PROGRESS PRESENTATION

Link to Progress Presentation - 

http://prezi.com/h1l89tfoignz/go-kingston/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

As a group we had to present our progress of the website to fellow peers, and this allowed us to get feed back and improve the site further. Overall, the feedback was positive and many liked how the design side had changed over time, due to not looking right on the screen and just for personal reasons. Also, some like the actual concept of the website, as many felt that they didn't know what was in and around Kingston, so they felt that they can easily relate to it. 
Although, some did give pointers of development, some suggested to change the font just to make it more readable and easy on the eye. Also, some suggested that we test that the site is responsive on all mediums, and if not how could we fix it?
Overall, comments/feedback was ok, but there is more work to be done. 

UPDATED LAYOUTS

Looking at the previous website homepage, personally I feel that it wasn't working and didn't look right when on the computer screen. So I decided to change the homepage, but keep with the logo and colour scheme previously used.

From the old design there was not much going on, on one page, and it became to busy and messy for the user to look at. So, keeping with blues/greens, I decided to use one large image of Kingston and cover it in lime green box, and reduce the opacity, so it creates a nice fade on the image.

Secondly, I wanted to keep the text/content as minimal and simple as possible, because as a group we wanted to give the information to the user right away and make it easy for them to use the site. However, I have done a number of different versions and as a group we still need to decide on a final design, but I feel that these versions of the homepage have improved from the beginning of designs. 

WEBSITE LOGO

 

This is the final logo of the website. 

Looking at the previous logos I had designed, and the main focus of the website as a group we wanted to keep things simple and make it easy for the viewer to read. 
With the logo I decided to keep the text in a simple font as it gets straight to the point and tells the user exactly what this site is about. The name is "K-GO", which stands for Kingston Go, and shortening down the name further reaches the audience of male/female students as they all mostly use social media and they create a lot of abbreviations on the content they write. Also, the colour of the dark, mint green against the white text works well, as I feel the colour isn't to bright or dull, and plus it isn't gender set, so reaches a wider user-ship. Lastly, stated earlier on, the group still wanted the shape of an arrow within the site, so the use of the arrow in the logo allowed this. Even with the text and arrow the logo is kept simple, clean and easy to read, and keeping it minimal makes it more interesting for the user and would make them want to explore the site some more. 

PRODUCTION

The programs I used for designing the website was Illustrator and Photoshop. Before doing the design for this website, I did have previous skills in these programs, and I feel doing this I was able to develop them skills. Using these programs to design the layouts/logos allowed me to create what me and the group wanted, and it was easy to convert for the programmer of the group to put the designs into the website program. 

 

PROBLEM WITH APP

In the proposal as a group we stated that we wanted to create an app, as this would reach the target audience of university students rapidly. Especially  as in todays society most young people have a mobile phone, so if they want too look at the app we create its possible. 
However, the group done some deeper research into the into app creation, and the only problem that arose wasn't creating the program, but was getting the end product onto iTunes. We found out that it would cost a lot and it may take a long time, but with a time limit we had to come up with an alternative, especially to reach the audience.
To over come this issue, as a group we decided not to create an app, but make a website that was responsive. This means that the site will adjust to whatever piece of technology it comes up on. For example, there is a certain piece of html coding that allows the site to do this, and so if the website is opened on a phone, it will automatically adjust its sizing to fit the screen. 
Overall, as a group we had a problem but we resolved quickly and still had the audience in mind to make sure we reach them. 

FIRST DESIGN OF SITE

The images shown in this post, show potential home pages of the website. Firstly, the colours of blues/greens make it reach the audience, both male/female easier, like it's not targeted for one gender. Also, the colours create a calm and relaxing mood within the website. And against the white background it keeps things simple and minimalistic.  
The font is also kept simple, as it emphasises that it does the job and gives the right information for the audience. And it is easy for the user to read the content and be navigated around the website.  


However, personally I feel that there are some problems with the style of the homepage. As a group we did want to focus on the shape of an arrow, and trying to place arrows on a web page became difficult. Looking at both of the designs, there is too much happening and the viewer doesn't know where to focus. Even though the colours work, I personally feel that it looks like a mess and needs improving. 

WIREFRAMES / LAYOUTS

Below is the structure of how the pages all interlink with each other, and as you can see it is kept simple, making it easier for the user to navigate. 

The image below shows the potential layout/design of the homepage, a logo and branding still needs working on, but this gives some idea of how the site could look.