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 Concept Statement Assignment

.    Create a list of all users that may visit your site (not from the WWW but those you’d invite):

    First, I would invite my friends and family. I would like to get their opinion on the asthetics of the website, as well as how they thought it showcased my work. I would want to see if it was easy for them to navigate and if there were any other thoughts or concerns they might have. My friends and family are the most honest with me and I value their perspective. The second group I would invite to my site would be my teachers. I would like for them to see how my work was displayed. They are the ones who oversaw my progress from day one and I would like to hear their thoughts on my website. Next, I would like to invite potential job opportunities to my website. This would most likely happen during portfolio review. It would be the time to shine and showcase my hard dedication to my education.

.    What will each of those users want to see in order to enjoy their visit to your site?

    My friends and family would most likely like to see the progress of my schooling and they would be my cheerleaders. My teachers would be my test drive before the portfolio show. They are the ones who would be critical of my work and want to see me display my best. Job opportunities would want to see professionalism and uniqueness. They will more likely notice my website if it is clean, easy, appropriate and has a flare of my personality flowing through.

.    Name your intended audience (the person(s) you need to persuade.)
 

    Above all, I need to persuade myself. I have to listen to gut and make my website true to my individual self. Then, the rest of the audience will follow.

 
.    Describe what you need to inform and persuade them of:

• Promote My: Skills, my personality, professionalism, dedication, my attention to detail to my work
• Goals of the site: Easy To facilitate, Showcase my work, Share a piece of my personality 
• My ultimate message/philosophy (about who you are): I am a hard working individual, with an eye for detail; friendly and outgoing personality, as well as dedicated to get the job done to my best ability
• What is the story you are telling: I want to share the enjoyment of my projects and have chosen them accordingly. Each project shows the critical eye I have towards my work and each piece has an element of excitement because I was passionate while working. I enjoyed the process of each project, while devoting great time and effort while doing so.

.    List the assets you need to persuade the user: Which 7 (minimum) projects?

1.    Marketing for Nordstrom
2.    Digital Marketing for Flutterby Artistic Designs
3.    Store Operations for MAC
4.    Styling
5.    Writing for Fashion Publications
6.    Business Plan for Blush
7.    CAD- ‘Hot Like Mexico’ Men’s Undergarments, ‘Ladybug’ Young Girl’s Clothing/Accessories 

8.    Trends/Forecasting- 'Intimate Fantasy' Women's Lingerie

CONCEPT STATEMENT

    My online portfolio will showcase my best work as a Fashion Marketing student at the Art Institute of Seattle. It will be easy to facilitate, share my personality, and let the audience understand my dedication to professional work. Every aspect of my portfolio will give the users an idea of my attention to detail. My homepage will help promote my individual expression by the aesthetics and open the door to my road for success. Pages included, for the user to explore, will be my resume page, projects page, an about me page, and a contact page. My resume page will allow the users to see where I came from and where I am now. It will also let the user understand the key areas of expertise I excel in. My projects page will be the most important page, for it will show off the work I have mastered to show my best qualities while pushing myself to submit the best work possible. An about me page will enable the user to take a glimpse of who I am and what I want to give to the public. My contacts page will allow users email access to follow up with any questions and/or comments that I can receive. It will be a great networking opportunity. This website will present myself to the public, and exhibit my unique characteristics I can give to a potential career.

Good vs Bad Web Design

Good Design

Design features:
Text: Summarize the qualities of the use of type that make a website successful.    
    First, the background needs to be able to be simple enough to allow the user to clearly read the text. The text needs to be big enough to see on a monitor, but not irritating to the reader. The site should not be confusing and should let the user instantly know what the website is about. There should be no guessing game involved. A website should be clean and represent the idea being express, without being annoyingly complicated.

Navigation: Summarize the qualities of the navigation that make a website successful.
    Navigation should be easy and clear. It should not be hard to find or titled weird so the user doesn’t know where the link will take them next. Navigation should also be consistent throughout the entire website. The graphics of the navigation should be uncomplicated, so it doesn’t interfere with the text. A site map is useful if there is a lot of information on the website.

Links: Summarize the qualities of the links, and their behavior that make a website successful.
    Color coordination and with each link to the appropriate page is handy to keep the website orderly. It is also important to have links underlined to make them visible to the user.

Graphics: Summarize the use of Graphics, vector and raster, that make a website successful.
    Bigger is not better when dealing with graphics. It is not a good idea to make bold, obnoxious graphics because it will make the user click off the website. Color choice is pertinent for a successful website, so choose colors that are easy on the eye and go together well. Graphics should always have a matching text link and animated graphics are fine, but should be able to be turned off by the user.

General Design: Summarize the aspects of the overall design that make a website successful.
    People want things quick, so the website should be able to download pages fast. The use of white space is also vital for websites so layout should be visually pleasing with the choices of graphics and text. Loading pages with tons of text or obnoxious graphics will make a user never come back. Consistency throughout the website is crucial, so there is no unaccountable material that confuses to the user.

Notes:
    A website should be aesthetically pleasing to the user, but also should share who the person is behind the website. It should have balance between being simple and to the point but also have a creative flair. Fonts selected should only be two at the most, with exceptions for headings but font choice should be easy to read. The less confusing the website is, the more clicks it will receive.

Bad Design

Design features:
Text: Summarize the qualities of the use of type that make a website unsuccessful.   
    Busy backgrounds that make text hard to read is a major factor for a bad website. Backgrounds that are grey and drab, or those that blink and are multicolored are all bad qualities. Color combination's that leave the user thinking, ‘what the hell where they thinking?’ are always a bad idea. Small text is never good, or crowding text, overstretched text, or underlined text that is not a link. If there are paragraphs on a website, components of a bad plan is all caps, all bold or all italicized text will be evident.

Navigation: Summarize the qualities of the navigation that make a website unsuccessful.
    Complex, unclear navigation are bad website elements. Frames can be good, but too many frames, complicated frames or frames that don’t have to be there in the first place are all bad website factors. Useless titles that don’t explain what the page is about are horrible ideas. Orphan pages, or pages that aren’t linked back to the website are pointless.

Links: Summarize the qualities of the links, and their behavior that make a website unsuccessful.
    Links that are unclear on where they will take the user, default blue links for text or bordering graphics, no underlines, or dead links(ones that don’t operate any longer) are all bad website design.

Graphics: Summarize the use of Graphics, vector and raster, that make a website unsuccessful.
    As I noted before, users want websites to be quick and efficient. If a graphic is too large, it will take forever to load and, in turn, bore the user. Also, useless, weird graphics confuse users. Graphics that don’t fit on a page are annoying, so they fit right into the bad website category. 

General Design: Summarize the aspects of the overall design that make a website unsuccessful.
    Frames the make the user right to left and no focal points on the page or too many focal points are unsuccessful, bad design. Tacky, cluttered and messy websites will make users turned off. Websites with a lack of contrast and pages that may look okay in one browser but horrible in the next are also bad general design.

Notes:
    Websites need to be clear of junk and useless material. It will taint the websites name and make it a joke, rather than be taken seriously. Less is more.

Skills inventory

Name: Kristine Mileson

Department: Fashion Marketing

Are you Graduating this Quarter? No

If not, current graduation date by Quarter/Year: Fall 2011

Online Social and Professional networks: Facebook, Linkedin

Website URL (if already developed): None

What software experience do you have? (explain all that apply)

Photoshop: I have taken a year of photoshop at Seattle Central, while working towards my Publishing Arts Certificate.

Fireworks: None

Illustrator: I have three years of Illustrator with my Publishing Arts degree and progressed my skills at the Art Institute

Flash: A class at Seattle Central 

Dreamweaver: A class at Seattle Central

HTML: None

InDesign: I have three years of InDesign with my Publishing Arts degree and used it regularly at the Art Institute 

Other: Microsoft Office

Tell what your objective for the class to the best of your knowledge: I would like to publish a aesthetically pleasing and accessible friendly website to showcase the work that I have done for my degree.

Learn iWeb? I have not yet learned iWeb but am eager to get started

Publish web site? Yes

Revise and update current site? No, start from scratch

Begin the process of a professional web presence? Yes