Wow!!! This I am finding really hard I am writing this post to prove that I have been trying to create this diagram but am finding it extremely difficult and that if I do come to the seminar tomorrow with lots of noted paper its not because I haven't been trying but its because I can't find a way to create my diagram.
I have come up with the idea that is based around what we are trying to do this year. My plan is to create a social network that links between the students and the companies, reasons for choosing this is because I constantly hear about the troubles students have trying to network with companies. Now I know that this is something that we students have to do independently but what if there was a networking site that helped design companies see the work (blogs) of potential employees. It would help both the students and the companies because companies always have an idea on who they want to take on, by looking at that the students work that the students have posted they can see who they want.
If I was to describe what I am trying to do briefly then I would say that it is like an online scouting service, my initial idea would be mainly for online environment people but that could expand.
So who are my entities? so far I have:
- Company
- Students
- Blog
- Course
And thats where I'm stuck potential thoughts were 'project', 'University' I could maybe use 'users' as a link entity between the company, students and blog, but I shall talk to Simon and see what he thinks.
Wednesday 28 January 2009
Tuesday 27 January 2009
Work experience Opportunity
A few weeks ago me and Jacqui went to Glug. Its an event held by a company called 'Studio-output' and until now I did not realise that it was an opportunity for work experience! As I was doing some research for my current project I came across a great website advertising a restaurant/bar called 'Bluu'.
I was inspired by the site that was created with a mixture of HTML and Flash methods Studio Output had used and so decided to take a look at their site.
The Studio Output site is a Flash based site so it could cause problems with users without flash software but it lived up to its expectations as a designer site. The design is simple and slick yet it has managed to provide users with a strong portfolio.
What I did not realise was that studio output has two studios, one in Nottingham and one in London. This would be perfect for me because I would like to apply for some work experience within this company and I now have two options. I intend to move to London when I leave university so I now have the option to apply for two different places.
I intend to go to the next Glug event that is taking place on February 19th and talk to more of the employees and get more information on the company, maybe this will help my chances for a placement as they will already know me through this event.
I was inspired by the site that was created with a mixture of HTML and Flash methods Studio Output had used and so decided to take a look at their site.
The Studio Output site is a Flash based site so it could cause problems with users without flash software but it lived up to its expectations as a designer site. The design is simple and slick yet it has managed to provide users with a strong portfolio.
What I did not realise was that studio output has two studios, one in Nottingham and one in London. This would be perfect for me because I would like to apply for some work experience within this company and I now have two options. I intend to move to London when I leave university so I now have the option to apply for two different places.
I intend to go to the next Glug event that is taking place on February 19th and talk to more of the employees and get more information on the company, maybe this will help my chances for a placement as they will already know me through this event.
Restaurant - So many choices!!!
Having looked at various different restaurants I'm still trying to decide which one to redesign, there are three separate restaurants that I have narrowed down too.
1)Tonic - A very sophisticated restaurant offering a wide range of food selections, lounge bar and deli. They also provide a cocktail and evening entertainment with mixture of Dj's creating a relaxing venue. They already have a strong website but looking at the brief I am working with the word 'redesign'.
2) Le Bistrot Pierre - Yet again abother very well designed website but please keep in mind the work redesign. The Le Bistrot Pierre is a high class french restaurant winning restaurant awards, this place is very popular.
3) World Service Restaurant - Now this site has been designed to a very high standard but the reason I would like to this site is mainly because of the strong imagery they have. I belief that if a restaurant is successful then they should be confident enough to provide a good gallery of images.
All of these restaurants all have very professional looking sites and I feel that this would be a good place to start. Its a challenge which is what I have been told to do, I need to challenge myself in order for me to progress further. I have some rough design ideas that I am working on, I shall post these up soon, but in the mean time I need to send a few emails out because I am going to need permission from these restaurants to use their content. Fingers crossed they will.
1)Tonic - A very sophisticated restaurant offering a wide range of food selections, lounge bar and deli. They also provide a cocktail and evening entertainment with mixture of Dj's creating a relaxing venue. They already have a strong website but looking at the brief I am working with the word 'redesign'.
2) Le Bistrot Pierre - Yet again abother very well designed website but please keep in mind the work redesign. The Le Bistrot Pierre is a high class french restaurant winning restaurant awards, this place is very popular.
3) World Service Restaurant - Now this site has been designed to a very high standard but the reason I would like to this site is mainly because of the strong imagery they have. I belief that if a restaurant is successful then they should be confident enough to provide a good gallery of images.
All of these restaurants all have very professional looking sites and I feel that this would be a good place to start. Its a challenge which is what I have been told to do, I need to challenge myself in order for me to progress further. I have some rough design ideas that I am working on, I shall post these up soon, but in the mean time I need to send a few emails out because I am going to need permission from these restaurants to use their content. Fingers crossed they will.
Friday 23 January 2009
Restaurant review - zizzi and Chiquito
Zizzi
I know that this restaurant has probably been already reviewed but I like the website as well as the restaurant. As soon as I opened the website I was immediately impressed with the flash content used showing good imagery of an Italian restaurant theme (what is expected of the site).
They have used quite a vibrant colour which I thought would be to extreme though I have to say it actually works quite well as the website does cover the whole page, they have also kept to the same colour scheme and so I feel the colour works well. Adding the flash content is a bonus as I always feel that having this interaction always makes the site a little more interesting and keeps the users intrigued.
Another point that I like about the restaurant site is that they have the menu on the site rather then a PDF format making it less time consuming then having to wait for another file to load. The menu is laid out in a professional menu layout making it easy for the users to understand however I don't understand why they changed the page size for just the menu and nothing else. All of the other pages are to the same page size and its just the menu at a different constraint, this is the only major fault that I could find on the site.
The website meets all of the needs that users need from contacting the restaurant to information on career opportunities. What I did not realise before visiting this site was that 'Zizzi' is joint restaurant with 'ASK' and their website is in exactly the same layout as the Zizzi site but they have just change the colour scheme.
Overall this is the best design restuarant site that I have reviewed so far and I would like to design a site along design methods of this site because it has interaction, a good colour scheme and it gets my attention straight away.
Chiquito
The website for Chiquito's has kept to the theme of Mexican by the use of some simple imagery. As soon as I opened the site I immediately got the impression that the designers were trying to base the website around all ages i.e. a family, a part of the website that I have not seen on many restaurant sites is a kids base page. The designers have tried to incorporate some kids activities but what I don't understand is why a young child would search a site like this, so I feel that it was good interactivity but it won't be used due to the lack of young target audience.
They have used a good selection of imagery that show what food they have on offer (what the audience want to see) they have used bold colours but I get the impression that they have tried to neutralise them so they are not too much in your face.
They have the navigation at the top which is simple to use but they also have a small navigation directly under the main navigation which I was a bit confused however when looking closer it was actually more information. Maybe they should have put the navigation down the side allowing more space making it less confusing.
Once again the menu's are in PDF format which I strongly feel lets all these websites down because of the hassle of having to load another page. I feel that pages with the menu already printed on the site have a more positive response. Overall this site reaches its aims to advertise the restaurant and its food though viewers have to have flash player to view the gallery which can be a problem as not everyone has these resources, however the site gives out a strong Mexican theme and overall a user friendly website.
I know that this restaurant has probably been already reviewed but I like the website as well as the restaurant. As soon as I opened the website I was immediately impressed with the flash content used showing good imagery of an Italian restaurant theme (what is expected of the site).
They have used quite a vibrant colour which I thought would be to extreme though I have to say it actually works quite well as the website does cover the whole page, they have also kept to the same colour scheme and so I feel the colour works well. Adding the flash content is a bonus as I always feel that having this interaction always makes the site a little more interesting and keeps the users intrigued.
Another point that I like about the restaurant site is that they have the menu on the site rather then a PDF format making it less time consuming then having to wait for another file to load. The menu is laid out in a professional menu layout making it easy for the users to understand however I don't understand why they changed the page size for just the menu and nothing else. All of the other pages are to the same page size and its just the menu at a different constraint, this is the only major fault that I could find on the site.
The website meets all of the needs that users need from contacting the restaurant to information on career opportunities. What I did not realise before visiting this site was that 'Zizzi' is joint restaurant with 'ASK' and their website is in exactly the same layout as the Zizzi site but they have just change the colour scheme.
Overall this is the best design restuarant site that I have reviewed so far and I would like to design a site along design methods of this site because it has interaction, a good colour scheme and it gets my attention straight away.
Chiquito
The website for Chiquito's has kept to the theme of Mexican by the use of some simple imagery. As soon as I opened the site I immediately got the impression that the designers were trying to base the website around all ages i.e. a family, a part of the website that I have not seen on many restaurant sites is a kids base page. The designers have tried to incorporate some kids activities but what I don't understand is why a young child would search a site like this, so I feel that it was good interactivity but it won't be used due to the lack of young target audience.
They have used a good selection of imagery that show what food they have on offer (what the audience want to see) they have used bold colours but I get the impression that they have tried to neutralise them so they are not too much in your face.
They have the navigation at the top which is simple to use but they also have a small navigation directly under the main navigation which I was a bit confused however when looking closer it was actually more information. Maybe they should have put the navigation down the side allowing more space making it less confusing.
Once again the menu's are in PDF format which I strongly feel lets all these websites down because of the hassle of having to load another page. I feel that pages with the menu already printed on the site have a more positive response. Overall this site reaches its aims to advertise the restaurant and its food though viewers have to have flash player to view the gallery which can be a problem as not everyone has these resources, however the site gives out a strong Mexican theme and overall a user friendly website.
Thursday 22 January 2009
Restaurant review - Bocca di Lupo
I chose this website because I liked the slick and sophisticated design used. As soon as I opened the website I was impressed by the slick design. The neutral colours and simple imagery compliment the general theme of the restaurant.
The simple layout has been kept throughout the website, this is a conscious decision because with the layout, colours and font all combined immediately gives the restaurant a good impression. They have kept their contact details in a clear place (on main page) and what I like is that the website is trying to persuade potential customers to come to the restaurant by either reserving a table or, adding themselves to the mailing list having a mailing list I felt was a good idea because via the mailing list the restaurant can promote themselves through email.
A page that I have not yet seen on a restaurant site is a review page. I know from experience that I always read reviews to see what a place is like because its the opinion from past visitors.
A downfall which has been appearing in a number of different websites is that the menu is in a pdf format making the user have to move to another page, taking them away from the main page. When ever I get this option I always cancel the choice and avoid seeing the page but that also means that I won't see the menu content this could happen quite a lot to users and so, the users are not seeing the full website.
Overall this is the most sophisticated site that I have seen however having done this has limited the target audience, on the other hand the restaurant is based in London so they may have targeted the right target audience being where they are based.
The simple layout has been kept throughout the website, this is a conscious decision because with the layout, colours and font all combined immediately gives the restaurant a good impression. They have kept their contact details in a clear place (on main page) and what I like is that the website is trying to persuade potential customers to come to the restaurant by either reserving a table or, adding themselves to the mailing list having a mailing list I felt was a good idea because via the mailing list the restaurant can promote themselves through email.
A page that I have not yet seen on a restaurant site is a review page. I know from experience that I always read reviews to see what a place is like because its the opinion from past visitors.
A downfall which has been appearing in a number of different websites is that the menu is in a pdf format making the user have to move to another page, taking them away from the main page. When ever I get this option I always cancel the choice and avoid seeing the page but that also means that I won't see the menu content this could happen quite a lot to users and so, the users are not seeing the full website.
Overall this is the most sophisticated site that I have seen however having done this has limited the target audience, on the other hand the restaurant is based in London so they may have targeted the right target audience being where they are based.
Restaurant review - La Luna
La Luna's restaurant website is a site that I feel needs some improvement. When you first enter the site you are greeted with a web page that looks like the designers have just grabbed some random images and font and stuck it together to create a web page making it look unprofessional.
They have simple easy to use navigation and when selecting each page you get a basic and understandable description about the restaurant and where it is however when I selected 'menu' option a separate file is linked as the menu is not on the actual site itself, in my opinion I think that this will displease users of the website as they have to wait for a separate page to load.
What I do like about this site is that users are able to book online, this makes it more convenient for customers because they can book a in advance. They have used imagery that presents the food served in a positive way highlighting the whole point of the website.
What I did not understand was why they inputted photos of the process of making the restaurant because overall the main aim of the web site is not show the process of how the restaurant was build but to entice potential customers to come visit the restaurant.
I have immediately got the impression that this is a family run restaurant making it more personal but customers want to go to a restaurant that provides a professional service and good food and I feel that the designer of this website did not think of these important points making the website less enticing.
They have simple easy to use navigation and when selecting each page you get a basic and understandable description about the restaurant and where it is however when I selected 'menu' option a separate file is linked as the menu is not on the actual site itself, in my opinion I think that this will displease users of the website as they have to wait for a separate page to load.
What I do like about this site is that users are able to book online, this makes it more convenient for customers because they can book a in advance. They have used imagery that presents the food served in a positive way highlighting the whole point of the website.
What I did not understand was why they inputted photos of the process of making the restaurant because overall the main aim of the web site is not show the process of how the restaurant was build but to entice potential customers to come visit the restaurant.
I have immediately got the impression that this is a family run restaurant making it more personal but customers want to go to a restaurant that provides a professional service and good food and I feel that the designer of this website did not think of these important points making the website less enticing.
Restaurant Evaluations - Pizza Hut
When researching into restuarants I figured that it would be a good idea to look at the larger food chain as well as the smaller sole owner restuarants. So being that I have worked at this place for a number of years I figured that Pizza Hut would be the best place for this.
When you open the site you are immediately greeted by a simple design giving the user four options, all very user friendly and straight to the point which I feel is a good option becasue people who visit this site are looking for a specific option be it finding the nearest restaurant or just to browse the menu.
I selected the 'visit the restaurant' option because I wanted to see how they presented the restaurant and menu and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I greeted to a main page immediately advertising the range of offers that were being used at this moment in time. What I thought worked with this was having the strong image that was used, it gave me a good idea of what the food would look like.
The navigstion was kept at the top making it clear to the users. They have kept flash interaction to a minimum which I feel is a conscious descision because the site is already very bold from the strong colours used and the vast amount of pages on offer.
Even though I commented on how the site has alot of impact via the imagery I feel that they have used too much colour and fonts. When I selected the 'Menus and Deals' I saw at least six different fonts. Now from working there I know that Pizza hut aree trying to change there image to a more upper dining restaurant rather then just a take away shop and this website certainly isn't given out that look.
The website in general has improved a great amount since I last visited however they need to make it have a little lees impact as there is too much detail to take in making the site busy and not giving the impact that Pizza hut want.
When you open the site you are immediately greeted by a simple design giving the user four options, all very user friendly and straight to the point which I feel is a good option becasue people who visit this site are looking for a specific option be it finding the nearest restaurant or just to browse the menu.
I selected the 'visit the restaurant' option because I wanted to see how they presented the restaurant and menu and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I greeted to a main page immediately advertising the range of offers that were being used at this moment in time. What I thought worked with this was having the strong image that was used, it gave me a good idea of what the food would look like.
The navigstion was kept at the top making it clear to the users. They have kept flash interaction to a minimum which I feel is a conscious descision because the site is already very bold from the strong colours used and the vast amount of pages on offer.
Even though I commented on how the site has alot of impact via the imagery I feel that they have used too much colour and fonts. When I selected the 'Menus and Deals' I saw at least six different fonts. Now from working there I know that Pizza hut aree trying to change there image to a more upper dining restaurant rather then just a take away shop and this website certainly isn't given out that look.
The website in general has improved a great amount since I last visited however they need to make it have a little lees impact as there is too much detail to take in making the site busy and not giving the impact that Pizza hut want.
Sunday 18 January 2009
Online Portfolio
During my review session I was set the task to start developing my online portfolio and fast (as in the next two weeks) I have also been given the task to create a gaunnt chart for the remaining time of the year which as I have found out is not easy at all.
I have been researching into portfolios and I am finding it hard to create a design that would fit my criteria. I want it to show potential companies that I am right for the specific job but also reflect my personality. I came across a portfolio that I think is a good example of what I'm trying to show.
Hicksdesign is a creative design company that I came across whilst searching for examples of portfolios. The reason why I like the designs was because its simple yet bold and the navigation is easy to use.
As you can see from the example above the designer has gone for a mixture of bold and neutral colours, doing this has not drawn the audiences attention away from the main content. Like I have read in articles they have kept to short pieces of writing and put it where needed. They have kept the contact details on every page making it clear to the users how to get in contact with the company.
What I need to do
What I now need to do is think of a design that would represent me yet impress my companies I intend to apply for. I need to make sure that I have a clear navigation because the users want a to be able to know what they are looking for. I may even try and input a flash intro just to show the skills that I have. For pages I think that I will use a main page, about page, work page, conacts and maybe skills but I could incorporate that with work or about page.
I have been researching into portfolios and I am finding it hard to create a design that would fit my criteria. I want it to show potential companies that I am right for the specific job but also reflect my personality. I came across a portfolio that I think is a good example of what I'm trying to show.
Hicksdesign is a creative design company that I came across whilst searching for examples of portfolios. The reason why I like the designs was because its simple yet bold and the navigation is easy to use.
As you can see from the example above the designer has gone for a mixture of bold and neutral colours, doing this has not drawn the audiences attention away from the main content. Like I have read in articles they have kept to short pieces of writing and put it where needed. They have kept the contact details on every page making it clear to the users how to get in contact with the company.
What I need to do
What I now need to do is think of a design that would represent me yet impress my companies I intend to apply for. I need to make sure that I have a clear navigation because the users want a to be able to know what they are looking for. I may even try and input a flash intro just to show the skills that I have. For pages I think that I will use a main page, about page, work page, conacts and maybe skills but I could incorporate that with work or about page.
Sunday 11 January 2009
BBC Placements
Yes I know that I ramble on about getting a placement and BBC has always caught my eye well over the christmas I actually started my application. There are three placements that I want to apply for but I can only apply for one at a time. The one that I am working on at the moment is specialised in the internet site for the cbbc channel.
The placement is held over 2-4 weeks in London and main working area is the online site and maybe get a chance to work with the AV team which isn't the part that I am most interested in but actually having that opportunity is amazing.
The application has asked me to write a critque on one of their site pointing out the good and ad points maybe even comparing it to another site. This is the placement that I feel very passionate about but I am starting to worry about how to produce my own identity as if I did get an interview or even apply to another company then I would like an online portfolio that I am proud of. I plan to start designing bu I think my review is in order as I need some guidance, so hopefully Deborah will provide the help that I need. I want to get out into the online design world, I want to be noticed but I have to do this myself.
The placement is held over 2-4 weeks in London and main working area is the online site and maybe get a chance to work with the AV team which isn't the part that I am most interested in but actually having that opportunity is amazing.
The application has asked me to write a critque on one of their site pointing out the good and ad points maybe even comparing it to another site. This is the placement that I feel very passionate about but I am starting to worry about how to produce my own identity as if I did get an interview or even apply to another company then I would like an online portfolio that I am proud of. I plan to start designing bu I think my review is in order as I need some guidance, so hopefully Deborah will provide the help that I need. I want to get out into the online design world, I want to be noticed but I have to do this myself.
Tuesday 6 January 2009
Wordpress
Well over the holidays shaun set us the task of having to create a wordpress account and I not going to lie but I don't like it all that much. I had quite a few problems that I have been trying to work on but I'm still not that interested.
Firstly I have to say that it is just another version of blogger and I have the screen shots to prove it.
Here's a screen shot of what my word press site looks like, very similar to blogger don't you think?
And this is a screen shot of what the the "new post" page looks like. I am not too sure why we have been asked to do this but I am sure that when we return to seminars all will be explained.
I have been trying to do the other tasks like we were instructed but I can't work word press. When I selected the display (top image) My intention was to change the header to my own personal design but even though I followed the instructions, it just did not work. I think that I will try again maybe third time lucky.
I also tried to edit the CSS but like above, I followed the instructions but no luck so I hoping that someone in the seminar group will know what to do.
I feel that this is a blog that I have to get use too as I am so use to working on this blog that I am not sure that I want to change, maybe that is the reason for why I can't work wordpress. We shall see how it goes though I cannot just judge the site on first impressions.
Firstly I have to say that it is just another version of blogger and I have the screen shots to prove it.
Here's a screen shot of what my word press site looks like, very similar to blogger don't you think?
And this is a screen shot of what the the "new post" page looks like. I am not too sure why we have been asked to do this but I am sure that when we return to seminars all will be explained.
I have been trying to do the other tasks like we were instructed but I can't work word press. When I selected the display (top image) My intention was to change the header to my own personal design but even though I followed the instructions, it just did not work. I think that I will try again maybe third time lucky.
I also tried to edit the CSS but like above, I followed the instructions but no luck so I hoping that someone in the seminar group will know what to do.
I feel that this is a blog that I have to get use too as I am so use to working on this blog that I am not sure that I want to change, maybe that is the reason for why I can't work wordpress. We shall see how it goes though I cannot just judge the site on first impressions.
