Planning: Flow Chart

Planning:FlowChart

Part of my proposal is to create a flow chart that basically gives a demonstration how my website would navigate. After the research I have done, I have finally created my flow chart and will be attaching it to the proposal I hand in. 

 

Some changes may be done as it is too ambitious to create all these pages in this short time. If I feel the pressure it is best to focus on beauty or just focus on fashion. However, my recent posts have been focusing on beauty rather than fashion. So I might just focus on beauty. 

Research: WordPress vs Dreamweaver

Research:WordpressVsDreamweaver

There are two ways of creating a website. Dreamweaver uses HTML coding. Whereas, Wordpress is a website that have different themes and templates that can be used by Wordpress members and customise it to become their own websites. However, Wordpress is quite limited unless you change the CSS and use HTML codes to have full control. Dreamweaver is an Adobe software to create a website from scratch. I want to start creating my website, however I am torn by both techniques and need to choose one now.

Both techniques are quite new to me. I have never used any of these techniques so by the help of Lynda.com and lecturers they will both help me choose the right technique.

After looking at Lynda.com I have decided to create my website on Wordpress.org as it is easier and very simple to create my website as it has themes to choose from. However, using Wordpress is a little more complicated to make the website live. To make the website live, I will have to download a program called FileZilla which helps me setup my website.

My next step is to figure out what name I want to use for my website. The name I went with is OneonOneBeauty.com then try to find a way to find a website host. The website host I found is One.com that gives me all these setup information to hook it up to FileZilla. Once I have moved all important files I can start using Wordpress.org to create my website.

Research: Website Names

Research:WebsiteName

Finally I came to the stage where I know what type of website I want to produce, the different and many multi-media content, the purpose, how to access and how audience can use my website as an entertaining and educational way. Now I need to find out what my website should be called. It needs to be an obvious website name that has something to do with beauty, make-up, natural products and confidence. Some of the website name ideas are here bellow:

- Beauty 101
- Beauty Advice
- One on One Beauty
- Feeling Beautiful
- One on One Talk
- Advice For Girls
- Be Confident
- Love Your Body

All of these names that I have listed have something to do with beauty, and I am aiming to make my website name globally. For example; Beauty101.com instead of Beauty101.co.uk to Beauty101.eu.uk as there will be a limitations to my audience. I want a bigger target audience, so that is why I aim to have a website that is international, and be viewed by other people in different countries.

Research: Accessibility & Usability

Research:Accessibility&Usability

How can I make my website accessible? How is my website usable?
In this post I will explaining how I want my website to look and be accessible to the audience, and I need to create a valid reason why my website is usable.

Starting off with the accessibility. The access that has been created on websites that I have analysed recently are quite accessible. What I mean about accessibility is that the audience can access different categories such as different products, different subjects and so on. Audience can access music, access photos and videos that have been taken by the creator or that has been shared on the website such as images that have had their URL copied onto the website. I want to make it possible for the audience to access different kind of contents on my website.

Usability is how the audience use the website. The audience can use videos to watch and learn something from it, for example my beauty website will contain some videos with tutorials for a step by step Halloween make-up. Images can also be used to be seen by audiences to see what subject I am talking about. The other usable and useful thing to do on the website is to go on the contact page. For example if someone wants to promote you or ask questions they could go on the contact page to get some contact details such as emails, FaceBook account or Twitter account.

Research: Layout

Research:Layout

In this post I will be discussing the type of layout I want for my website. I will also look at different websites that have something to do with beauty and fashion, and analyse the kind of layout they have used for their website. A page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements on a page. Example, the content on the page. The reason why I want to focus on the layout of the website is because the page layout plays a big part in quality as it affects the user interface design. The design of the page layout is broken down into units such as sidebars, embedded videos and pictures, navigation areas and so on. This is exactly what I'll be looking at. I will look at different websites and analyse where each unit is placed, why and how does that satisfy the reader. 

My first website to analyse is www.apple.com 

Of course, it is not a fashion nor a beauty website however I like the way Apple have designed their page layout as it is close to the one I have in mind. The first unit I will be discussing is the sidebar that is place on top of the page. The side bar consists of the following; Store, Mac, iPod+iTunes, iPhone, Downloads and Support. A creative way to go onto the Apple homepage is to press the Apple logo. Along the sidebar is a search bar to search the type of product the reader is looking for. All the essential units such as the different products, the music, support, who to contact and to search for something for a quicker result. All the units in one place makes it really easy for the reader and it is pleasant to look at the bar. It isn't all squashed, easy to read and attracts the audience by the typography that has been used. The image is my favourite unit that has been used on the website. The reason why I like the position of the image is because it takes up the whole space of the website, so the audience focus on the promotion or item that Apple is trying sell.   

This is another image of the Apple website. This time I am on the 'Mac' menu, which shows the different Mac products they have. I like how they show the images of different Macs because it is a unique and creative way to help the audience find the results quick and easier. I was also thinking to have a sub-menu on my menu for more selections to choose from. Another large image to promote the 'MacPad' so the audience notice the new product that is most likely a popular product and attracting the audience. I could also use that similar page layout that Apple used, big images and a lot of selections to choose from.

Another website I want to analyse is www.makeupandbeautyblog.com which is a beauty blog that has been created by a YouTube tutorial artist that embeds her YouTube videos, images of the product reviews, tips and advice. I have used this website as an example so many times, it also inspired me to create my website and have sort of the same concept and content. The website's page layout isn't the kind of page layout I want for my website. However, the menu on the homepage is pretty impressive. Not only the menu is impressive, but the little slide show on top is also creative. This makes me want to create a slide show on my website. The menu is really creative. Once you move your mouse onto the categories such as 'Eyes' the black and white image changes into colours. However, this is about the layout. The layout is quite simple, most websites have this kind of layout. The menu is quite short, but it also has a sub-menu that gives you more selections. The search bar is also near the menu, so it is a fast track for the readers to search and get the best result quicker. The bottom are just recent posts that have been posted on the website blog. I'm not too fond of the posts that are at the bottom of the homepage, it is too much clutter, isn't too attractive. The most annoying part of this website is where the adverts are placed. I understand to get promoted and have a successful website it is best to advertise. However, it could have been placed on the side of the page, instead of the centre on top of the homepage which is really distracting and doesn't compliment the colours of the page.

Research: Moodboard

Research:MoodBoard

In this post, I am showing two moodboards. A moodboard is basically something like a collage. The point of the moodboard is to collect images that inspire you and has something to do with the idea you have. For instance, my idea is to make a beauty website so I have searched different kinds of images that portray make-up, hair, body etc. 

My first moodboard is about make-up and fashionable accessories. 

  The second moodboard is about natural beauty. How to look after your hair, nails, face and body with both natural recipes and products on the shelf.