Logo Design

I originally called my website 'F-N-M' which stood for Fashion, News and Music. I did like the idea but after research I found it was too similar to the popular music website MTV and so wasn't original. This made me decide to change my website to 'FUSION', I liked this idea as it was original and catchy.
Fusion means small pieces stuck together to make one whole piece which is exactly like my website! This is why I liked it!




I made this logo by copying a simple black font from 'dafont.com' into photoshop. I used tools to split the text to produce a more edgier modern style. By researching Jakob Neilson I learned that texts and logos need to stand out if they are intended to catch attention. This is why I decided to fill the text with a bright pink and create a soft glow on the edges so the text would really stand out. Then I added a black background for extra attention grabbing quality.

Production Stage Begins!

We have started creating our websites using KompoZer. The first stage of our website design was to create a table of 3 x 6, we then joined the selected cells on the top and bottom rows. The top row was for the website logo, and the bottom row was for the content, leaving the middle row for the navigation bar which contains the following pages of: Home, Fashion, Music, Gossip, and Shows. We then set the column width to 800 pixels and the allignment to the centre so everything will remain in the centre of the page, leaving it neat and tidy. I then set my navigation cells to 150 pixels wide because I had five cells, thus making them equal. I then set the allignment of the text in the navigation cells to the centre also.

During the duration of the work I have done at school and home using the software KompoZer to create my teen website (Fusion), I have found that the more I progress, the easier it is to use. I have developed five content pages and linked them all to eachother so that once you click on one page, you are able to transfer quickly and easily through any pages necessary. All of the different fonts I am using throughout my homepage and content pages can be found on www.dafont.com and then slightly edited in Photoshop. All of the images I have used so far have either been taken by myself, or I have got through my friends, given their permission. I am currently working on all of the pages. Once they have been completed I will upload screenshots of them all, however, I will be making a lot of changes throughout. The the final images of my website will be uploaded also. I am enjoying developing my website and the skills I am developing.

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.