Website’Analysis’ - WordPress.com...Website’Analysis’!! Introduction’ Website design has...
Transcript of Website’Analysis’ - WordPress.com...Website’Analysis’!! Introduction’ Website design has...
Website Analysis
Introduction
Website design has increased its importance over the years; as technology is growing so is the importance of having good, usable web design. The use of a website is to either sell, convey, inform or persuade a reader. The placement, usability and type of features that are used are to make sure the reader or viewer understands what the website is trying to say. The SPCA Auckland website efficiently utilizes typeface, colour and images, this essay will talk about how each of these features are used effectively for the purpose of browsing the website. Typeface
Typeface in website design can include font, size and boldness (Wysocki, 2004). These elements are all used for a specific reason. The font majority of website designers tend to use is a Sans Serif font due to computers having less resolution that printed documents making it less strain on the eyes to see (Kole, 2013). The SPCA website has used a sans serif font, Arial. By using serif fonts SPCA makes their website user friendly as sans serif fonts are much easier to read on a screen then a serif font and will encourage the reader to read more as their eye won’t be strained. In the website there is a good flow and contrast between the headings and body text. They use Arial for the body text which and use Arial Rounded MT bold for the headings. The way they have sized their typeface is by making the more important heading a larger size, this making it clearer to the reader (Warnick, 2006). So when the reader wants to read the body text he clearly knows what it is about. The example beside shows exactly how the website gets the important message across in the larger font size. The text on the interactive buttons have been bolded to draw the user’s attention. Colour
Colour plays a big part in web design. Each colour gives off a different feeling or emotion, these feelings can vary as different people have different preference. Some people’s preferences may change due to an influence of culture or maturity. There are six colours on the SPCA website. There are three neutral colours; black, white and grey. While the Vibrant colours consist of two warm colours and one cool colour. Since there’s variety in colour, people may consider it visually appealing (Cannon, 2012). Neutral colours tended to be used as the background, just like the SPCA Website. Black is commonly known for being a stronger colour out of the neutrals, which makes this colour perfect for use of text. Black can be associated with things like power, elegance and formality (Chapman, 2010). For this website the use of black isn’t overwhelming, they only use it for text and I feel like there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of text. White is the main colour for the background. White is used to show cleanliness, many web designers favorite the use of a lot of white space, they believe it allows your eyes to focus on what the website is trying to get across. They surround important ideas with white space so that your eye is drawn to what they are saying rather than the background. White is associated with the health care industry, especially with doctors, nurses and dentist (Chapman, 2010). Since this site is about taking care of animals, and animal wellbeing, the use of this colour and the amount of it, is done well. The last neutral colour which is grey is rarely used in this site. But a lot of web designs
contains a light grey as it can be a replacement for white. The way they have used grey is to add another layer to the website. The vibrant colours used were orange, maroon and blue. Orange is a warm and energetic colour. The representation of orange is from autumn which is a changing in season, this means the colour orange that stands for change and movement (Chapman, 2010). The use of this colour is done extremely well as they have drawn attention on the word “ADOBT”. Adopting a pet has become a recent change over the years as people are getting animals that all already grown or bread from possible unstable environments. Maroon/magenta is a warm colour because the base colour hues are reds which makes this warm. A colour like this tends to represent or reflect “passion, happiness, enthusiasm and energy.” (Chapman, 2010)This fits perfectly with the idea of donating as you’re giving something towards the company. Donating takes passion and it takes someone out of the ordinary to do it. The last colour and the primary colour on this page is blue. Blue is a cool tone colour, it brings a calm and relaxing appearance. The English language describes blue as another word for sadness (Chapman, 2010). The SPCA is a serious cause as they are the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Cruelty towards animals has been an increasing problem that brings a sense of heart break for some when they hear about what happens to animals. This colour fits perfectly as it gives of the right emotion and feeling when you look at the site.
(The Psychology of Color and Web Design, n.d.)
Images
The use of effective images is to convey a message. The picture should be relevant to the topic of the website, and help the viewer get a better understanding of what is trying to be said. The way the website is laid out is that each image catches your eye. From the time the website opens you understand what it’s about, there is a banner that has constantly changing images about different sub topics about the SPCA.
Most of the images used are majority close ups. A close up shows “intimate distance” from you and the subject or in this case animal (Parkes, 2009). Close ups create more of a relationship compared to other angles. Use of this kind shot helps back up what they are trying to portray, by them connecting with the view they are allowing people to want to support their cause. Another aspect that creates a relation is where the animal is look seems like such a simple idea but by acknowledging the viewer they are demanding their attention this can have a large effect on people (Parkes, 2009).
Conclusion The SPCA Auckland website uses a mixture of easy to read type face, bold and neutral colours, and relevant pictures. Each of these deliver a clear message about animal cruelty. The aspects add to how captivating the website is and also adds a whimsical layer to the website. The appearance is clean, tidy, easy to read and friendly for a variety of people to view. This design and layout as a whole made a compelling and professional website.
References
Cannon, T. (2012, 09 12). An Introduction to Color Theory for Web Designers. Retrieved from envatotuts+: http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/anintroduction-‐to-‐color-‐theory-‐for-‐web-‐designers-‐-‐webdesign-‐1437
Chapman, C. (2010, 01 28). Color Theory for Designers, Part 1: The Meaning of Color. Retrieved from Smashing Magazine: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-‐theory-‐for-‐designers-‐part-‐1-‐the-‐meaning-‐of-‐color/
Kole, S. (2013, 03 15). Serif vs. Sans: the final battle. Retrieved from Web Designers Depot : http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2013/03/serif-‐vs-‐sans-‐the-‐final-‐battle/
Parkes, R. (2009, 09 13). Visual Literacy. Retrieved from Slide Share: http://www.slideshare.net/rjp152/visual-‐literacy-‐1992223
The Psychology of Color and Web Design. (n.d.). Retrieved from QuinnCom: http://quinncom.net/the-‐psychology-‐of-‐color-‐and-‐web-‐design/
Warnick, B. (2006). Digital Media; Transformations in Human Communication (Rhetoric On the Web ed.). (P. Messaris, & L. Humphreys , Eds.) New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.
Wysocki, A. F. (2004). The multiple media of texts: How onscreen and paper texts Incorporate words, images and other media. (C. Bazerman, & P. Prior, Eds.) What writing does and how it does it: An introduction to analyzing texts and textual practices, 123 -‐163.