Edexcel BTEC Creative Media production Unit 11 and 12 Holly Martin 2
Class Work
Week 1
Content Web Authoring Principles and Protocols
What is URL and WWW? Uniform Resource Locator is a string of characters that create a web address. The web address is broken down into sections. They are as follows;
http hypertext transfer protocol. This identifies the protocol going to be used to access the resources in the domain.
WWW World Wide Web. This is a subdomain that is used to ascertain the domain.
Domain Name - This is used to identify the name and location of the site you are trying to access.
Internet service provider organisation that provides services for other people using the internet.
Web Hosting Service An internet hosting service that allows people to make their website accessible to other people.
Internet Global system of interconnected networks and hardware systems that use various protocol suites.
HTML Hypertext Markup Language. A Standard language used to create web pages.
Domain extension A domain extension is the .com .co.uk or .org. These signify a country, area or organisation.
Dreamweaver A web development tool developed by Adobe. It lets you share work and keep up with web standards.
Top level domain name - .com is at the top level of the hierarchy of domain names. Secondary names are anything but .com, for example .co.uk. Edexcel BTEC Creative Media production Unit 11 and 12 Holly Martin 3
Font size and colour - Typography demands that font size and line-height are accurate and controlled. Colour adds emphasis to the writing and highlights the importance of information.
Hyperlinks An electronic document that links one document to another.
Style Sheet Enables the user to create a style that is consistent throughout a document or web page.
Metatags Is the HTML part at the end of the URL. It helps to improve your search engine placement.
Index page Main page on a website usually called the homepage.
This session has enabled me build web based knowledge and apply it to further research. Before this session I did not know the official definitions of these words. I can now begin to produce a comprehensive site based on the knowledge learnt today and apply it to the website.
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Class Work
Week 2
Exploration of Websites
I dislike this website because I feel that I am bombarded with a lot of information that I do not necessarily want to see as I log on to the site. I then struggle to navigate the page.
I like this website because it is simple and easy to use. There are no adverts and there is a simple sign in process. Edexcel BTEC Creative Media production Unit 11 and 12 Holly Martin 5
Accessibility A degree by which a service or product is easily available. Web standards are continually monitored to ensure that a website meets the requirements needed for people with disabilities to access the site. For example, they may have a hearing and/or visual impairment. Websites need to be user friendly and easily accessible. Users can rearrange and magnify pages or choose a reader to read the site information.
Functionality Whether something is suited to and serves its purpose. The range of operations that can be run and is expected to fulfil.
Usability the ability to use and learn an object at ease.
Evaluation
I believe this can inform my practice by highlighting the importance of creating an environment of equality on my website. It will need to function in a simple way using clear text and information. It is clear from the above that it needs to be user friendly for all users. Tabs need to serve their purpose and fulfil the service they should be providing. There should be an option available to rearrange and magnify pages as and when necessary. Before learning this I would have based a good website solely on design, font and colour. However, I realise that the user journey needs to be apparent within the website, making accessibility, functionality and usability the most important aspects of the site.
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Examples of font size and colour
The above show two different versions of the use of font size and colour. Both use bright colours to sell a product or convey an important message. On the websites both are very clear and they are the first statements you look at when scanning the page. They have used very few words to project the message making them more defined.
Other fonts used are to convey navigation tabs.
The websites tend to use similar font style, colour and size in their navigation bars. This is to determine consistency within the website. It also allows text as previously discussed to be more prominent.
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Examples of background -
Most backgrounds are white. I believe this makes the text on the site clearer and allows space for areas of colour that the company want to stand out, such as advertisements and offers that would appear sporadically on the page.
Examples of a paragraph
Websites very rarely have paragraphs on their homepage. Even the example below of a BBC news headline has a very small paragraph. It is only when you access the article that more information can be viewed. The other screen shot is taken from a site that is loaded with information that will not necessarily be read by the user before they click on something else. It is also interesting that the navigation tabs simply small images at the bottom of the page. I do not consider this to provide the functionality, usability and accessibility needed to navigate a website.
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Example of line break -
Line breaks separate content without creating new paragraphs.
Examples of hyperlinks
The above hyperlinks take the user to another page of information. These hyperlinks are clearly laid out and visible on this page. Most hyperlinks are found on the side or at the bottom of the page.
Examples of style sheets -
The below style sheet is an example of how a websites presentation is separated from content. It contains details of content and structure but does not define visual layout.
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Examples of meta tags
This is the HTML part at the end of the URL. It helps to improve your search engine placement.
Evaluate the above points from 2 websites that were printed out
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Week 3
Content
Four e-portfolio websites that I have researched.
I do not like this website because it is difficult to navigate and contains a lot of moving images. The site does not allow you to go back and therefore you have to re-load it. The menu is confusing because it keeps moving. Once you enter one of the tabs there is barely any information about the artist available. This website is not accessible due to the confusing layout. A reader would not be able to translate the content. It would be very difficult for someone with a sight impairment to navigate this site.
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The above images are homepages of websites that I like. I like the simple but effective layout. They do not use flash to try and integrate moving images, which tend to be difficult to load. The pages are not overcrowded but contain the specific information that is important to the artist. All use very natural and subtle colours. They have all uploaded their strongest images making their homepages eye-catching and attractive. They attract other photographers as well as potential clients. The text and font are clear with the exception of the Jessica Hilltout site. I do not think that this text is very easy to read. I think that she could have chosen a more professional font. However, even though these websites are easy to use they do not have a function that offers a reader or a larger format.
Mind Map for my own site. Above is an illustration of working ideas for my website.
Potential Content Home
Contact
Portfolio News / Updates Biography Links Images About Me Pinterest Facebook
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User Journey
User arrives on index page
User finds primary navigation tabs
About Me Portfolio Classwork Glossary References Contact Me
User chooses from primary navigation tabs
User finds secondary navigation tabs
Portfolio Classwork
Film Unit 11/12 Digital Research
User arrives at a drop down menu from secondary navigation tab
Film Unit 11/12
Landscape Week 1 Portraits Week 2 Still Life Etc Questionnaire
The purpose of my site is to enable people to browse my portfolio and potentially buy my work or potentially hire me as a photographer. My target audience will be employers and customers.
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Evaluation
This session has enabled me to identify how accessibility will influence the design of my website. I will need to ensure that the site is clear and simple and accessible for all users. Before this session I would have made a website that was in cohesive and inconsistent. Websites with flash software or sites that contain film were appealing to me before this session. However, since analysing these sites more I have found them to be in accessible and they do not necessarily serve their purpose. The website referenced at the beginning of this session (Hamish Fulton) is an example of this. I struggled to obtain any information from the site as I could not navigate it. The index page was slow and the hyperlinks did not work. The diagram above illustrates how I will consider the user journey on my website. I want to ensure that the user explores the site thoroughly and after investigation I have found the way to do this is by maintaining simplicity and accessibility throughout the site. Edexcel BTEC Creative Media production Unit 11 and 12 Holly Martin 15
Class Work
Week 4
In order to create a banner for my website I have used photoshop to develop and adjust photographic images. First of all I needed to consider the width and height of the banner in pixels. Pixels per inch will determine the quality of an image on screen or in print. A pixel is essentially a dot in an image and the image is divided into thousands or millions of pixels forming lines on the screen.
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To create the banner I have used the controls - cmd, a to select all - cmd,c to copy - cmd,v to paste
I then began to create layers when applying images on top of each other.
At this point I expanded the images to cover the entire banner and used colour burn to create a shadow effect on the top layer.
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I then added another layer and added a multiply effect in order to see through the different layers
At this point I wanted to add some tones. I used the colour balance adjustment to create a new layer and add a yellow mid tone.
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I added another image as a layer and introduced the multiply effect so that all the layers were visible.
I brought in another image on top of the existing ones and used the lighten tool to blend the image further.
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I expanded the image in order for it to cover the entire banner.
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I applied the colour balance tool in order to produce more tones in the image.
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Document saved for web as a JPEG. Edexcel BTEC Creative Media production Unit 11 and 12 Holly Martin 22