Research Portfolio

Megan Ellaby http://www.meganellaby.com 

Content – what do they have on there?

On the main page of the website the page is full of photos which link to blog posts. On the blog posts there are more larger photos and some writing to go with them, talking about the photos and Megan’s life. At the top of the page there is a navigation bar, on the left there is a logo and on the right there are links to different pages these are:“about, pages, shop and contact”. 

Ease of use – how easy is it to navigate around, any problems, confusion etc.

The website is easy to navigate, it is laid out in quite a simple way with each photo linking to a blog post, also the option to search is useful because if you are looking for something specific you can find it. Also the navigation bar is very useful because it separates out the information making things easier to find.

Design – colours, fonts, logos, menus

The website has lots of different colours on it because of all the photos, this makes it interesting and exciting to look at. The font is easy to read and stays consistent throughout the website which is aesthetically pleasing. On the left of the navigation bar at the top there is a logo which stays at the top as you scroll through the website. The menu at the top is white and uses the same font as the rest of the website.

Layout – whitespace, images, position of links/information/text

At the top of the page there is a navigation bar that is white and includes links to other pages and her logo, this bar stays on the top as you scroll down. On the home page there is a grid of photos filling the page, if you hover over each photo it is a link to a blog post. The only text on the homepage is on the menu bar or what appears as you hover over the photos. On the blog posts there are larger photos with paragraphs of writing in between. 

Who you think they have aimed for (the audience)- how can you tell? What

design features have they used to make sure it is user friendly to these people?

I think that they have aimed the blog at young adults that are female or have very feminine fashion. I can tell because the focus of the blog is on fashion and the writer of the blog has a very femine fashion sense. They have included lots of photos to make it user friendly to these people because they can see clearly what they came for straight away.

How has this research helped you to develop your own initial ideas?

This research has helped me develop my initial own ideas because it has given me ideas about what I want to add to my website. For example i think that the use of lots of photos is interesting and looks good. Also the navigation bar is very useful and how it stays at the top is great, so i would like to include something similar in mine if i can.

Alan Parker http://alanparker.com 

Content – what do they have on there?

The homepage of the website has a large picture of Alan on it and in the corner it says “Alan Parker: Director, Writer, Producer”. At the top of the page there is a navigation bar with the headings : biography, films, clips, early work, essays, cartoons and quotes. The biography page includes some detailed writing about Alan’s life and filmmaking, along with photos that link to what is being talked about. The film tab drops down to a list of his films and on each one is photos from the relevant film and links to more information.

Ease of use – how easy is it to navigate around, any problems, confusion etc.

The website is easy to navigate around, the navigation bar at the top makes it easy to find what you are looking for. However a search bar would make it even simpler to navigate.

Design – colours, fonts, logos, menus

The background of the website is black and the photos are all either black and white or quite dark photos. The font stays consistent throughout the whole website, the titles are in a bolder version of the font. The website doesn’t have a logo but it uses the writing of his name as one. There is a navigation bar at the top which contains lots of menus to link you to different pages.

Layout – whitespace, images, position of links/information/text

The layout of the home page is that there is a big photo of Alan filling the page, along with his name in big letters in the bottom right corner (which if you hover over it shows some of the biography and a link to the full biography. The links are all at the top right in the navigation bar, they lead to different bits of information about Alan and his work.

Who you think they have aimed for (the audience)- how can you tell? What

design features have they used to make sure it is user friendly to these people?

I think the audience this website is aimed at is adults of all genders who are interested in film and the life and work of Alan Parker. I can tell because the whole website is about Alan Parker and his work, also it is laid out very professionally and not in a kid friendly way.

How has this research helped you to develop your own initial ideas?

 This research has helped me because it has shown me how to layout a professional website that showcases work to do with film clearly. It has helped develop my own initial ideas because seeing how it is done properly gives me ideas on how it would be best to do it.