stimulated mainly by seeing images, which make them want to read about it. The logo of the magazine is also placed at the bottom of the double page spread, this is a good advertising technique as the audience is continuously reminded of the magazine they are reading, this follows the codes and conventions of the advertisement, this is a clever technique that I’d like to use this technique in my own listings page.

Double Page Listings Research

The 'Film Choice' pages of the listings magazine TV Choice are separated into days listing films on various channels on each day. The days are also separated by different colours; this allows the reader to easily distinguish between the days. I like how not all the sections are the same size but are placed carefully to fit to the pages.

The background to the double-page spread is bright blue and is a good contrast to the other colours on the page.There are images taken from some of the films featured, these are used to illustrate the page and provide a break from the text. The images are a fair size, they aren’t too big so they don’t take over from the writing but they are big enough to grab attention, they attract and interest the readers.

There is a small paragraph about each film featured including information such as the actors, the country where it was produced, the director, the year it was produced, and the film's certification. It has all the information a viewer could want about the film, obviously including the day and time it's on, it also provides a small synopsis/brief review of the film in a mainly informal style.

Also, there is a five-star rating of each film and a there is a tick placed next to the film's title if the film is suitable for family viewing. The key to this system is found at the bottom of the page. This is a clever system which is positively usable for families with younger children. The titles of the films themselves are in bold and white standing out from the colour block, making them clear and easily locatable for the reader.

'Sky HD' double page spread, pages 20 and 21 in the magazine 'Buzz'.

This is an advertisement I found in the Tv listings magazine 'Buzz'. Its advertising Sky Channels.
This is not a particalarly eye catching advert. The background is a picture of stars in space. The main slogan at the top centre of the page says 'Enjoy the Latest Movies in sparkling HD this Christmas!' The modifier 'sparkling' catches the readers attention as we relate sparkling to shiny new expensive good quality things. There are 5 pictures of films underneath this slogan and a picture of the actual sky box itself. The advert uses persuasive language such as 'perfect gift for the family' and 'perfect movie experience', these phrases excite readers and push them to want to purchase the item. The advert uses a long phrase ' There's nothing like settling down to watch a movie with the family at christmas, axpecially after all the chaos of shopping and entertaining.' Sky creativily portrays the channel Sky as a stress relief to enjoy with your family, this again draws readers in making them want to purchase it.
Underneath is the more factual information about what you get and the offers that come with the purchase. At the bottom is all the terms and conditions (what the readers shouldnt know) in VERY small font, almost too small to read!
The colour theme of the advert is navy and red, which are the colours of the Sky Channel Logos like Sky Sports, Movies etc. I like how the adverts and logos etc link together using colours as the readers will find it easier to remember the company and its product if it has a prominent colour theme. For example everyone associates McDonalds with the colour yellow, and kit kat red.
I particularly liked that the heading is bold and white so it stands out against the darker background therefor easy to read. This is something I will consider when making my double page spread as it needs to be clear, although not boring! I like the stars on the page as they link to the company name 'Sky', I could take this in consideration when producing my advertisement. Lastly I like how there are not too many pictures, and that the images themselves are in 3D so it almost looks as though they are coming off the page. I think this is very eyecatching and i'd like to use this in my advert.

Codes and Conventions

This advert follows the typical codes and conventions of Advertisements as its eye catching in some ways, it includes slogans and phrases for the readers to remember. The font is bright and bold and it includes attention grabbing images. It also has the information you actually need like the costs and offers. Although this advert is suitable I think there is slightly too much writing on the page as personally I wouldn't have the time to read it all and I dont think a lot of people would ither. Its difficult because its information readers actually need to know but dont neccesarily want to read ... so I cant really critisize it. Sky is a very popular company across the UK, It's not advertising a new TV channel so doesnt really have the demands an advert for a new channel would have. My advert has to expecially grab readers attention as my TV channel is completely new and never heared of before. I'll have to create slogans and phrases that people will remember as well as including colours that pop but also link with my website and logo.
Looking at this advert has helped me to plan what I want my double page spread to look like. I've taken into consideration that it needs to be bold and bright but also informative.

Research into Double Page Spread Adverts

To produce a double page advertisement in a magazine about my TV channel I’ll need to research into existing adverts to ensure I know the typical codes and conventions that make it work.
Firstly I’ll need to ensure I use a simple layout as I can’t overcomplicate the advert because if it looks cluttered people won’t even attempt to understand what it’s about, they’ll simply turn over the page. I should also use one or two pictures as opposed to many!
I need to ensure that I stress the positive benefits as this is a golden rule of advertising – 'stress benefits not features'.
I should also ensure that I use suitable and attention grabbing colours and images as this is what attracts the readers. Without colour my ad will not only be noticed less but people will also perceive it as being bland before even reading it.
Double page spreads need to pop! As they are often skipped.. It needs to be colourful, to the point and good enough for everyone to remember! A slogan could be used so that readers remember whats being advertised for example.. Sky- 'Believe in better', Boots - 'Feel Good', McDonalds -'Im loving it'.

The Codes and Conventions of Newspaper Advertisements

To complete my coursework I have to produce a newspaper advertisement for my TV channel. As research, I have researched what would be considered as the codes and conventions of newspaper advertising.
Most print advertising use of a brand name or logo. Logos are often immediately recognisable as being associated with a specific brand, e.g. McDonalds 'M’ or the coca-cola logo. This ensures that people are aware what the brand is and know exactly what they are advertising.
Slogans are also common amongst newspaper advertising; these are mainly short and memorable phrases which allow the advertiser's message to sink in. Some examples of slogans include 'Beanz Meanz Heinz', 'Have a break, have a Kit Kat’ and ‘I’m loving it’.
A relatively common convention found amongst these advertisements is that some (but not a lot) factual information about the product/service is provided; this can be a variety of details. In the case of a TV channel, it would normally be details of some shows being aired on the channel, as well as the number of the TV channel on free view, sky, etc.
Most advertisements also use persuasive techniques such as persuasive language, celebrity endorsement, desirable images, and striking colours.

Research into Newspaper Advertisements

Sky Sports
The second advertisement I found was again at the bottom of the page, I found most adverts were at the bottom of the page as the main stories were situated at the top. I believe that the reason for this is cost and the newspaper company themselves. I dont think any advert can be at the top of the page because after all this is a newspaper and people want to read the news!
This second advertisment is for Sky Sports. The Ryder Cup is used to advertise the channel.

The advert shows 4 men with 3D glasses on. A golf player is reflected in the glass (I think this is a clever idea). The background is bright pink which is eyecatching. The 4 men's faces being so up close gives the advert an attention grabbing quality. Also the expression on the mens faces is excited/ happy, as readers we automatically assume this is the reaction you'd get when watching Sky Sports. If the faces were just plane and looking at the camera with no expression readers would possibly mimic this and feel the emotion they are portraying.
The writing at the bottom says 'The Ryder Cup on Sky 3d'. The font is bold and white standing out against the colourful background. Its in a clear font that readers could understand. Adverts often use fancy fonts which can sometimes be too much, and for those with poor eyesite, it can be too hard to read. This is something I will take into consideration whilst producing my double page spread. The colours would aso have to be suitable for the colour blind readers.
I like this advert alot as its very unique. The use of the reflection in the glasses is very effective. I also like the choice of colour for the background; bold and simple.
There is nothing I dont like about this advert! It could include a slogan or phrase for people to remember but I think this advert has enough qualities that people will remember it! :)
I like the idea of using expressive faces as the main background for an advert, I could use this to develop my own advertisement.

Research into Newspaper Advertisements

Advertising

Advertising is a type of communication that is meant to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to purchase or take some action to do with what’s being advertised. It includes the name of the product and how it could benefit the consumer. For example advertising a TV channel. TV channels use newspapers to advertise to the public in order for them to want to watch the channel.

Research -
I used the Sun Daily newspaper to research advertisments. The first advertisement I found was used to promote the Sky channel FIVE.

This advertisement is around 10 inches long and 6 inches wide which is a fairly large space of advertising in a newpaper, although some companys used a full page.
The advertisement was situated in the bottom right corner of the news page. It isnt a particularly eyecatching advert. It consists of 5 pictures showing actors from different programs broadcasted on FIVE. Then at the bottom there is a bold slogan 'Get your 5 a day!' to link with the 5 pictures.
Under each picture is the name of the program and what time its on. Underneath the main picture is a small summary of tonights episode. The font colour theme is white on red. This is a good contrast of colours for readers to understand whats written easily. It also doesnt confuse anyone who is colourblind. So its suitable for all types of readers.
Over the main picture it say's 'Channel FIVE' in white.

My Opinion -
I like the simplicity of the advert and I think the '5 a day' slogan is catchy. Although, I would of chosen a brighter colour for the main text 'channel FIVE' so it would attract the viewers attention more.

Research - E4

E4 is a digital television channel, which is mainly aimed at an age group of 15 - 35. E4’homepage is well sized and easily visible to its audience. The size, colour and style of the font is very important , as it is vital for attracting the targeted audience, and in addition it ensures that the file size of each html page is kept to a minimum, so Internet users of an average or slow connection are not disadvantaged. The logo is simple but well-known, as well as cleverly designed so little space on the page is taken. It has creative bordering effects around it, making it eye-catching, unique and interesting.



The page enables you to play videos previewing the latest programs being broad casted on the channel. I thought this is an effective way to promote up and coming/ new programs.
The background is a school chalkboard advertising the new series of 'The Inbetweeners'. I thought that using a background as a promotional tactic was very clever and effective.

The colour scheme is mainly white and purple, with a constant background on each page. The language is teenage friendly, with the text being very informal.

The Layout of this page, similar to other pages, is very attractive, leaving plenty of space for images, widgets etc. Being a teenager myself I found there’s a lot on the page that would entertain me, as there are so many options to choose from. There are games to play, videos to watch and even a competitions page. Although it is a typical convention of a teen website the fact that every page has the same colour theme, in my opinion, is slightly boring! The pages do flow but I believe they could flow just as well but with slight changes in colours. I would change the colour backgrounds but keep the font the same from one page to the next.

From this research, I have found that the layout of the website will affect how easy it will be for the user to navigate around my website, also how attractive the page will appear. I have also decided that I might colour co-ordinate each page, so the audience doesn’t get bored by the same colours used over and over again.

Research - BBC Switch

Here’s an example of the teen TV channel website homepage which I find interesting and unique. It is the BBC Switch website.

BBC Switch is a fairly new kind of television, aimed at a teenage audience in the UK. It consists of a number of television programmes shown on BBC 2. BBC is one of the oldest broadcasters around, with many services ranging from television programmes, radio, and now online. The BBC aims to reach a large range of audiences by producing many different services, from Politics on BBC Parliament, CBBC for young children, BBC for factual and now BBC Switch for teens!

Similar to the other websites I have researched, there is an option of typing into a search bar. Searchbars are very important as they help to navigate quicker around the website, pinpointing specific information the audience wants to see. There are large white arrows on the left and right sides of the screen which stand out through the black background and have some form of special effect added to them (3D effect makes the arrow feel more interactive within the page).

The picture scroller at the top of the page is very attractive, as well as being user - friendly, it’s used to show a number of upcoming TV shows (there’s a possible use of widget). Also, each time you scroll through the TV shows, other TV shows are visible on each side of it. The special effect added with shadows gives the impression that it is a sphere going around you, similar to an IPod Touch when looking through albums. This feature is unique among similar rival websites.

The BBC Switch homepage is colour co-ordinated, such as yellow for Music, Orange for shows. There are also other options to select from such as online features/exclusives etc.., In my opinion this homepage may have slightly too much going on, as there are so many options to choose from, ranging from news, advice, games, online.., making it more difficult for an audience to choose from and a lot of it could be irrelevant. The font colour is effective, as well as the style of the font, as they stand out from the black background, which allows easy navigation. I like this idea, and I feel this will be a good feature that I could incorporate into my website.

Research - 4Music.com

The first TV channel based website I researched is 4music.com. This site is very much 'teen' orientated. It promotes a channel that plays programs mostly linked to celebrities and music.
The site is simple, yet effective. Its easy to navigate with clear bright navigation buttons. Its also very user friendly.

The first thing I noticed about the website is that there are navigation buttons at the top of the page. I particularly liked that if you ran the mouse over the buttons they would change colour from black to bright pink. This was very edgy and attention grabbing. I would like to use this for my website if possible. The shape of the navigation buttons is simple but funky and unique. I feel this is also a good idea when trying to attract a teen based audience.

Bellow the navigation buttons is an interesting element to the website. Its a picture section which allows you to click on any picture you want and the website will enlarge it in the centre of the page. (The picture bellow shows what I'm talking about!)

This element adds variety to keep the audience interested. I definitely consider using this to keep my website attractive and interesting.

There is a search bar at the top of the page allowing users to search for something particular. I like the background used on 4Music's website. Its very bold and attention grabbing. Although, this could also distract some users from the main content.

To navigate this page you simply click on any of the navigation buttons or search for something, its generally very simple and easy to navigate. The website has 5 different navigation buttons, so its not too much. It offers 'artists and tunes', 'on tv' and 'free stuff', I like the idea of having an option of seeing what free 'stuff' you can get with 4music. This is something I could consider when building my own website, I could possible advertise offers and free things on my website :)

4Music doesn't have too much content, in fact I don't think the site has enough content. I will try and include more content on my website, but not too much.
The site includes a top 10 music chart on the right side of the page.
The site includes 4 other main pages: Artist and Tunes, Free Stuff, On TV and Monkey.
The site also includes a gallery featuring pictures of artists, I think this is a good idea and I plan on using a 'Gallery' as part of my websites content.
The site also includes a hyperlink to a page named Monkey, I was curious to what this was about. This is an offer to users, sponsored by Orange, allowing the users to listen to any music, create play lists, get free texts and download music for free whenever they want.
Every page on 4Music's website is consistent in terms of layout and discourse features.
Although this is a good quality, I feel that there should be more of a variety, like BBC Switch for example. They have different colours for each page, yellow for music, red for news etc.

I very much like the 4Music's logo, I think its simple, easy to understand and easy to remember, which is most important.

The Brief for A2 Media Studies

Today I received the OCR Exam Board brief for this years Media Studies. The task is to design and create a website based on a new 'Teen Tv Channel'. The website will be used to advertise the new Tv channel. Additionally we will be creating a newspaper advert for the channel and a double page spread for a magazine, focussing on the channels launch.

In todays lesson we were split into groups of 4 to brainstorm and discuss the different teen channels that already exist and the websites used to promote them. I have researched a number of methods and ideas in order to help me plan and create a new Tv Channel Website. I have looked at a wide range of TV based websites which target mostly teens.

I will need to research into the web designing industry to find the different codes and conventions (colours, language etc).

Im very excited about this years brief and I will be updating the blog regularly with my progress :) x