In Reality!

If my website was to be launched live onto the internet i think that it would be easy to maintain and develop. The standard layout for each of the pages is quite simple and each seperate item has been created in its own layer, so therfore it can be moved around freely and changed quite easily. On a larger scale i would produce an interactive calander that allowed the user to search the archive and see who was born on a leter or earlier date. Only one author would be posted each week even if they shared a birthday with someone else. I would probably pick the more well known of authors and feature them but also state at the bottom of the page also born on this day and then link it back to the calander so they could access the information from there. By doing this i think it would allow the user to access a variety of information without cluttering the pages. The only problem that i can see possibly occuring is where to draw the line and distinguish what authors to include and who to leave out. For this purpose i would only feature authors who are known for writing classics, or who are British or write popular fiction. This is because the audience i am aiming this design at is the 'educated' or people who have a general interest in literature as then the forum i have set up would be less likely to have any offensive or explict material posted. All the posts will be regulated and if certain key banned words are used then the article will not be published but instead returned with a warning, whilst all images will have to be certified before they are allowed to be seen by others, this will ensure that the content is suitable for people of all ages to view without being offended.

My Website Has Been Created!

I have just completed my website and i am really pleased with the overall outcome. The background image works well and the content is simple yet informative enough to serve a purpose. I have chosen to use the font Lucida Calligraphy for all the text on my pages as i think that this style compliments my content. My website consists of four pages, Homepage (Born on this day), Wilkie Collins, Woman in White and Forum. All these pages have active links within them that either move internally through my design or link externally to other existing web pages. The navigational bar is situated left of the screen and is there through-out the design. It also tells you where you are in the site by stating you are... and then forward to... and back to... I chose to do this as the user can see clearly the pages they have visited and if the are moving in a linear way through the website or just using the website to access the resources that they need. I don't actually think i would change anything on my design if i were to do this project again, i normally struggle to convey my ideas from paper onto the computer but i have actually enjoyed creating content and uploading it onto the pages that i designed previously.

Background Image

I have found this really nice wallpaper on some website as a free background, so i have decided to use it on my website. Im going to change the opacity in photoshop as at the moment i think it would be too dominant on the page especially if i was to put text in front of it, think if i reduce it to around 25% it should still be visable to now too overpowering. I think the image is quite relevant to my idea as its basic writing equiptment and all the information i will be posting will be based on authors. Going to try and inport in into photoshop now and see if it works!

My Idea Finalised!

This is my favourite passgae in the book as it sets the scene so well, so i have chosen this passage to feature on my main page. By the time I had arrived at the end of the road I had become completely absorbed in my own fanciful visions of Limmeridge House, of Mr Fairlie, and of the two ladies whose practice in the art of water-colour painting I was so soon to superintend. I had now arrived at that particular point of my walk where four roads met -- the road to Hampstead, along which I had returned, the road to Finchley, the road to West End, and the road back to London. I had mechanically turned in this latter direction, and was strolling along the lonely high-road -- idly wondering, I remember, what the Cumberland young ladies would look like -- when, in one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop by the touch of a hand laid lightly and suddenly on my shoulder from behind me. I turned on the instant, with my fingers tightening round the handle of my stick. There, in the middle of the broad, bright high-road -- there, as If it had that moment sprung out of the earth or dropped from the heaven -- stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white garments, her face bent in grave inquiry on mine, her hand pointing to the dark cloud over London, as I faced her.' I will then include an option to post images onto the website that the user feels describes what is happening, there will also be a link to a forum - the user will have to become a member first to ensure what is posted isnt offensive or explicit, but once registered they can post content whenever they want to. The information on the authors page will be quite basic but good enough for the user to establish what type of like they actually lived. Although, the person who is actually using this website i suspect will have a general knowledge of the author anyway as if not why would they be searching for literary authors in the first place?

Bringing all my ideas together!

The idea for my final pience is as follows: I am going to use the born on this day website template to base my idea on. But the content is not going to change daily, but instead once a week on a monday. Therefore if it was to be launched on the actual website an archive of different authors whos birthdays fall between the monday and the sunday will automatically be loaded on the sunday night/ monday morning. Every author will have a section of information about them, a section on thier work with links and then the option to upload any ideas or images the user has regarding the content. This layout will then hopefully allow the user to interact with the website as well as gaining access to the type of information that they require. I need to speak to Ian regarding my idea before i actually create it, but i think it should be ok.

Using Flickr

I have decided after much thought and confusion to try and incorporate the porogram Flickr in my final piece. I remember using it last year with Maria and i found it quite easy to incorporate it in my idea. I have set up a Flickr account and have browsed through photos from other members. Threre are some amazing photos on here and i cant believe how creative some people are, there is an option to add the photos to Favourites - this then allows you to put the photos into your account and access it whenever you want to. There are a few photos that i have found that capture the idea i think that the Woman in White conveys and i am considering including hem in my final piece.

Discussing my Idea!

I spoke to Ian regarding the progress i had made over reading week regarding my online project idea. I wanted to create a website and portal linked to the author Wilkie Collins and his work as when i was researching him i found it hard to get basic information on his life and social background. But upon speaking to Ian my idea seemed really boring and more of the safe option. I have now decided to change my idea slightly, i still want to use the theme of Wilkie Collins but Ian siad to try and make my idea more interactive so im going to go and look at a range of existing websites and see what they offer in terms interaction.

The topic I have chosen.

Over reading week i decided that my website will be based on the author i am writing about in my dissertation. My dissertation is based on Wilkie Collin's and his novella The Woman in White. I have had so much trouble finding information on this subject, all i seem to find is reviews from the musical dircected my Andrew Lloyd Webber. Therefore i think that if my project offered other people in my position a set of links to other useful website that comment on the novel then it wouuld close the gap in the market. But i don't just want my website to attract people who have read the novel, i want to encourage people to want to read the novel also. The book is initially quite daunting as its over 600 pages long and has quite a complicated plot, so by including images both from myself and other users it might appeal to a wider audience, as i didn't really understand the novel until i watched the tv adaptation and then my idea on what was happening and what the characters were like were both clarified and challenged. So i think by allowing the reader to submit thier own visual ideas, would help others to understand the concepts of what is going on.

Working Examples (again!)

To compare to the bad experience i had whilst using the Sun website, i tried to find a website that was user friendly. My favourite one i visited was http://www.habitat.net/uk/main_uk.htm I think that this website for Habitat is well designed, even though it has been designed for a different purpose than the Sun the layout and content is much more accessable. It is so much easier and quicker for the user to find what they are looking for as the imformation is split up into different catogories e.g. different rooms in the house and even further into diffrent items of furniture. This website in my opinion is alot more successful in giving the user what they are looking for. The pages are well balanced and there is not to much displayed on each page. In fairness, both websites navigational bar remains in the same place no matter where your are in the website. They both sit left of the screen and display all the options the user needs to move through the pages. I think i will use this feature of the navigational bar being to the left of the screen as it is more natural for the user - as we read from left to right, so therefore it will be the first thing that the user will see and then recognise as they move through my project.

Working Examples

Ive been thinking back to the different examples that Ian has shown us regarding examples of good and bad websites. I keep remembering his comments regarding the Sun Newspaper website http://www.thesun.co.uk/section/0,,2,00.html and how it is very busy and quite unclear to navigate around. I decided to visit the website for myself and try and view it critically - not really looking at the content but instead focussing on the interactivity and accessability. I found the website quite busy looking with links to many other pages quite overwhelming. Even when i clicked on a story, there was still too much on the page so your attention was drawn away from the actual story i had chosen to read. This was probably down to the amount of red on the pages, i understand that red is a trademark colour of The Sun, but i think if it was used less it would be more effective. This kind of related to the opening of the film Schindler's List and the girl in the red coat; the film is renouned for the image of the girl in the red coat and its because of the subtle use of colour that it works so successfully. I know that this example is a bit extreme but i think if the Sun only used red for the more important pages then it would be easier for the user to tollerate. I think that looking at this website has helped me to start and visualise how i want my website to look.

My First find!

Ive found this really great website called http://born-on-this-day.com/ It reminds me of when i was younger and in primary school as we were shown how to use a program similar to this where you could enter a date and see what happened in history on this day. This website works in the same way, only the search archive is so much bigger and more advanced. I have always been interested on events that have previously happened on certain days of significiance to me. Think this has derived from my uncle who used to work on Radio Merseyside and then Essex FM. Everytime it was someones birthday in the family he would always play the song that was number one when we were born on the radio and dedicate this to us; and i just like the idea of looking back at other important or even landmark events that have happened on a date that is important to me. Think i might try and incorporate this idea into my final piece, havent really thought of a subject to base my designs on yet, but im going to do some research and see what i can come up with!

Working backwards!

Since my last post my ideas have developed and changed to fit the set brief. All my ideas have seemed to develop on paper- but as you know im an English student so this is what comes naturally to me, but i will fill you in on my progress! At the moment i am working on putting my project together using macromedia dreamweaver, all seems to be going well. but first think i should start back at the beginning and explain my thoughts and how i came to my final idea.

The Brief has been set!

Today was my first session regarding the Online Project, we were shown lots of different materials that gave us all something to go away and think about. My initial thoughts regarding the brief was to concentrate on Interactive Narratives - something like a hyper-text. I quite like the idea of telling a story that has more than one possible outcome; as it gives the reader a different experience everytime they read it. To offer the user a interactive experience, firstly we must engage with the reader and capture thier attention - once we have thier attention they will then want to engage with the interface and then hopefully explore every possible navigational area. This is what i hope to achieve in my project as if what i design allows the user to engage with it in a interactive way then hopefully i will have answered the brief successfully! Only time will tell...