JANELLE AZMY
525 S State St. ⧫ Chicago, IL ⧫ 60605 Janelle.azmy@gmail.com 314-640-9971 __________________________________________________________________________
MEMO: To: Lisa Bell From: Janelle Azmy Date: March 18, 2014 Subject: Laurie Stream Dance, Inc. Website Redesign
Project Overview Our company website, Laurie Stream Dance, Inc. (http://www.lauriestreamdanceinc.com), could truly benefit from a new design. The website has several design flaws which seem unprofessional and are hindering our customer outreach. This report outlines the main flaws of the website as well as recommendations to help fix and redesign our company’s site.
Key Problems The three major problems with the Laurie Stream Dance, Inc. website are: • Lack of continuity • Distracting and irrelevant background • Information is flawed Lack of continuity The randomness of the colors, fonts and sizes of the text is highly distracting. When the viewer first sees the website they are unable to focus on any information in particular because of the multitude of distractions pulling them in all directions. Some of the colors used make the text indecipherable. Some of the text seems to be bolded randomly and inconsistently. The font changes frequently, but of the fonts used none of them are professional. The text sizes also vary widely without consistency. Distracting and irrelevant background The background is the first distraction for the viewer upon entering the website. The customer is unable to read the information on the site because the background hinders the text. The background is also hard to decipher, making it even more of a distraction. Upon further inspection it appears that the background is lighted Christmas trees with glowing orbs of snow falling from the sky; it is March so that seems really out of season. Information is flawed The text information itself is poorly written. It is not concise and there is repetition. There are also several misspellings. All of this is harming Laurie Stream Dance, Inc.’s credibility and leads the viewer to believe the company is unprofessional.
Solutions for Website Design I have researched our competitors and have come up with some possible solutions for our website’s redesign that will make our webpage more accessible and professional. First, there needs to be a clear and concise color theme of no more than three colors. A two color scheme is ideal. The font needs to be professional, consistent and easy to read. An example of a company that does an excellent job at this is Krupinski Dance Academy (http://krupinskiacademy.com). They have an inviting and consistent two-color theme of purple and blue. This still seems playful without appearing sporadic and giving the viewer a headache; it also helps brand the company. Krupinski Dance Academy uses a mature font that is easy to read and they are consistent with using it. Headings are clear and intentionally bolded. The whole site is easy to navigate and read. Our website needs to be adjusted so that there is a general cohesiveness to it. Second, our website needs to have a more relevant background. The background also needs to facilitate the information on our website, not add to the mayhem. Dimensions Dance Center (http://dimensionsdancecenter.org) has an excellent example of a background that adds to the feel of the website. The background has color blocking of a few select colors. The background doesn’t just have to be white or a plain color, as long as it aids the viewer in accessing the information. The Dimensions Dance Center website background doesn’t distract, while still adding to the websites character and overall feel. If Laurie Stream Dance, Inc. could use a color blocked background that went with the website’s overall theme it would help the website immensely. Lastly, the writing on the website is remedial. It doesn’t seem like much time or effort was put into the text, and there doesn’t appear to have been any proofreading or editing. This reflects badly on us. We need our website to represent us as a professional and competitive company in the market place. The On Your Toes Dance Studio (http://www.danceonyourtoes.com) has a very well written website. A customer viewing the On Your Toes website will have an easy time reading the concise and relevant information presented to them. The On Your Toes website is free of typos. We need to rewrite our website to show the viewer that we are educated and able to provide the services we say we can.
Recommendations This report has outlined the critical problems with the Laurie Stream Dance, Inc. website. The primary issues with the website are as follows: there is a lack of continuity or theme in the colors, fonts and sizes, the background is distracting and irrelevant and the text information is flawed. By identifying several of our competitors’ websites that are exemplary in the areas our website is lacking, we can adjust and redesign our webpage to meet industry standards. We need to make our website a cohesive and informative resource to our customers. I recommend that we begin the website redesign process as soon as possible so that it may be completed before fall registration. Please contact me if you have any questions or if you would like to discuss the timeframe for moving forward with this extremely important project. Thank you for your time and consideration.