Week 1 Lecture:

During the first lecture, unfortunately I was absent as I took Video Editing instead of Web Design at first.

Week 2 Tutorial:

We were split into groups and asked to research 6 good websites and 6 bad ones, and to explain why. For more, please see my exercises post here: http://beatrixillustrationdesign.blogspot.my/2018/02/web-design-new-media-exercises.html

Week 3 Lecture:

We continued presenting as not all the groups had finished presenting yet. We learnt about web standards and the different ways of accessing the web, as well as how the disabled can access the web. We also learnt about the various issues that can arise when seeing websites from different platfotms, thus the importance of web standards. We were introduced to html elements such as elements, tags and attributes.

I chose to remake https://www.shop-potions.com/ (product) and http://www.1utama.com.my/ (service). Potions is a local skincare company while One Utama is a shopping mall. 

I felt that Potions needed a remake because the website was very cluttered and unclear. There were too many unnecessary elements placed all around and it wasn't very clear. The One Utama website was too short (it is only one page long) and was not appealing enough.

After receiving approval from Mr Shamsul, I proceeded to sketch out the layouts of the remake.

Sketches

Potions remake- 1st try

 I tried to make the Potions website more streamlined and cohesive in the colour scheme as well as neater.

One Utama remake- 1st try

For the One Utama website, I chose to make it longer and more appealing by adding a panel structure.

Feedback:

Potions:

The spacing of the header is too little. The header/navigator should be all caps or first letter caps. Add more detail into the product description and review boxes so it would be clearer. The search bar should not be transparent so that it can be clearer. Instead of putting "...more" it could be "more" with an arrow instead. Includes enough information.

One Utama:

Mr Shamsul advised me to make the social media buttons colour to match the theme of the website (Red). Also, make sure there's enough space for the header and footer. Footer looks a bit empty and should include more copyright information. Search bar should not be transparent as well. Website inclues enough information.

Experience:

Recreating a website landing page was an interesting experience. It requires a lot of thought to make sure the design is user friendly and accessible for viewers. However, it was a bit challenging managing all of the different layers in Photoshop.

Observations:

I observed that the main thing bad websites had in common were that they were too cluttered- websites were much better if they were simpler, thus easier to navigate.

Findings:

I found that making the layout clean and not cluttered was key to making it attractive. I also found that quite a majority of local websites do not have a very good design, there is definitely room for improvement.