Understanding the project:
I was assigned to create a website for a book club that joined together romance book lovers. This website needed to express a certain feeling that brought in the target audience. The website had to be clear and understood. The viewer must be able to navigate through the site and get the information they desire. This project aimed to have a place for people who love romantic novels to come together and speak about the books they’re reading or want to read. This site is to communicate to people that they could find others who share a common interest. So, the goal is to express all of this with a well-done design.
Process:
Website building requires a deep understanding of the subject to know what information is included in the design. This is primarily due to needing to know what needs to be on the site and how to navigate throughout the site. So, first, I analyzed what pages I needed and what words I’d put on these pages. I had to set up the pages and all website’s general aspects, like what will be on my navigation bar and what the pages will be titled.
So, from here, after I have the general information. I can go into the design. The color palette for me had to be colors that resonated with the romantic theme. So, through trial and error, I came up with a darker pink, purple, and white. This was simple enough to get the point across when people first come to the site, but nothing that is too out there. I wanted the site to be very welcoming. For my type, I needed a classic reader font for my bodies, so I used Avenir there. Avenir usually works well; it is readable and frequently used for big bodies of text. For some of the titles around the website, I wanted a font that gives more of a romantic feeling. I chose IM FELL French Canon, a font I hadn’t used before but came across and thought it fit the feel of the project perfectly and is excellent for titles. It is readable but better as a font for a title than body paragraphs.
Next, I laid out my pages and got critiques from my peers to see how they would navigate through the ages and what was distracting to them or aspects that made more sense than others. After that, I pieced apart what needed to change and what could stay. Then from here, I went in to ensure all the details were set up correctly and the design was cohesive. I needed to ensure the design worked as a whole and it wasn’t too much.
Solution:
The outcome of the website presented to the target audience was manageable and achieved the design goals. I used the design elements I saw fit and my knowledge to create a website with a flow to it, making it easy for people to click around and get to where they wanted to go. The information is displayed in a way that is simple and effective. Overall, the solution was met with the results.
Takeaways:
I learned throughout this experience the trial and error that goes along with understanding user experience. I had to go about the navigation process picturing myself as someone that has never seen this sight before. Doing so allowed me to create a better flow, especially by having my peers go throughout the site so I could see what needed to be changed or made more straightforward. Website building takes time and effort to produce something easy for users to follow, but it also shows a clean, unique design.
Emma Kogel 