3 Choices for Bad E-Commerce Websites...

These are some websites that my partner and I looked at:

Marc Jacobs - Fashion Designer
Jonano - Fashion Designer
Indie Shopper

We chose to follow through with redesigning this website because its identity really needs help and their website is very pink and girly. The navigation works, but the links are large and span the entire webpage. It really just needs a hierarchy adjustment and some simplifying of the layout.
Love my Shoes

Week 2 Reading Response

Chapters 3 through 5 were very interesting because it pointed out a lot of issues that are so commonly viewed on websites. The author defines five basic rules for designing websites:

1. Create visual hierarchy
2. Take advantage of convention
3. Break up pages into sections
4. Make it obvious what is clickable
5. Minimize noise

I thought these were excellent rules to go by because it makes the website user friendly and easy to navigate. I most liked the rule about following convention because as a graphic designer who wants to stand out and feels like they need to break convention, its not always the best route. Websites are laid out the way that they are because it works. There are sections developed to be in a certain place and a certain size because it is functional and easy to understand. The last thing that you want to do is turn a customer or employer away just because you changed things so much that the navigation was frustrating. I also agree that minimizing noise and "happy talk" is necessary because no one is going to read it anyways and it allows the viewer to find exactly what they are looking for quickly.

Creative Brief

 Background:

Portfolio websites are meant for presenting yourself as an artist and a professional so that you have a presence on the web. It is a way for an artist to showcase their work, display themselves and their personality, as well as provide clients and possible employers a way to contact them. I intend on using this portfolio website as a means to obtain an internship and then possibly begin my career.

Target Audience:

The target audience for my portfolio website would be possible employers, and the secondary audience would be fellow artists and designers.

Objective:

I want my target audience to feel comfortable when using my site and be able to enjoy the experience of viewing my portfolio. I want to look professional, but I also want to be able to express my personality and drive as a designer through the layout and design of my website. I want employers to look at my website and see my skills and design sense and want to hire me.

Obstacles:

I need to be carful not to over do the character and personality of the website and have it get in the way of the focus. I need to find the right balance between simplicity and creative design. I also do not want to misrepresent myself as a graphic designer and I need to make the wording and descriptions within my website clear and functional for all users.

Key Benefit:

Employers will have a better understanding of who I am and what I do as a Graphic Designer.

Tone:

The website should have character and express myself as an artist but the overall tone should be professional, which means keeping things clean, simple, and well-planned.

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Sketches and Notes

Portfolio Website Mood Board

Week 1 Reading Response

Steve Krug is a usability professional who deals with reorganizing websites so that they are more user friendly. His first law of usability is "Don't Make me Think," which means that every website should be self-evident and obvious enough so that any user can navigate it without thinking too much. Every link, image, bar, and graphic poses a question to the user and making these items self-evident is key to a websites success. Even the names that are used for the links are important. For instance, using the word "Jobs" for a link is much more efficient and obvious than using "Employment Opportunities." The developer has to keep in mind that people do not want to solve a puzzle or be confused, but rather would like information to be laid out for them. Users also never read over websites, but rather glance over the page for key words or images pertaining to the item or task they are searching for. Websites with clear labels, links and images are much more successful with usability than those that are cluttered with text and information. There is no instruction manual that tells the user about how to use every website and so most people will "muddle through" a website and eventually find what they are looking for. Keeping a website simple and obvious helps to eliminate any excess muddling and will hopefully keep the users coming back for more.

Portfolio Website Inspiration

 Take a look at some of these wonderful portfolio websites:

2 Serious
Kidd81
Ploc Design
Adaptd
Emotions Live

Skills Inventory

Name: Amanda Winkler - Bennett

Department/Program: Graphic Design AAA

Are you graduating this Quarter? Yes

Online Social and Professional networks: Facebook

Website URL: My portfolio website is www.bennettdesignconcepts.com

What software experience do you have? 

Photoshop: I love to do photo manipulation and editing in Photoshop and I know how to use photoshop to create layouts and optimize them for the web. 

Illustrator: Illustrator is my favorite program because I really enjoy its drawing and vector capabilities. I'm fairly well versed in the program. 

Dreamweaver: I have never used dreamweaver because I like to code my websites by hand. 

HTML: I know basic html and css and can build clean and functional websites. 

InDesign: I have not worked a whole lot in InDesign but I have created multiple publications using this program. I like its grid and layout structures and well as some of the options it has for publishing.

Explain your objective for the class to the best of your knowledge:

Learn iWeb? I have not used this before, but I can imagine it would come in handy when mocking up a website from its raw design. 

Publish web site? I have a few websites that I have live right now and I feel fairly comfortable with the process.

Revise and update current site? My portfolio website needs some work and I'm looking forward to working on it further and updating it.

Begin the process of a professional web presence? I am looking forward to learning more about how to develop a professional web presence including where and how to best present myself.