RESEARCH As a key part of my research I began looking into what websites about Buddhism for teenagers already existed. My searching didn’t last very long as I came to the conclusion almost immediately that what was to offer on the web was not of use to many young teenagers. The designs were not well thought out, the colours were not pleasing to the eye and the information was not set out in a way that was helpful or informative. This confirmed that there was a huge gap in the web for this sort of website.
Even though I am constantly browsing the internet and coming across hundreds of different sites I came to realise that often the design of them is something that I don’t particularly notice or engage in. I know subconsciously it influences how I think and how I navigate the page and understand that it is an important aspect of a website. I looked into different types of design such as flat, skeuomorphism and single page, analysing each one to see where they would be appropriate and why. I considered single page websites, multi-page, scrolling features and the use of photography. All of these I feel suit a different audience and have a different tone of voice and so this is something I will need to consider.
Depending on the audience for my website I think it is important to consider making it responsive so that it is accessible on all forms of media due to the increase in popularity of smart phones and tablets etc. The tone of voice is something I also need to decide before I begin, I looked into other web design and tried to determine from what I could see who was the target audience and what was the tone of voice? Some websites have to be serious such as ‘The Guardian’ or other news resources, they need to be formal and informative in the way they present information. This differs however to commercial sites such as BMW, the grids can be much more complex and the colour and layout a lot more intricate.
Although I had plenty of primary research collected from the summer I decided that my content needed to be more informational and factual, and the research I had collected would be used to back this up. I used these two books as my two main resources as I felt that when they were written they had the same target audience in mind as I do at this point and it helps me to see how wording can affect how we take in information. I decided that it needed to be condensed information to only the necessary facts. I began to look more in-depth into aspects of Buddhism that I had only touched upon in my initial research such as the 8 Buddhist symbols. I wanted to inform myself about as much as possible so I felt prepared to create something informational.
INITIAL DESIGNS
Collecting together a few ideas into visual scamps made it much easier for me to see which ones worked best on paper and which ones didn’t. I made five detailed versions that showed a range of different ideas that I could convey through my website. I could tell immediately when I finished them that some worked were much stronger than others and had a much better concept for me to work with. At this stage I found the crits were really important, they helped me decide which idea to pursue and which ones to discard. The top left was my strongest as it offered a much better layout and navigation system. These were my three initial digital designs. They were all very rough ideas and were really useful for informing me straight away what looked good and what didn’t. Colour was only lightly considered at this point and I hadn’t yet decide on a set palette. I would usually choose the colours first and then begin designing but I am quite glad I tried it this way first as I found some colours that worked were ones I wouldn’t have chosen to use initially. I tested different ways of working, whether it be completely vector or using my own photography. I really liked the designs with the photographs on but eventually decided they wouldn’t be appropriate. I spent a long time considering my layout and arrangement on the page, as I had never designed for web before I wanted to look from all angles at how my site could be successfully designed. I looked into many different wire frames to see which would be the most appropriate.
DESIGN CHOICES/STYLE SHEET Fonts - Needs to be clear, concise, be readable and appeal to young learners and teens learning in or out of an educational environment, working in school or researching for homework.
This is the logo that I will use throughout my digital designs, it creates something relative and fun that adds character to the website and theme and applies to young people.
BUDDHISM FOR BEGINNERS
Bebas Neue (42pt Header)
home|contact|about Bebas Neue (30pt Subheading) It is suggested that meditating once or twice a day for up to thirty minutes is something that Buddhists should try to follow. This helps clear the mind and allow it to focus on the important thing such as the eightfold path, this should be constantly thought about.
Robe & Ring R: 255 G: 153 B: 51
Skin R: 204 G: 153 B: 102
Hair & Feature R: 102 G: 51 B: 0
Earrings R: 51 G: 51 B: 51
70%
100%
50%
100%
Vectors - I created a whole range of vector images for my website, I used a continuing line weight and style throughout. I kept the colour and size the same so it created a specific theme that made the pages all relate to each other strongly. These vectors are simple line drawings that split up the information with fun to look at and interesting images. I kept them simple as I didn’t want it to complicate the layout.
Avenir Light (12pt Bodycopy) Colour - I used Paletton to find a palette I wanted to work with and found the correct RGB colours that were also Web-safe. Orange is the most obvious colour related to Buddhism and as this was a platform for learning why should I use any other colour.
Buttons - I have four main buttons on my homepage, these will be direct links to the corresponding page’ History, Teachings, Lifestyle and Meditation. When used on a computer the button would be displayed as an image (left) and on the right as the cursor rolls over it, it will highlight and show the name of the page (right).
R: 255 G: 153 B: 51
R: 204 G: 153 B: 102 # 1D1D1B #693807
#CC9966 #FF9833 70% Opacity
R: 102 G: 51 B: 0
R: 51 G: 51 B: 51 The orange is my main colour that I am using throughout and the others are secondary and used in small areas for subheadings and bodycopy text or for small vectors.
Grid - I used an 8 column grid as I wanted to have flexibility when laying out my content. I didn’t have a set number of rows, just a guideline to be able to align content neatly and in an orderly way.
FINAL DESIGN
After a lot of experimentation and gaining constant feedback from peers and tutors to make suitable adjustments and amendments I finally had my finished designs. I was really pleased with what they looked like and I feel I managed to communicate the message of learning in a fun and interesting environment. I added an interactive section which allowed the audience to use the knowledge they had read to test themselves to see what they had remembered. I think the colour palette and typefaces used were suitable for web design and fitted in well with the theme and tone of voice. I would like to develop this further by adding more sections and including possibly more interactive features.
CONTEXT
I had set up my document when designing my website so that I could easily adapt it to fit into several types of screen sizes, I developed my Smartphone design with a slightly different grid however as it wouldn’t work in the same format as the website for a large screen. I had to adapt to the long and thin screen size and alter my content so that it read accordingly and the navigation was just as simple and easy to understand. I am really pleased with how it works on different devices and I think it is a versatile design that could adapt to any new developments into technology that could emerge.