My Final Design

My Final Design

Throughout the creative making process of this assignment, I tweaked a couple of features from my designs. These small changes are very evident on my final outcome, and create a more professional appearance and organised structure.

Here you can see my full design (above). You can see the master file basically contains the features which stay on every page, for example, the header, footer and navigation bar. Each file looks neat and organised apart from the three galleries, because in order to see the photographs full screen after clicking the thumbnails they have to over-ride the neatness of the design and fill the screen.

Some advice I got given during the creative process was to add more colour to my design, because it looked boring and plain. So, I decided to add a slanted rectangle to remove some of the structure and add some creative artistic elements on the website not just the photographs. The colour of the rectangle is actually the lightest colour on the image with the location photography blog post. Also, by adding a working form people who want to purchase my book can just fill out the form and send off for one. 

These three pages (above) show my literacy skills and teaching skills. This will be an ongoing blog updated every week with a new lesson on each three themes. This shows I am more than just a blogger or just a photographer. I am a teacher. I am providing more materials for young aspirational photographers who would visit my website every week to learn something new.

From my original design this about page has changed a lot. There is less writing and the images are a lot bigger. They fill the space. They fill the page.

My gallery design is basically the same. It is very simple yet does its job. Its clear and easy to work.

These are the galleries when you click on one of the yellow flower images on the main gallery page. When you click on the thumbnail of a picture then it appears full screen in a slide show format.

If I could change anything on my designs I would create social media pages also to link up to this website using the social media thumbnails in the bottom left corner.

Using Adobe Muse

Using Adobe Muse

The software I will be using to create my three page website is called Adobe Muse. Adobe Muse was first released May 7, 2012, but it's most stable release was June 15, 2015. It is described as a visual design editor. It can create websites perfect for desktops, tablets and mobile devices.

I used this book to help me use Adobe Muse. "Adobe Muse Classroom In A Book". This helped me, because it worked through creating the website in simple stages, which I find an easy way of learning. From creating the master layout to placing little widgets and special assets on to my website.

Changing My Designs

Changing My Designs

In order to now create my three page website I will have to update my designs from the feedback I received from my first project.

These three images (above) show my original designs, which I submitted for my previous assignment. The feedback I received stated that there was too much literacy and not enough visuals for a photography focused website. Also, this web design is quite dark for floral photography, because flowers are quite colourful and the blackness contrasts the colours. Finally, the last piece of feedback was that my social networking signs are too large suggesting they have the same importance as my logo, which was unintentional.

Looking at these new designs in contrast to the former ones; quite a bit has changed. the homepage alone is a lot brighter and instead of christmas packages I have decided to promote and sell my new book. There a bit more interactivity on the homepage now, because a reader can fill out the form to order my book. On the about page the block of writing in the centre of the page is a mixture of both descriptions; my companies and mine. The gallery really proves that less is more, because by sticking with three pictures of yellow flowers there is a strong theme, which is clear and easy to follow.

Final Three Web Page Designs

Final Three Web Page Designs

From my previous post on the basic web design for all my pages it is clear that my three pages are a home page, an about page, and a gallery page. Some of the designs have changed from the initial designs, which is progress. So here they are...

The Home Page

I have decided to create the home page in the style of an up to date professional blog. After looking at one blog post in more detail, (by clicking continue reading,) there will be links to further blog posts related to the one the viewer just read. I have decided to put the three most up to date blog posts in sections of the three types of photography, which my company focuses on, studio and location photography, and the editing processes I go through. As well as these blog posts I have added a banner towards the bottom of the page advertising my products during the festive season, with the hope that people who like my work will purchase some of my photographs for themselves or other people for christmas. I have presented details where people can make enquiries on my home page also, because my company specialises in creating the image you want to see as well as in my own point of view.

The About Page

My about page is very simple yet informative. It explains the journey I have been through from my hobby of photography through education to setting up the company. I have placed some quick important information before writing about the company and I, because due to high demand and no patience in the modern world people need answers to their questions quickly, so I placed the most commonly asked questions' answers first in a biographical format. Then I have spoke about the company and I in further detail explaining my journey and informing the viewer about myself. At first I faced the challenge of knowing what information to put on the internet about myself without giving away too many details. i have overcome this by stating general information like the city I live in and not my address, and I decided that my date of birth may be important, however, on a Facebook account that information will be evident anyway. Also, I was thinking about every year having a special deal on my photographic works on my birthday, so this information is able to be displayed.

The Gallery Page

The gallery page is the final web design out of my three pages. My initial design showed several albums of my work on my website. However, I have decided that a simpler layout was needed, because the page became to full that the viewer didn't know where to look. I have decided to have my gallery page as links into albums containing all my photographs taken at different times in these three sections, which are studio photographs, location photographs and edited photographs. I have chosen two photographs to represent each section to give more of a varied selection in the attempt to have the viewer know where they're going and what they are able to find. The Myriad Pro regular font is used on each section for clarity and legibility. I have used two simple roses from my logo design to fill them empty space on the page, for recognisability and to fill the blank spaces, like my photography does.

Just to clarify...

My Company

My company name is Shauna Richards Photography. My logo design is my initials with black and red roses on them and the word photography in an indented font to act like thorns from a rose. I have created a recognisable brand identity of detailed, dainty photographs of flowers, and my company ethos is to present my photography in my point of view and to construct personalised photographs  to represent what other people would like to see.

My Web Design Features

I have included a home page in the style of a blog. I have a banner in the form of advertisements. After experimenting with buttons I found that a navigation bar would work better as it was simple and easy to use for the viewer. I have posted a variety of content on my web designs such as, a blog of my up to date work, some information on myself (the photographer) and the company, and a full archive of all my best pieces of work in the layout of a gallery. The colour scheme for my website follows the colour scheme of my logo, which is black, white and red. However in some circumstances pink is used instead of red, for example the five images which represent my company are black, white and pink, to create a prettier atmosphere. I have used several graphics e.g. links to other work, social network icon to take viewers straight to my social network pages, and a search bar. Many fonts such as Papyrus regular, Myriad Pro regular and Pristina regular have been applied to my we page designs.