9.3.1 – Evaluate Product and production of Webzine

Here is my final website product, as you can see my theme has a clean and professional looking design that is simple and easy to follow. The only area my ideas developed in was the colour scheme. I tried many different combinations but I personally found this one to be the more eye catching and it worked well with the layout. I have used some other webzines to help me and to use as inspiration when it came to layout and designing my site but I do think I could have done a little more so I know what it is my target want. The main site I went to was RED online magazine it has a great layout and colour scheme whilst looking clean and professional, as it says by the name the colour they use is red and white/creme these colours are great for them as they have a very wide ranged target audience and personally I need to take this in to consideration when it comes to my FMP. The main skill I have developed it to be able to use This Is Tap, it was a new platform for me to use and I feel like I adapted to it well and will be able to carry on using.

The product I have created fits the specification and target audience well whilst also for filling there needs of a online magazine. It delivers the information well and is easy to use which is what I think every site needs to meet.

I asked Miya Biggin (17) a journalism student what she thought of the site I had created. Miya said “its easy to follow and find out the information that you want to read about” she also added “its convenient as I can get on the site from any device, it has a appealing design and colour and it does its job as a online magazine.”

Taking all this on board when I need to create another site I will used and adapt the skills I have learnt, for example how to use This is Tap, knowing what colour schemes I like and how they affect the audience. Also if I was to complete this process again I would like to produce a more in-depth deveopment of my production stage. If I was to be critical about the site I have produced here I would like to change the colour, it does work well against the black header and drop boxes but its a very light blue when working with a completely white background. If i was to go though the same process again I would either choose a different colour blue or make the white background a different colour that contrasts better.

9.2.2 – Plan and Develop own Webzine

 

The theme that I have chosen to use is called Genie which has a couple of different layouts to choose from; the Wall which is just lots of images that have the heading for your post in the centre which when selected takes you too the work, the Grid which offers a simple layout that looks very similar to pintrest but to me looks cluttered and too simple and then the Classic Layout which is that one I am going to be choosing when creating my site because its simple and easy to navigate whilst looking professional.

SKETCH – 

This is a sketch of of my site, as you can see I have placed where my title is going to be and navigation bar. I am going to be producing my site within ThisisTap.

Development – 

 

Thisistap is the software I used to create my website it was easy to use and follow.

MY FINAL LAYOUT –

My site “linked” was made with the classic layout because I wanted a simplistic style which I like plus all age ranges will be able to navigate easily. I like the way the articles with images are displayed in a wall and be moved across like a slide show. I do think this layout will be attractive to all ages because it shows you the information without you having to go looking for it which is the beauty of this layout. I also edited my site so when you hoovered your mouse over the wall the image brightened which is a nice feature just to keep the consumer engaged and interested. 

I then created a search bar with  navigation drop down tabs that further keep the reader interested by having a little more to do than just click on “technology” plus its a easy way of finding specific pieces.

9.1.2 – Interpretation of Research and Intended Use

A webzine has many impacts and effects on its target audience. One of them is that the audience feels closer to the producer of the webzine because they can access it anywhere, if this is in there home or across the other side of the world and because there is so many different type of online magazines with different genres and characteristics that draw in different people for example RED, has characteristics that I would like to use when starting to create my product. For instance the drop down menus, that allow people to easily navigate though the site without getting lost and confused. This is something that has really stuck out to me and makes me want to create something that has the some of the same characteristics as RED.

When anything happens around the world it immediately gets uploaded online to webzines and social media, this impacts the audience so quickly and efficiently, sometimes without the second thought. Assign as the person uploading the information clicks save, its online and you may be able to take it down but its already left its mark on the world. This is what I am going to be taking from my research and just been careful on what I am writing because I don’t want to be coming across single minded and very opinionated.

From researching Logos and fabicons I have learnt that all these small factors make a webzine more fun and a interesting experience for the user. When looking at the logo for  Apple its very simple and you know what the brand is without having to read anything. I want to create something like this that is eye catching and stands out.

Also looking at my research I want to have social media connections to my site, this allows people to share and interact with other users, friends and family thought the site. With people sharing the site it also create a online community and intern creating free publicity for the website. I want to take this idea and put this in to place when creating my website.

I intend to produce my webzine with the same ideas in mind; having copy that is eye catching and current. This also means to create a site that has response and a retina design.

Webzine Research and characteristics – Unit 9.1.1/9.2.2

A webzine is a magazine published electronically on the Internet.

magazines are published online because having it digital brings flexibility that far exceeds the capabilities of paper media. Web magazines can digitally replicate and then enhance paper-based content by enriching it with video, sound and web links, expanding your traditional publications into uniquely interactive digital products.There are many pros and cons for publishing a magazine on the internet, starting with the disadvantages.

• Much cheaper than printing
• Huge advertising potential with capacity for interaction and web traffic referrals for advertisers
• Highly targeted – email direct to your target audience
• No technical experience required to create and distribute
• Bring your content to life with video, sound and interactive links

First there is lots of competition on the internet because its a lot easier to make one online than printing one so a lot more people do it for that reason create lots of pages talking about the same thing. Second there is no physical presence, people like to hold the real thing and be able to toss a magazine in there bag and carry it to work or where ever they are going, with having it only you have to access to the internet to read it and some people don’t have that 24/7. Finally there is a lot of skepticism because some people don’t find a online magazine very professional and even in this age of technology there are still those who view online publications as something sketchy and unprofessional, which is a problem for magazines that rely on contacting people for interviews.

Firstly online magazines allow for a wider audience. For magazines looking to make profit by means of ads, this means a larger audience for revenue. Second it is very convenient. The use of computer programs to make the online magazine will help the speed at which issues will be produced and not having to have to issue printed also saves lots of time. Finally there is unlimited space this means you will not have to worry about ad-space or cutting down certain articles to make them fit. This also allows for content such as video interviews.

This is a example of a online magazine, RED. I have chosen this webzine because I like the way it has a clean masonry design that is easy to follow and understand. I like how the large images have been placed with the links to the posts this allows the reader to instantly know what the article is about, this is also good because it is not overcrowded and the person designing this site has taken that in consideration when spacing these out.

I also like how this webzine has a adapted layout so when you have the site in a full page view you can experience it in (what my opinion) its best layout but as soon as  you change this and make the page smaller and more condensed it changes to have a set up of what you would see on a smart phone. Another thing I like about this webzine is the drop down menus and categorises, this makes it very easy to see what you are going to be reading about and it also give a clear instruction on how to use this feature with having the links light up in red when the mouse is hovered over them. There is only a couple of media forms on this webzine and the first one is images, when looking at theres you see bright a vibrant images that stand out when viewed. The second platform is video, there isn’t many but were there is they work really well.

The next website I  looked at was Wired. I have chosen this site due to it have a clean design that links well with its theme of technology and with this it makes it easy and simple to find the infomation that you need even if you dont know the website. I also like this webste becasue it has lots of large images and I am sure a lot of people would rather infer the context of thoughs images than having to go though lines and lines of text to fined what then need to and Wired have got this balanced spot on. Another reason for me likeing this magazine is the colours, the majority of the colour comes from the images and the front covers that they have published with out them the site is just a simple black and white, this alows the colour to just pop and your eyes get drawn to it all straight away. The content is largely technology and science and they have matched this very well with the style.

The final magazine that I am going to look at is Cosmopolitan. They have lots of differnt content but they mainly focus of lifestyle, which is one of the things I want to incoportate in to my site.  This publication is a bit more difficult to uses generaly because it is aimed at a differnt target audience mainly at a age that they can use and are used to the internet. There is large images with plenty of colour so they pop and you  are drawn to them but as well as this they have the heading undernieth the image so you know what that article is all about. The layout of cosmopolitin is still clean and sleak but it is not all symertical like other sites I have looked at, it have stories in differnt size boxs and sometimes more in a row than another. The colours of cosmopolitin are black and pink so they are very feminine and aimed toward girls in general, I dont want to do this when it comes to planning my site, I want mine to be aimed to all and give it a clean look with the colour coming from the images.

Then I went and looked at different WordPress themes that have different characteristics that make them unique and work. The first one that I saw and like is called “daynight magazine” it has lots of different feature to it some include;

• Responsive & Retina Design – Having this when it comes to my site will be goo because there will be a lot of photography and the high pixels will make them look even batter on the screen. Also a Retina design is a important thing now a days because most people will be reading this webzine on a mobile device like a table or phone, these devices will have a higher pixel content (retina display)  which means the images on the website need to be of a better pixel density so it matches the quality of the device you are reading it on. Also have a responsive webzine is key because it site will need to be compressed or adapted to fit the smaller screen of the phone or table the reader is using.
• Social Features – This in todays society is key, for the reader to be able to take what they are reading and share it on Facebook or twitter. This also gets the webzine out there for more and more people to see it. It will be go to have this characteristic on my site because its based around giving content to a audience and been able to share this to social media will connect people together.
• Different Skin Styles – Having a skin on a webzine is essential to having a website, the skin is what is covering all the code of the site. If you think of the code as bone and muscle of the human body and to cover all that up is the skin.  Been able to change the style is good but it depends what the content is of the site you are wanting to create.

Brain storming for my webzine –

My logo will be linked to the content of my site. I have gone and found the right sizes for my logo.

A logo is a symbol or other small design adopted by an organization to identify its products. It is important to have a logo because it is the first thing that a visitor sees and its the first thing the judge when they arrive.

After looking at some logos here are just a few examples and why i like them and what i would change.

Here is a logo that I have found and like. I like the way there is spacing in-between the letters and that they are all in capitals, this makes the logo stand out. The extra detailing on the R is also something that I like because it gives the logo a identity and links to the name because it is in a knot.

This is another logo that I like for a couple of reasons. I like the the font of the logo with a hand written style, and the way they start with a capital. This makes the logo pop and makes it stand out. Another thing I like is the detailed lines underneath this adds a bit of a retro style to the logo which I like.

Apple uses a formed shape because it is easy to create and place the logo in to different places like in the fabicon. I also like this logo because is self explanatory and everyone knows what it means. This is one of the points I want to create when it comes to my own logo.

When thinking about colours and colour scheme, I want my site to be aimed at everyone but primarily people aged 16-25 so the colour need to be a nurtural tone but I want it to have a subtle and warm feeling.