Research
Research part 1:
Here are some plain and boring websites that are not really interactive at all, here are some examples below:
https://www.radiox.co.uk
(Now and Now, 2020)
https://www.dreamworks.com/
(DreamWorks, 2020)
What Makes An Website Interactive?
A website can just be series of images and videos if you want.However that's not very appealing or exciting so why not make your website interactive? Which means you can click on links to take you to videos,games or even other websites and much more.It gets the customers or viewers more engaged in the website therefore the viewers will want to spend more time on your website, recommend it to others and maybe even buy your services or product.This depends on the website as their many many types of them out their on the world wide web.
An example of a good interactive website would be Nickelodeons website.This is because they understand their own brand and what appeals to their young demographic of children therefore this website is colourful and very easy to use and navigate.
http://www.nick.co.uk/
(Nickelodeon | Kids Games, Kids Celebrity Video, Kids Shows | Nick UK, 2020)
It's a very recognizable page you know it's Nickelodeon especially with the use of orange, their main colour.However it's not over used or under used, just the right amount.Along the top of the page their is a tab you can scroll across and see lots of pictures of all the shows old and new, each of them you can click on and be taken to a another page.I clicked on The Legend Of Korra picture and i was transported to this page below.
On this page it's dedicated to the show, theirs lots of interactive features such as games, quizzes, videos, photos and even character bios and information about them from the show.
All this makes it a great website because it's keeping people interested in something by giving them stuff to do.
It's something i wish more websites did especially ones which only have one purpose being, promoting an upcoming movie or TV show.This is because after it's run in 3 or so years (if you are that lucky) it's just going to become pointless and a waste of an opportunity.Evolving with the times is important!
Here are some more similar examples of a good interactive website:
http://www.oasisinet.com/#!/home
(The Official Oasis Website | Oasis Be Here Now reissue, 2020)
A Bad Interactive Website:
An example of a bad interactive website would be this one called lingscars.com.Which is a car rental place in the UK.However it doesn't present itself in a professional way which we would except.
Unfortunately you could still argue it's actually effective at being interactive because their is so much to do as a viewer.However it's to much and over the top. An example would be the colour's they don't fit well together at all especially the background it looks like something from the 60s.It's all a messy indication of not Caring about the brand or product.
I can't believe it's real because it feels and looks like a joke or a parody.Also not everything works for example the chat doesn't work at all from what I've seen when me and classmates have tried to use it.I guess you could say it's a different approach to things.
I love it though, it's so terrible!
https://www.lingscars.com/
(Valentine, 2020)
Pointless But Why Not?
https://neal.fun/life-checklist/
(Neal.fun, 2020)
Websites like this are basically pointless, but can be fun in a way.I wouldn't say they are amazing at being interactive either.This is because how basic they are. However i enjoyed going through these pointless websites, they are great for wasting spare time.
https://theuselessweb.com/
(The Useless Web, 2020)
As my client is after an art portfolio as their website.I decided to look at some examples of art portfolios in the website format.The examples i have found so far are different in many ways, showcasing different types of art for example ceramics, textiles or illustration etc.
https://www.haleykoehn.com/6630273-work
(WORK - Haley Koehn. Art Director., 2020)
This is the first art portfolio i found by Haley Koehn. It's a really minimalistic website, quality over quantity is definitely being prioritised.I think that's a great way to give a potential client an idea of what you can offer and yet still tease them enough to get them curious.This website treats it's viewers with respect.
It's not majorly interactive, however i don't think it needs to be really interactive because it's a different type of website.This is not like the Nickelodeon website which had lots to play and do for a primarily child orientated audience.
The interactivity that this website has is minimal but essential.This is mainly all about the user clicking on a piece of work on the home page to then get taken to another page all dedicated to that particular piece.These pages have a lot of videos to watch on them going into more detail about that piece of work with some information on the page as well unfortunately it's not really easy to read and doesn't stand out from the background.
For example if i choose to click on here:
I will be taken to this page:
This is where the minimalistic approach started to not really work anymore for me because the more time i spent on this website the more empty i felt it's now given me the opinion of it just being plain boring.It's not very engaging or appealing to your eyes, way to much White and spaces between everything.It just looks rushed after the home page.
The contact page is also very scarce there's not much of a presence on this page, not many social links to explore and discover.Which is a shame but that's the choice of the visionary.
This website is also been created by a website like Wix or Sqaurespace as you can see in the corner of the website.
The second art portfolio i looked at was this one by Brandon Celi, also using the website Format.
http://www.brandonceli.com/
(Illustration - Brandon, 2020)
Now this is more of what i like it's colourful it feels full of life and it makes me want to explore the website more therefore the artist as well.The interactivity is similar to the previous website i looked at.However i think it's done more effectively than before.Firstly if you click on a picture it keeps you on the same page but it brings up the picture and tells the viewer what it is and where it was used etc.
An example from the website below:
There is also much more to click on, many more pages to explore. It's much more organised and everything feels like it belongs, nothings out of place.
I really like that you can click on the projects/ series link and it becomes a drop down.This an effective way for you to again organise your work into groups instead of having a single link for each page.This also shows the client that you are able to organise your work efficiently and effectively.Simple yet effective!
It's also a great idea to have whole new pages dedicated to different art types.On this website there is one for paintings, sculptures and illustrations.This allows a potential client to be able to find what that want very easily, it's really effective.This website also has a lot more social links and even a share button.
Other websites I'm researching into further to provide myself with a sense of how to go about with my clients needs includes such sites as Pinterest, Devianart and even Tumblr.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/
(Pinterest, 2020)
Pinterest is an essential to any artist in my opinion.However it's not just for art, there is all kinds of subjects on this website from food to animals it's almost never ending! Pinterest, Deviant Art and Tumblr are all dependent on the community of the site because they provide the content for the site.
A user will able to follow certain topics no matter how much of a small niche it is because there will be something for everyone on Pinterest.
What i really like about Pinterest is their use of colour on the site.It's always been a very appealing and eye-catching site to scroll through with all the bright colours.The people behind Pinterest definitely know what they are doing by making everything so bright, they know it will pull you in and make you pay attention and keep you hooked on the page!
This site can also allow you to message friends as well but the great thing about this is that unlike websites like Facebook it's not the primary selling point for the site. Pinterest knows it's place on the Internet that's why its so effective.
https://www.deviantart.com/
(DeviantArt - Discover The Largest Online Art Gallery and Community, 2020)
The second website is called Deviant Art and it's more dedicated to artwork than Pinterest. However i personally don't like this site because when you upload something to the site it doesn't feel like it's going to get the promotion and the quality presentation that it should be getting on a site like this.
Ultimately it depends on what you want.However it's still regularly used by lots of people so they must be doing something right!
I will have to look into these sites more so i can expand my ideas to help my client with what they want.
https://www.tumblr.com/search/art
(Tumblr, 2020)
Another website similar to the last two.However it's not always been the cleanest of websites it used to be full of porn and I'm not really sure what it's status is these days.I will have to look into Tumblr again for ideas for the project.
what I do really like about Tumblr that's never changed which is how great it is to show off fan art and anything really to do with fandom culture!
If it exists it's most likely got a Tumblr page.This is a website that's very popular with anime and YouTube fandom's well it was when i used it.
It's the same as the other two sites, i will go back into them and check out some of their features for more ideas!
Research Part 2:
WEB 1.0 & 2.0:
(darcy dinucci, n.d.)
(Space Jam, n.d.)
https://www.spacejam.com/jam.htm
(Space Jam, 1996)
Rules & Common Features Of Web 1.0:
*Static Web Pages
*Website Content Stored In Files
Web 2.0:
https://www.youtube.com/
(YouTube, 2020)
Web 3.0:
My First Time With Wix:
Before this project i have had never used Wix or any site quite like it so this was all a learning curve for me.It was great to get acquainted with the site and it's many features for customisation etc.When i first started i felt overwhelmed by all the features however you soon start to feel comfortable with all the features Wix has to offer.
I just wanted to explore and discover new ways to achieve simple goals, it's all about what you want and that's perfect!
https://www.wix.com/
(2020)
The practice site i created was a Oasis fan site.I just wanted to have a bit of a laugh while learning the ropes of Wix.
However it's not good and that's down to me not knowing what i was doing on Wix. It's really frustrating for me to know I'm making something that isn't important or going to be used in any way.Then again it could used be for my obsessions and idols documentary.I might use it to host a survey for that project.
Overall it served it's purpose as a playground for me to get an idea of the basics of Wix. However i spent most of my time on the homepage and i didn't even finish it because of all the different customisation features, completely overwhelmed.The site especially in it's current state is unlikely to get published online but i never know.
(Pinterest, 2020)
Pinterest update:
Survey Monkey:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/57VJBMT
Websites & You
Q1.
Q2.
Another big factor in returning to websites is communication either through something like a Facebook which has a messaging feature on the site but also as a separate app, Messenger which is commonly used to communicate with your friends and family etc.Another way communication is used on websites to make them more effective is a chat bot to help which can help the sites users in finding out any information they might need.A chat bot is something that I could maybe involve into my client's site.This question was very useful because it tells me what people like in their sites that they enjoy and use regularly.
Q4.
As I was personally researching into such websites as Pinterest, Tumblr and DeviantArt. I wanted to get rough idea of what site appeals to the general audience more, it was Pinterest. I think this is because Pinterest is very inviting and friendly with it's use of bright colours and accompanied by a easy layout.It's a very accessible website, but Tumblr and DeviantArt unfortunately don't have that user friendly feel to them they feel like they have a tutorial mode in game, the layouts are more confusing especially DeviantArt which is really bloated with the amount of different settings and details it's to complex.
Q5.
Question 5 was a follow up to the one before, i needed to know why they chose Pinterest over Tumblr or DeviantArt, why? What is it about the site that appeals to them and not the others.Overall this question once again resulted in similar answers to other questions like easy to use and navigate with a good layout etc.They want to be able to find what they want and only see what they search for.The only problem with this question is I don't know what sites each of them are talking about.Apart from one hero who put "Pinterest is good for getting ideas and inspiration, especially if you're artsy."
Looking back at this question all it gave me was an even bigger knowledge of what is important to people from a website.
Q6.
With the next question I wanted to ask what feature would you put into a website if you had one of your own I did this again to see what some other popular features are and why? Therefore I could then try them out myself on Wix to see what works and doesn't and see what my client thinks as well.It's all trial and error.
Apart answers like bright colours, good layout and text.I got some interesting answers like video streaming to get people to come back and adding an account to friend others to stay connected.With results like these you can tell what type of sites each of these people enjoy such as social media websites like Facebook or Twitter and streaming sites like twitch or Mixer.
Q7.
On the next question I asked what makes a website interactive and i got some great responses some being the basic like buttons or links to click on but i got better results such as being able to comment on anything from a post, picture or video etc.I really liked the idea having specific animations for your cursor when hovering or click on parts of the website.these features comments and animations to your cursor are something i'm interested in potentially trying out i'm not sure how to on Wix and if my client would like them but i could play around with Wix to find out.
Q8.
Now I've asked about interactivity on any type of website i asked what about a website about Art.What types of interactivity would you expect on a site about Art or containing someones Art portfolio etc.I got answers such detailed information when you click on a piece of artwork and to sort them in their own separate categories such as painting and illustrations etc.A lot of people once again said being able to provide feedback by commenting or being able like or dislike something.What people seem to want is convenience and to only see what they want, to be able give their own opinions and views.It's the internet after all.It has to be user friendly.
Q9.
The last question was just some feedback on the survey. I got a good average rating probably because it wasn't the longest survey I've done.
Tattoo Website Examples:
I started looking at a couple of tattoo websites for inspiration on how I can potentially handled Jess my clients tattoo designs etc. Here is what I discovered on the websites and what made them stand out to me.
https://www.creativearttattoo.com/
(Home - Creative Art Tattoo Studio Glasgow, 2020)
The first one I looked at was called Creativetattoo.com.I found it to be quite similar to most websites of the same kind with an easier layout and a slick and clean design with lots of tattoos to engage the viewer but what really caught my eye was when I started scrolling down the home page and came across these three clickable tabs each taking me to other pages.What I like about them is they are separated into three sections Tattoos, Piercings and a gallery and they each have brief description above them with a nice simple picture above each as well.It makes you as the viewer want to click on them.It's pure interactivity at it's best.
I also noticed a social bar at the bottom with all their links to social media profiles.This isn't unusual these days but I did also see a map which is connected to google maps showing the viewer there location.I think it's a much more appealing way to show were you are located. That's not all, in the right corner of the site is a star rating from Yell.com which I like because above it it says review us on yell.com allowing the viewer to feel they have a bit of an impact on the work ethic of the employees potentially making them want to work harder.
http://fulhamtattoo.co.uk/
(Home, 2020)
The second website I looked at is called fulhamtattoo.co.uk.I once again thought it was very generic as a website but however there is a few parts i liked and caught my attention the first was the text it was so bright and colourful its in a great font for most of he site but the title at the top of the home page isn't that easy to read it's not very clear.
I liked that their is a chat bot always online and able to assist you with your needs, it's great if you've got any questions or concerns and thankfully it's very quick at replying because theirs nothing worse than a slow chat bot.
Tumblr Update:
After spending some more time on Pinterest I moved onto Tumblr and it's absolutely no competition. I really love Tumblr because it's got all these really small communities and you can follow them, it's so alive with all the pictures,videos, gifs and much more.I think it's beautiful with how it blends colours to make everything no matter what it is coherent.However the only three downsides I could think of about Tumblr are it's full of porn but it never used to be but that gets worse in the next site I looked at DeviantArt.com.
The second problem is I could see a new user being overwhelmed with all it's features an seemly endless pit of content even the messaging part of Tumblr is bit strange at first glance.The last problem I found was it's defiantly aimed at a specific type of person someone who is in tons of fandom's that loves show that they are apart of them. but that can only seem like a problem if you aren't this type of person.Otherwise I think you can still enjoy it for what It is.
DeviantArt Update:
(DeviantArt - Discover The Largest Online Art Gallery and Community, 2020)
Now DeviantArt I absolutely think it's horrible it seems hell bent on being obnoxiously clunky with all it's features.It has an ridiculous amount of inappropriate content but you can turn it off in the settings so you don't have it, but why should i have to do that in the first place?
If content like that exists it should be on another platform dedicated for it. DeviantArt just doesn't seem to understand it's identity, does it want to help young artists get out there or be a porn website?
It's laughable how bad the site is, you have to conform your email address after creating an account and logging in to upload anything or view other parts of the site.I also found out that you write poems if you want to but that doesn't seem like it's most important feature somehow.I personally feel like it doesn't even push your art forward to other people making it incredibly hard to get your work recommend to others.
Research Conclusion
In conclusion some of my research became more useful than others for example I think looking at the tattoo websites wasn't much help because most of them were what you expect from a standard website these days but it was worth a look to see how others achieved the task I have been given and what they came up with.
A few sites that I did like included https://www.creativearttattoo.com/, http://www.brandonceli.com/, http://www.oasisinet.com/#!/home and http://www.nick.co.uk/.
I liked the Nickelodeon website because it's so inviting to the viewer with the use of bright colours and it's big wide range of interactivity such as games and quizzes.The Tattoo and Art Portfolios I liked because they were able to display the Artwork in a clean and clear way but by also by still giving the viewer the feeling of you might discover something new so then you want to carry on digging and going into the sites deeper.Last but not least the Official Oasis website I love it because theirs a whole page dedicated to showing fan creations, collections, photos and videos etc. It's all about the fans!
I also couldn't tell you if looking at the sites like Pinterest, Tumblr and DeviantArt were important at all. I don't feel like I've discovered or learnt anything new by indulging myself in those sites but it all helps in the end because overall I was able to look at a wide variation of interactive sites of all different natures and that will help me moving forward the wider the knowledge the better!
References List:
N - Now, H. and Now, H., 2020. Radio X. [online] Radio X. Available at: <https://www.radiox.co.uk> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
n.d. Darcy Dinucci. [image] Available at: <https://res-4.cloudinary.com/crunchbase-production/image/upload/c_thumb,h_256,w_256,f_auto,g_faces,z_0.7,q_auto:eco/v1397180826/44dce6787ed07ccce5a5fc23b3c4ff83.jpg> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
n.d. Space Jam. [image] Available at: <https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDgyZTI2YmYtZmI4ZC00MzE0LWIxZWYtMWRlZWYxNjliNTJjXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjY5NDU4NzI@._V1_.jpg> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
NICK UK. 2020. Nickelodeon | Kids Games, Kids Celebrity Video, Kids Shows | Nick UK. [online] Available at: <http://www.nick.co.uk/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
Neal.fun. 2020. Neal.Fun. [online] Available at: <https://neal.fun/life-checklist/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
D - DreamWorks. 2020. Dreamworks. [online] Available at: <https://www.dreamworks.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
Deviantart.com. 2020. Deviantart - Discover The Largest Online Art Gallery And Community. [online] Available at: <https://www.deviantart.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
O - Oasis. 2020. The Official Oasis Website | Oasis Be Here Now Reissue. [online] Available at: <http://www.oasisinet.com/#!/home> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
V - Valentine, L., 2020. Personal & Business Car Leasing | Lingscars. [online] Lingscars.com. Available at: <https://www.lingscars.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
T - The Useless Web. 2020. The Useless Web. [online] Available at: <https://theuselessweb.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
Tumblr.com. 2020. Tumblr. [online] Available at: <https://www.tumblr.com/search/art> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
H - Haley Koehn. Art Director. 2020. WORK - Haley Koehn. Art Director.. [online] Available at: <https://www.haleykoehn.com/6630273-work> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
B - Brandon. 2020. Illustration - Brandon. [online] Available at: <http://www.brandonceli.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
S - Spacejam.com. 1996. Space Jam. [online] Available at: <https://www.spacejam.com/jam.htm> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
Y - Youtube.com. 2020. Youtube. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
C - CWA. 2020. College Of West Anglia - King's Lynn, Wisbech & Cambridge. [online] Available at: <https://cwa.ac.uk/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
Creativearttattoo.com. 2020. Home - Creative Art Tattoo Studio Glasgow. [online] Available at: <https://www.creativearttattoo.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
W - Wix.com. 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.wix.com/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
F - Fulham Tattoo. 2020. Home. [online] Available at: <http://fulhamtattoo.co.uk/> [Accessed 11 March 2020].
Here are some plain and boring websites that are not really interactive at all, here are some examples below:
https://www.radiox.co.uk
The website for Radio X isn't very interactive at all unlike a children's website like nickelodeon's below for an example. This is because of the different age demographics; Older people are generally the target audience for radio websites with the simple UI and colour scheme making it easier for that generation. There are some interactive with purchasing tickets for shows and concerts, quizzes and even some prizes to win its your typical radio website its simple and bare.
https://www.dreamworks.com/
This
website is terrible it has hardly any interactivity at all. The website
only really has some links to social media accounts or to other pages
or sites. It's bad because you could do so much with all the animated properties, they own such as How to Train Your Dragon or Sherk and many more. They could have some games or even some quizzes etc.
What Makes An Website Interactive?
A website can just be series of images and videos if you want.However that's not very appealing or exciting so why not make your website interactive? Which means you can click on links to take you to videos,games or even other websites and much more.It gets the customers or viewers more engaged in the website therefore the viewers will want to spend more time on your website, recommend it to others and maybe even buy your services or product.This depends on the website as their many many types of them out their on the world wide web.
An example of a good interactive website would be Nickelodeons website.This is because they understand their own brand and what appeals to their young demographic of children therefore this website is colourful and very easy to use and navigate.
http://www.nick.co.uk/
(Nickelodeon | Kids Games, Kids Celebrity Video, Kids Shows | Nick UK, 2020)
It's a very recognizable page you know it's Nickelodeon especially with the use of orange, their main colour.However it's not over used or under used, just the right amount.Along the top of the page their is a tab you can scroll across and see lots of pictures of all the shows old and new, each of them you can click on and be taken to a another page.I clicked on The Legend Of Korra picture and i was transported to this page below.
All this makes it a great website because it's keeping people interested in something by giving them stuff to do.
It's something i wish more websites did especially ones which only have one purpose being, promoting an upcoming movie or TV show.This is because after it's run in 3 or so years (if you are that lucky) it's just going to become pointless and a waste of an opportunity.Evolving with the times is important!
Here are some more similar examples of a good interactive website:
http://www.oasisinet.com/#!/home
(The Official Oasis Website | Oasis Be Here Now reissue, 2020)
I love Oasis a lot but I'm not being biased when I say that this website is the best website, I have ever had the pleasure to visit. That's all because it's full to the top of interactivity. An example would be along the menu tab at the top of the website, there's a section called Fans. When you click on Fans you are taken to this page below.
This page is all about what it says on the tin, highlighting the fans and their pictures or videos of various things to do with Oasis and the Gallagher brothers over the years. The posts are all taken from Twitter. What I like about this fan page part of the site is that the interactivity is very subtle. It's not forced down your throat like a game might be from the Nickelodeon's website for an example. It encourages the fanbase to continue to support the band even after disbanding in 2009 and of course Noel and Liam. It shows the fans that it's great to go out there share their memories old and new and even their merchandise and collection of Oasis stuff with the world. The interactivity is basic but its effective and that's something I'd love to do with my client's website, something to include the viewers with and get them involved.
They have a huge social media presence as well!
A Bad Interactive Website:
An example of a bad interactive website would be this one called lingscars.com.Which is a car rental place in the UK.However it doesn't present itself in a professional way which we would except.
Unfortunately you could still argue it's actually effective at being interactive because their is so much to do as a viewer.However it's to much and over the top. An example would be the colour's they don't fit well together at all especially the background it looks like something from the 60s.It's all a messy indication of not Caring about the brand or product.
I can't believe it's real because it feels and looks like a joke or a parody.Also not everything works for example the chat doesn't work at all from what I've seen when me and classmates have tried to use it.I guess you could say it's a different approach to things.
I love it though, it's so terrible!
https://www.lingscars.com/
(Valentine, 2020)
Pointless But Why Not?
https://neal.fun/life-checklist/
(Neal.fun, 2020)
(The Useless Web, 2020)
As my client is after an art portfolio as their website.I decided to look at some examples of art portfolios in the website format.The examples i have found so far are different in many ways, showcasing different types of art for example ceramics, textiles or illustration etc.
https://www.haleykoehn.com/6630273-work
(WORK - Haley Koehn. Art Director., 2020)
It's not majorly interactive, however i don't think it needs to be really interactive because it's a different type of website.This is not like the Nickelodeon website which had lots to play and do for a primarily child orientated audience.
The interactivity that this website has is minimal but essential.This is mainly all about the user clicking on a piece of work on the home page to then get taken to another page all dedicated to that particular piece.These pages have a lot of videos to watch on them going into more detail about that piece of work with some information on the page as well unfortunately it's not really easy to read and doesn't stand out from the background.
For example if i choose to click on here:
I will be taken to this page:
This is where the minimalistic approach started to not really work anymore for me because the more time i spent on this website the more empty i felt it's now given me the opinion of it just being plain boring.It's not very engaging or appealing to your eyes, way to much White and spaces between everything.It just looks rushed after the home page.
The contact page is also very scarce there's not much of a presence on this page, not many social links to explore and discover.Which is a shame but that's the choice of the visionary.
This website is also been created by a website like Wix or Sqaurespace as you can see in the corner of the website.
The second art portfolio i looked at was this one by Brandon Celi, also using the website Format.
http://www.brandonceli.com/
(Illustration - Brandon, 2020)
Now this is more of what i like it's colourful it feels full of life and it makes me want to explore the website more therefore the artist as well.The interactivity is similar to the previous website i looked at.However i think it's done more effectively than before.Firstly if you click on a picture it keeps you on the same page but it brings up the picture and tells the viewer what it is and where it was used etc.
An example from the website below:
There is also much more to click on, many more pages to explore. It's much more organised and everything feels like it belongs, nothings out of place.
I really like that you can click on the projects/ series link and it becomes a drop down.This an effective way for you to again organise your work into groups instead of having a single link for each page.This also shows the client that you are able to organise your work efficiently and effectively.Simple yet effective!It's also a great idea to have whole new pages dedicated to different art types.On this website there is one for paintings, sculptures and illustrations.This allows a potential client to be able to find what that want very easily, it's really effective.This website also has a lot more social links and even a share button.
Other websites I'm researching into further to provide myself with a sense of how to go about with my clients needs includes such sites as Pinterest, Devianart and even Tumblr.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/
(Pinterest, 2020)
Pinterest is an essential to any artist in my opinion.However it's not just for art, there is all kinds of subjects on this website from food to animals it's almost never ending! Pinterest, Deviant Art and Tumblr are all dependent on the community of the site because they provide the content for the site.
A user will able to follow certain topics no matter how much of a small niche it is because there will be something for everyone on Pinterest.
What i really like about Pinterest is their use of colour on the site.It's always been a very appealing and eye-catching site to scroll through with all the bright colours.The people behind Pinterest definitely know what they are doing by making everything so bright, they know it will pull you in and make you pay attention and keep you hooked on the page!
This site can also allow you to message friends as well but the great thing about this is that unlike websites like Facebook it's not the primary selling point for the site. Pinterest knows it's place on the Internet that's why its so effective.
https://www.deviantart.com/
(DeviantArt - Discover The Largest Online Art Gallery and Community, 2020)
The second website is called Deviant Art and it's more dedicated to artwork than Pinterest. However i personally don't like this site because when you upload something to the site it doesn't feel like it's going to get the promotion and the quality presentation that it should be getting on a site like this.
Ultimately it depends on what you want.However it's still regularly used by lots of people so they must be doing something right!
I will have to look into these sites more so i can expand my ideas to help my client with what they want.
https://www.tumblr.com/search/art
(Tumblr, 2020)
Another website similar to the last two.However it's not always been the cleanest of websites it used to be full of porn and I'm not really sure what it's status is these days.I will have to look into Tumblr again for ideas for the project.
what I do really like about Tumblr that's never changed which is how great it is to show off fan art and anything really to do with fandom culture!
If it exists it's most likely got a Tumblr page.This is a website that's very popular with anime and YouTube fandom's well it was when i used it.
It's the same as the other two sites, i will go back into them and check out some of their features for more ideas!
Research Part 2:
WEB 1.0 & 2.0:
Web 1.0 is a term used to describe the early development stage of the world wide web when it was at most just simple static websites. This term didn't really exist till the term web 2.0 was coined in 1999 by Darcy DiNucci an auther and web designer.
This was because at the time websites and even the whole internet was still in its infancy, so everything was very simple unlike today where most of the world wide web is colorful and full of life. In the early 00s and late 90s websites weren't
very interactive at all and a great example of this which you can still
visit today is the website for the 1996 movie Space Jam.
https://www.spacejam.com/jam.htm
(Space Jam, 1996)
Above is the Home page for the Space Jam website and its void of any excitement and attraction because of this if I was around in the 90s and saw this site It wouldn't encourage me to watch the film. However, this could because I have become accustomed to the type of websites and marketing campaigns, we see on the web today.It's a product of the time as so is the film.
The
site isn't completely empty of interactivity because you can click on
various links to go to other pages, watch videos, behind the scenes
stuff and even some basic games. There isn't much I can say about this
site except that it follows the web 1.0 rules, it’s a blast from the past. The first rule the site encompass is it’s all static web pages very stale. When you can interact with
parts of the website like videos or photos you have to download the
files unlike today where you would be able to just click on an image or
clip and you would just be able to consume it right there and then. These are the two I found from the Space Jam website. There are other rules as well, below are the main ones I could find.
Rules & Common Features Of Web 1.0:
*Static Web Pages
*Website Content Stored In Files
*E-Mail Form To Provide The Viewer With Any Potential Help.
*Guestbook Page (A page dedicated to comments rather than at the bottom of an individual page)
Web 2.0 is all about user generated content, such as blogs, social media posts, reviews and even sites like Wikipedia and fandom sites where anyone can write absolutely anything and express their own opinions. We control what we consume with the world wide web today that's the main difference between 1.0 and the current 2.0. This is because the internet is much more accessible then in the 90s.
A great website which is all about user generated content would be YouTube, it's the very premise of the sites entire existence and I think YouTube is a great example of what the web is all about today.
https://www.youtube.com/
(YouTube, 2020)
Web 3.0:
With the idea of artificial intelligence becoming more than just an idea but a reality. I think Web 3.0 will continue to be user friendly, but I think we will rely even more on chat bots who I think will become even more of a feature and providing much more to the user than they do now. Web 3.0 will be all about artificial intelligence.
Before this project i have had never used Wix or any site quite like it so this was all a learning curve for me.It was great to get acquainted with the site and it's many features for customisation etc.When i first started i felt overwhelmed by all the features however you soon start to feel comfortable with all the features Wix has to offer.
I just wanted to explore and discover new ways to achieve simple goals, it's all about what you want and that's perfect!
https://www.wix.com/
(2020)
The practice site i created was a Oasis fan site.I just wanted to have a bit of a laugh while learning the ropes of Wix.
However it's not good and that's down to me not knowing what i was doing on Wix. It's really frustrating for me to know I'm making something that isn't important or going to be used in any way.Then again it could used be for my obsessions and idols documentary.I might use it to host a survey for that project.
Overall it served it's purpose as a playground for me to get an idea of the basics of Wix. However i spent most of my time on the homepage and i didn't even finish it because of all the different customisation features, completely overwhelmed.The site especially in it's current state is unlikely to get published online but i never know.
(Pinterest, 2020)
Pinterest update:
I've been spending some more time on Pinterest; I've got say I really am enjoying the layout of site because it’s simple and easy to consume. I also usually find it annoying when any site no matter the content, sends you emails recommending certain people to follow or any posts, but the way Pinterest does it just feels natural even when you receive a message from someone.
I am going to see if my client would want to a feature involving sending costumers updates on work or projects that will be uploaded to the site maybe through a business email or newsletter. I plan to continue to explore Pinterest and write more as time goes on and I will venture into Tumblr, DeviantArt and similar websites as well.
Survey Monkey:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/57VJBMT
I created a short survey using SurveyMonkey to find out what other people think is important to include on a website, how often do they visit them and what makes it interactive? etc.
15 Total Responses
Q1.
The first question is all about finding out about how often people visit websites and in all honesty I'm not very surprised with the results. I was expecting most people to choose the everyday option because of sites such as Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more.
11 people chose every day and 4 people chose once or twice a week. I think this also has to do with the age group of the people I sent the survey to which ranged from 16 to 24. Unfortunately, I didn't do an age question, but I should've because age is a big factor in visiting sites often because young people spend time on social media, YouTube or researching for homework. A question about occupation would have been great to because if you’re a journalist for example you will visit plenty of sites regularly for research. On the good side however, this question conformed to me how important websites every day to people are and that they are always being used regularly but I missed a great opportunity with this question by not digging deeper.
Q2.
With
the second question I wanted to find out what sites specifically people
regularly use on a day to day bases and this was useful because I was
able to see what sites I could take possible inspiration from, what's popular. The answers aren't very surprising again due to the age range I sent the survey to, but I was surprised by the answer of the news. This is because I didn't expect people to actively go on to sites like The Daily Mail or The Guardian when we can get updates on social media instead, so it was interesting.
Q3. 
On the third question I started to dig deeper and I asked what features make you return to those sites regularly and why are those features so effective? I asked this question because I wanted to know what people other than myself look for in a website, even the small things matter. I had some interesting answers and quite a lot of them answered with easy to use which is great but what do they mean by easy to use? I asked why but I didn't get much out of asking why, you never do if you are lucky you may get about a couple of lines.
However they are good answers because being similar isn't a bad thing it means I know what more than one person will like therefore reaching more people's standard which is important with everyone saying things like good layouts and eye catching designs but simple and easy to use.
Another big factor in returning to websites is communication either through something like a Facebook which has a messaging feature on the site but also as a separate app, Messenger which is commonly used to communicate with your friends and family etc.Another way communication is used on websites to make them more effective is a chat bot to help which can help the sites users in finding out any information they might need.A chat bot is something that I could maybe involve into my client's site.This question was very useful because it tells me what people like in their sites that they enjoy and use regularly.
As I was personally researching into such websites as Pinterest, Tumblr and DeviantArt. I wanted to get rough idea of what site appeals to the general audience more, it was Pinterest. I think this is because Pinterest is very inviting and friendly with it's use of bright colours and accompanied by a easy layout.It's a very accessible website, but Tumblr and DeviantArt unfortunately don't have that user friendly feel to them they feel like they have a tutorial mode in game, the layouts are more confusing especially DeviantArt which is really bloated with the amount of different settings and details it's to complex.
Q5.
Question 5 was a follow up to the one before, i needed to know why they chose Pinterest over Tumblr or DeviantArt, why? What is it about the site that appeals to them and not the others.Overall this question once again resulted in similar answers to other questions like easy to use and navigate with a good layout etc.They want to be able to find what they want and only see what they search for.The only problem with this question is I don't know what sites each of them are talking about.Apart from one hero who put "Pinterest is good for getting ideas and inspiration, especially if you're artsy."
Looking back at this question all it gave me was an even bigger knowledge of what is important to people from a website.
Q6.
With the next question I wanted to ask what feature would you put into a website if you had one of your own I did this again to see what some other popular features are and why? Therefore I could then try them out myself on Wix to see what works and doesn't and see what my client thinks as well.It's all trial and error.
Apart answers like bright colours, good layout and text.I got some interesting answers like video streaming to get people to come back and adding an account to friend others to stay connected.With results like these you can tell what type of sites each of these people enjoy such as social media websites like Facebook or Twitter and streaming sites like twitch or Mixer.
Q7.
On the next question I asked what makes a website interactive and i got some great responses some being the basic like buttons or links to click on but i got better results such as being able to comment on anything from a post, picture or video etc.I really liked the idea having specific animations for your cursor when hovering or click on parts of the website.these features comments and animations to your cursor are something i'm interested in potentially trying out i'm not sure how to on Wix and if my client would like them but i could play around with Wix to find out.
Q8.
Now I've asked about interactivity on any type of website i asked what about a website about Art.What types of interactivity would you expect on a site about Art or containing someones Art portfolio etc.I got answers such detailed information when you click on a piece of artwork and to sort them in their own separate categories such as painting and illustrations etc.A lot of people once again said being able to provide feedback by commenting or being able like or dislike something.What people seem to want is convenience and to only see what they want, to be able give their own opinions and views.It's the internet after all.It has to be user friendly.
Q9.
The last question was just some feedback on the survey. I got a good average rating probably because it wasn't the longest survey I've done.
Tattoo Website Examples:
I started looking at a couple of tattoo websites for inspiration on how I can potentially handled Jess my clients tattoo designs etc. Here is what I discovered on the websites and what made them stand out to me.
https://www.creativearttattoo.com/
(Home - Creative Art Tattoo Studio Glasgow, 2020)
The first one I looked at was called Creativetattoo.com.I found it to be quite similar to most websites of the same kind with an easier layout and a slick and clean design with lots of tattoos to engage the viewer but what really caught my eye was when I started scrolling down the home page and came across these three clickable tabs each taking me to other pages.What I like about them is they are separated into three sections Tattoos, Piercings and a gallery and they each have brief description above them with a nice simple picture above each as well.It makes you as the viewer want to click on them.It's pure interactivity at it's best.
I also noticed a social bar at the bottom with all their links to social media profiles.This isn't unusual these days but I did also see a map which is connected to google maps showing the viewer there location.I think it's a much more appealing way to show were you are located. That's not all, in the right corner of the site is a star rating from Yell.com which I like because above it it says review us on yell.com allowing the viewer to feel they have a bit of an impact on the work ethic of the employees potentially making them want to work harder.
http://fulhamtattoo.co.uk/
I liked that their is a chat bot always online and able to assist you with your needs, it's great if you've got any questions or concerns and thankfully it's very quick at replying because theirs nothing worse than a slow chat bot.
Tumblr Update:
(Tumblr, 2020)
After spending some more time on Pinterest I moved onto Tumblr and it's absolutely no competition. I really love Tumblr because it's got all these really small communities and you can follow them, it's so alive with all the pictures,videos, gifs and much more.I think it's beautiful with how it blends colours to make everything no matter what it is coherent.However the only three downsides I could think of about Tumblr are it's full of porn but it never used to be but that gets worse in the next site I looked at DeviantArt.com.
The second problem is I could see a new user being overwhelmed with all it's features an seemly endless pit of content even the messaging part of Tumblr is bit strange at first glance.The last problem I found was it's defiantly aimed at a specific type of person someone who is in tons of fandom's that loves show that they are apart of them. but that can only seem like a problem if you aren't this type of person.Otherwise I think you can still enjoy it for what It is.
DeviantArt Update:
(DeviantArt - Discover The Largest Online Art Gallery and Community, 2020)
If content like that exists it should be on another platform dedicated for it. DeviantArt just doesn't seem to understand it's identity, does it want to help young artists get out there or be a porn website?
It's laughable how bad the site is, you have to conform your email address after creating an account and logging in to upload anything or view other parts of the site.I also found out that you write poems if you want to but that doesn't seem like it's most important feature somehow.I personally feel like it doesn't even push your art forward to other people making it incredibly hard to get your work recommend to others.
Research Conclusion
In conclusion some of my research became more useful than others for example I think looking at the tattoo websites wasn't much help because most of them were what you expect from a standard website these days but it was worth a look to see how others achieved the task I have been given and what they came up with.
A few sites that I did like included https://www.creativearttattoo.com/, http://www.brandonceli.com/, http://www.oasisinet.com/#!/home and http://www.nick.co.uk/.
I liked the Nickelodeon website because it's so inviting to the viewer with the use of bright colours and it's big wide range of interactivity such as games and quizzes.The Tattoo and Art Portfolios I liked because they were able to display the Artwork in a clean and clear way but by also by still giving the viewer the feeling of you might discover something new so then you want to carry on digging and going into the sites deeper.Last but not least the Official Oasis website I love it because theirs a whole page dedicated to showing fan creations, collections, photos and videos etc. It's all about the fans!
I also couldn't tell you if looking at the sites like Pinterest, Tumblr and DeviantArt were important at all. I don't feel like I've discovered or learnt anything new by indulging myself in those sites but it all helps in the end because overall I was able to look at a wide variation of interactive sites of all different natures and that will help me moving forward the wider the knowledge the better!
References List:
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