Communication Artifact: Website

Designing the website was a little bit tricky, mostly because I didn't have direct access to Amarie. Because I didn't have direct access to Amarie I didn't get all of the videos that I would have liked to, but the outline of the website is still there.

Another part of designing the website is that one website has to work for all of the different target audiences. It has to be exciting for the children, crisp for the local business owners and pretty for the brides.

We chose the template that we did because it offered a lot of space for pictures, which is great to show us Amarie's work. The template also had clean lines, the same gutters all around as well as some crisp, clean lettering. We chose the colors because they were bright which would attract the younger audience. We also left some of the lettering in the whimsical cursive which we thought was very playful and kiddish.

As I began working on the website I immediately found that there were things I didn't like about the template.
- The screen is cut off on the bottom and right side.
- The pictures are so right in your face that if the pictures don't all look exactly the same (same temperature, same color combo) then they can't be used on the same page.

Another hard part of creating the website was not having all of the resources that I needed. I don't live with Amarie or know her so it was hard to know what she would want the website to look like. It was also hard to get photographs of everything I needed because I couldn't always get them directly myself, but rather had to go through Stacey. This project taught me how working with groups can be in the real world and I'm glad I had a group I could rely on. It was a different experience to not be able to complete everything on my own. I really like working independently, but this project forced me to get out of my comfort zone.

There vertical lines of he website give the website energy, appealing to a younger audience. The horizontal lines found in the menu as well as the logo at the top of the screen offer a more calm and peaceful feeling which is more appealing to an older, more professional generation, like the business owners. The colors offer contrast. The bright colors contrast the white of the background as well as the dark menu, and dark letting and outlines of the logo. I think that the first page offers a little bit of closure as well. While the separate squares hold different information they are all still grouped together and viewed together rather than separately.

I'm glad that I put these two photos up side by side because it taught me the value of continuity. The store page looks blank and like it doesn't belong with this website because it doesn't have the same header with the company name. Before presenting this website I will definitely put the header on the site in order to create more continuity through the whole website. 

The context of our communication objective mainly took place in the psychological context. Our objective was to create sales for the company and that takes impacting people psychologically. 

Site URL: http://landendancer.wix.com/amariesclayations

I would have changed a view things about the site. Mostly the pictures I was able to get. I like the bright whiteness of them, but I don't like the line in them and I wasn't able to cut that out and keep the same form of the site. I also think that it is best to have photos from one person so that way the style can stay consistent through all of the shots. There were difficulties, but overall working with the group was fun and it really forced me out of my comfort zone. 

Collaborative Design: Amarie Clayations

Our group chose to do work for a new forming product. Amarie, daughter of Stacey in our group design clay figurines and is hoping to teach others the skill as well as sell the products that she has made.

Our Design Objective:
Make people aware of the product in order to create sells for the company.

Target Audience:
1. Child: Sally is a nine year old girl who loves being creative with friends and learning new skills. While she enjoys learning new skills from anyone she learns best from kids close to her own age. One way that she uses a lot in an effort to learn is searching on YouTube for new crafts to try.
2. Local Business: John is the owner of a local bakery. As the owner he is always looking for new products to make his business different from the rest. His main audience at the bakery is women and children so, he wants to find a product that they will think is unique and special. He spends a lot of time researching new trends and products related to his industry through online resources.
3. Bride: Cassidy is a currently engaged to the man of her dreams and busily working on creating her dream wedding. She knows that her marriage will last forever and she wants to remember it in as many ways as she possibly can. She has picked out her cake, dress and even knows what her flowers will look like, but she doesn't only want pictures to remember her special day by, she wants something more. She has been researching for days trying to find some way to remember all of the details about her wedding.

Why This Audience?
1. As children discover that a child created Amarie Clayations that will feel inspired to create on their own. It will give them a sense of empowerment that children really can do great things, not just adults.
2. When owning a business you have to have a way of making your business stand out from the rest. It can't always be through charging less for the product than the other guy, sometimes adding a unique product to your business is what you need. A replica of the product you sell made by Amarie Clayation could be that special product as well as a way to remind your customers of the great experience they had at your shop each time they look at the figurine.
3. A wedding day is extremely important to a bride, as well as hectic. Often times the cake is cut, or the flowers are used before the bride ever has a chance to really see the details of them. A bride wants to remember her wedding day and what it looked like, replicas of her dress, cake, flowers and other decor made by Amarie Clayations is the perfect way to do that.

Style Guide:
(put together by Michelle)

Distribution:

A website is not a physical advertisement that can be taken to various places to be displayed so distributing it has to be done through various different means. I think that social media plays a large part in the distribution of website information. Many companies use Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter as an easy way to get their brand out there and link people to their website. Website information can also be distributed through other communication artifacts such as on the collateral (brochures, stationary, business cards), on print ads and even on packaging.