Cameron Payami website evaluation
I have designed a website to aid and inform the younger generation (14-25) on safe sex and the risks that come with it for example STDs such as Aids, Genital warts, crabs and more.
I have researched various websites that are related to my websites cause (sexual health). From this i have gathered information like layouts, colour schemes, photo ideas, facts and figures. I have used this gathered information and developed it to suit my websites subtle tone i have done this by gathering data and changing some elements for example, some websites i have researches had an overly formal layout i took some elements of their websites and changed the positioning of the text boxes to make the website more informal and playful. Instead of sticking to a bold 3 colour layout i have designed a background with an array of colours in the form of paint splats (this was done using paint stamps on Photoshop) this is then contrasted by a white text and a yellow “Sex And You” tile/logo (Also designed by me on Photoshop using textiles) by doing this it offers the younger generation to feel comfortable around adults and doctors to discuss their sex life and problems they have or are worried about this is a challenge to conventional websites that are direct and almost demanding “You must see a doctor”, “when having sex use protection!” (Gathered text from websites i have researched).
I have however followed the typical photo style because all sexual health websites lighten the mood using a happy or playful photo this insinuates many thing for example, if you have an STD that cannot be cured you can still live happy, it also shows that every one from any demographic group can catch an STD, i think this is presented well through photos on most sexual health websites. The main challenge towards typical websites would be the written language, the websites i have researched, all follow the typical formal format by using long educated words and statistics including science, this baffles the reader and makes a simple objective like finding out what form of contraception suits you a hard thing to do.
The targeted demographic group for my website is anyone in their early teens to mid twenties I aim to aid anyone within this age group who is sexually active, this is represented on my site through a playful, young and colourful website that used what is seen as a young design template to lighten the tone. The text is also written in an easy to understand context this is done by using plain and simple words and not confusing the young reader by throwing scientific facts at them like the sites I researched do. The video “Dr.J Baxter’s take on STDs” is filmed in an relaxed tone as apposed to websites like the NHS where there is a very formal character telling you what you HAVE to do, my video contrasts this as the character in my video looks relaxed as he leans against the wall, this makes the website, doctors and adults seem more approachable. The photos I have taken and put on the website represent the younger generation well because they are filled with young people in their teens looking happy and having a good time, this makes the website more relatable. However I was able to make talking to an adult about your problems seem easier by having a photo of a normal teenager having a friendly conversation with a teacher.
I think many forms of media institutions would be interested in distributing my media project however distribution of a website is a lot harder than distributing other forms of media such as newspapers, films and music. I have researched into what institutions may be interested in advertising my website through a small advert for example a picture of a condom with the words “worried about sex?” written on them that is enabled as a hyperlink to my website, possible interested institutions would be social networking sites such as Face book, Twitter, Bebo, MySpace and others these are great forms of media distribution because the majority of social networking site users are under 30 and their fore this hits my target audience. I researched websites like NHS and YPSH that also aim to inform people about sexual health and how they advertise and raise awareness. NHS rely on leaflets to be given out in schools and occasional appearances on television I think this is the best approach to raise awareness, by using leaflets and distributing them in a school the NHS are directly approaching teenagers and providing them with a website that allows them to understand sex and its dangers more. However YPSH don’t use many forms of advertisement other than being on “Related links” sections on other sexual health websites. I think that it would be best to advertise my website as much as possible to raise awareness to the younger generations i would do this through supplying secondary schools with leaflets that show teenagers that there is a young, fresh and new site that can help them with their queries on sex. I would also advertise through social networks, by having a small advertisement on the side of the website. To achieve a high hit count i would also ask phone lines such as child line and sexual health support line to recommend our website to those who might need it.
I attracted my target audience through asking roughly 50 people within my target age limit what preferences they have on a website that is targeted at the younger generation. Most people said colour is an important factor on a website targeted at young people and that I should try not to stick to conventional 3 colour schemes so I tried to apply this knowledge as best I could, I think I have achieved this because my background is made up of an array of colours and there is no specific colour scheme however every colour seems to balance each other. I was also informed that being too scientific/formal through text is a bad idea because it can bore the younger generation or make them feel like it is not addressed to their age group, so I challenged this formal form of text and tried to keep my text simple and easy to follow.
I find that Digital software has aided my project majorly, the use of final cut express for example. I used final cut express to edit my video this is quick and easy to use software that allows you to cut, add effects, add text and more to a video making it more presentable. Photoshop is also an extremely useful piece of software that has allowed me to edit the photos I have taken on my camera and fix them up for example changing the contrast, brightness, saturation and more this is useful because it enabled me to edit my best photos and make them suit the website. I also used Photoshop to design a logo/title for my website that is used throughout all my pages. I Found Mac Diary extremely useful I was able to plan out my development and what days I would do certain activities to improve my website in a simple easy to understand format. I have learnt that Iweb is an extremely easy way to design your own website its applications are easy to use and it is very easy to understand, making hyperlinks enabled is simple and adding widgets is made easier due to a widgets bar on the right hand side, as apposed to online web design websites you are not limited to provided layouts and your are not restricted to the provided simple applications for example just text and pictures. However Iweb has its limitations for example you are not able to make buttons as interactive and as exciting as others that you might find on the web.
From looking at my preliminary site i can see that my Iweb skills have developed and my understanding of website design has improved as i have targeted my audience, designed my site, set a layout, set a colour scheme, taken photos, filmed a video, edited various forms of data and spent time researching how other related websites have managed to design a website like mine, through all this i have learnt the basics of how to make a website successful and like to think that i would be able to do this based around different topics. The differences between my school website and my sexual health website is the quality of text, the text and grammar has become easier to understand and more suited to the target audience. My photography and ability to edit my photos using software has improved in contrast to my school website my photos suit the page and show exactly what the photo is meant to represent. The first site was a simple task and easy to design where as the sexual health campaign was harder to put together because i had to think a lot more and do a lot of research to get my facts right and find a suiting look and had a completely different aim. This made a difference to my design because i had no idea on how to present a sexual health website nicely so it took time to see how other websites managed this and how i could use elements of other sites successes and apply them to my own website. My most developed skills from doing this project is the ability to understand different forms of presentation and how everything has to balance to make the website understandable.
Cameron Payami
