In What ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
Website
During the production of my website, my main inspiration was The Crack magazine which influenced many of my design ideas. It also inspired my content ideas due to it having a similar audience, genre and region therefore I decided to adapt and use its conventions. Although I used some similar conventions of The Crack in order to appeal to my own audience, I also manipulated features in order to make a unique and successful website of my own. Also, I took a few design ideas from INDIE website as I felt it offered a very nice contemporary style which I loved. For my 3rd linked page however, i feel I have created a design and page that is completely unconventional to what I have found in my research however will appeal to my audience due to its regional and community link. In this evaluation, I will be making comparisons of all the features on website to analysis how I was inspired by The Crack and why I have subverted certain features. I will also make reference to INDIE magazine as this is another media product I used for inspiration, specifically in terms of achieving a contemporary and quirky design however I developed the design to make it more regional and the content more focused on my specific audience.
Research and Planning
My research and planning stages really helped me to analyse real media products and find both the strengths and weaknesses to which conventions should be developed or challenged. This included deconstructing existing websites, finding out generic conventions and analysing what makes a website successful. I came to these conclusions throughout my research. Firstly, I believed my website needed to be instantly visually appealing as soon as you enter the homepage to encourage people to look further into the site. I feel I have achieved this due to my contemporary and modern design which looks very professional but pleasing. I also planned to have a website that was direct, easy to navigate and well designed. I feel by using features such as navigation links, music, interactive images and social media, I have been able to have a modern and appealing style. I feel that by sticking to these conclusions that I made during planning, I have been able to follow real media techniques that are most popular and those that I have found to be most memorable in order to make my website successful. After deconstructing websites, I found that The Crack was the biggest real media product that I took most inspiration from and therefore influenced many of my creative ideas throughout the production of this final product. As you can see, the main things the Crack inspired me to do was include a navigation bar, have a pin-board style layout, include social media and have simplistic typography. These are the main things I planned to take inspiration from however further inspirations were offered during the production stage which I will be analysing for each individual convention of the front cover. I also challenged The Crack front cover in terms of the header bar that I have created, the images that I have used and the more vibrant colour scheme. A lot of inspiration was taken from INDIE magazine also. I found INDIE to be my biggest creative and visual inspiration due to their quirky style and therefore planned to have an aesthetic homepage which subverted mainstream websites with the pin-board style. I did however majorly challenge their information and topics which were not really relevant to my chosen magazine. I also challenged their use of imagery and added features which I felt INDIE website lacked such as a navigation bar. Evidence of the inspirations and challenges from my initial real media explorations are evident throughout all the conventions of my website and therefore my research and planning contributed immensely to the production of my website in ensuring it confirmed to real media conventions.
Header
A header is a typical convention of a website and is used on almost every site to hold the masthead of the brand and any other potential information that may deem most important in immediately attracting the audience. The header is located at the top of the site and therefore needs to look appealing in order to draw the reader to the information below. My main inspirations for my header design were from INDIE and The Crack. The conventions I have included are a navigation bar, masthead, strapline, radio station and social media links. I decided to feature my header on all pages of my website and to keep each convention the same throughout. I did this by pinning each feature which is a easy technique that wix site allows you to do. It is very conventional for a website to use the header on each page and keep it the same which is also seen in both INDIE and The Crack therefore I feel this shows I have used real media products. Unlike my inspirations however, I decided to make my header a more focused and detailed feature. I wanted my header to be a lot bigger than conventional headers as I feel the navigation bar is the most important aspect to advertise the full range and variety my magazine offers. I therefore decided to make the widths of my header quite big, so that it was instantly eye grabbing and more noticed than the likes of The Crack which just features a small header. I will now be deconstructing my header further to evaluate which conventions were used, developed or challenged throughout..
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The Masthead is the main convention in my header and therefore sits central to the page. I feel this allows it to take the dominant role and therefore the audiences eye-line leads directly to it. I was inspired by INDIE magazine to have my masthead in the centre as it leads the page and allows all the supporting information to follow below it. I liked INDIE's masthead a lot better than The Cracks which is positioned in the top left corner as it is not as likely to be noticed in this position. Like my other ancillary task, I wanted my website to be a form of online advertisement for my magazine and therefore it is important that the brand image is promoted. My masthead serves as a logo to my house style and brand identity therefore it was most important that it was present on every page and in the centre of the content. I have used the same typography design that I created on Photoshop and that I have featured on my magazine and billboard. This allows the website to be directly associated to my other products and therefore shows they all work as a combined piece. I was inspired by INDIE magazine to have enlarge the size of my masthead so that it was the biggest font on the page but also quite large to stand out and take dominance. I feel I have achieved this look successfully and therefore my header looks more bold and dominant than that of The Cracks. I also feel I have challenged INDIE however as my logo has a drop shadow which creates a much greater contrast against the white background and is therefore much more dominant. I have also moved my masthead more central to the header instead of just central to the page. INDIE have their masthead in the middle of the page but touching the very top of the site. I feel my development here just allows for more attention to be immediately drawn to the magazines name and therefore promotes the brand to the fullest extent.
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The next convention I was inspired to include was a navigation bar. I planned to include this during my research as it is a great way to make a website user friendly and therefore easier to find specific information. It is also quite an interactive and new feature which will encourage modern audiences to enjoy my site. I was inspired by both INDIE and The Crack to include a navigation bar as both real media products feature one in their header. I did however take most of my inspiration for The Crack as I feel due to its similar regional aim, content and audience, the navigation types are a lot more relevant to my own magazine. To create my navigation bar, I used button tools on Wix and added 6 for each sub-genre of my magazine and then an additional for the community page of my website which is an exclusive feature to the online site. OnThe Crack website, when you click on a word in the navigation bar, you are directed to a page about that sub-genre. The word is then underlined in the specific sub-genre colour to show that this is the page you are on. For example, music is underlined in yellow to show you have selected this page. I decided to develop this style further my making my navigation bar much more advanced. Using the idea of a colour changing navigation bar, I decided to change the colours using a mouse hover. This means that when you hover your mouse over different words in the navigation bar, they will be highlighted the colour of their sub-genre. For instance music changes to purple. Once you click on a certain link, that button remains the colour purple to show this is the page you are on and will only change once you go to a different link. I think that I have developed The Cracks navigation bar in a way which is much more interactive and creative therefore will be most appealing to the audience.
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A convention that was inspired by INDIE was my social media bars. In the top left corner of INDIEs header are links to twitter, facebook, pinterest, tumblr and email. I decided to use this real media convention and therefore have created social media links in my own header. I used the same layout idea as INDIE by positioning my links in the top left corner of the header which helps to frame the main masthead. I have challenged INDIE however by making my links more a graphical feature. Instead of just including the logo, I have created a shape tool which helps them to stand out more. I have also decided to only include 3 media accounts instead of 6. This is because my audience chose twitter, Facebook and snapchat as their favourite sites in a survey I conducted therefore I wanted to personalise my header to fit my audience. I feel in this modern era, social media is extremely important therefore my including it in my masthead it allows the audience to find new branches of my product which boosts its advertisement factor.
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A new convention that I added to my header was a radio station link. I feel I have challenged real media products by including this as no other magazine site has this feature. I was inspired by Spark to have a radio station as their magazine website is also a radio website which shows that the two platforms are interchangeable. They didn't have an automatic music player on their site or in their header however which I think is a feature that they were missing out on. I decided to position my radio player in the top right corner of my header which is symmetrical to the social media links. I have called the station CLIQUE Radio, this helps to show my brand is able to branch out to more modern forms of entertainment and therefore will be appealing to the audience. It adds a new form of interactivity and a multimedia style which modern viewers will enjoy. The music starts playing as soon as you enter the site which will help to intrigue the reader/listener in. I have chosen music based on information I received in my target audience surveys and therefore I know it will be of interest. I feel this convention I have created myself puts me at a higher standard than CRACK as it shows my website has more audience involvement and is a greater feature of attraction. I also included my strapline on my header which is a convention that other magazines don't really have. I have used my strapline with my masthead on all products throughout my production and therefore it has become a part of my brand identity.
HOMEPAGE
The layout of my homepage was inspired by INDIE magazines website and therefore clearly uses real media conventions to aid its success. I really like the pin-board style display of images that INDIE used on their site. I feel it represents a social media type layout such as on tumblr and pinterest therefore is familiar to my specific youthful audience therefore they will find it appealing. I used this convention by creating my images in a mason grid. Each image is a different size or width depending on what it is however the spaces between each are of equal distance to allow it to look professional. I developed my moodboard of images by making the spaces between each a lot smaller. Even though I like the overall effect of INDIE, I felt the page was too spread out. I therefore took inspiration from The Crack magazine to have a big width border down each side of the page. I feel this offers a contemporary look but also links in with my magazine which used borders throughout every page. It then ensures that all of my content can be directed to the centre of the page and therefore is in direct view of the audience. It also meant that my collage of images could be combined together more as one convention rather than scattered images like on INDIE. I feel by using and combining these layout styles, I have been able to achieve a pin-board style that is creative and contemporary. I have used 14 images in total which cover all 6 sub-genres of my magazine. I feel this shows a lot of diversity therefore proves my magazine will be appealing to most potential readers and not alienate any interests due to the diverse use of imagery. I felt that most real media products with a similar style to my magazine used a site that was image led. On both INDIE and The Crack, the homepages are led by their images therefore I feel by creating a homepage with a pin-board gallery, I will be able to visually attract my audience rather than bore them with endless amounts of text. I made these decisions based on audience reviews and similar product research..
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Each Image I have created has a header below it to explain a little bit about the image and what article it id related to. Using a header as a form of anchorage is a very generic convention of a website and is most evident on the INDIE site. I was inspired by INDIE to make my header font bold and large but also short, snappy and straight to the point. I have chosen a unique font to anchor the images on my homepage however it follows a similar style to my strapline font so therefore everything ties in together to create an overall house scheme. I decided to make my headings a bit shorter than INDIES because I wanted to have a sense of mystery to my website which would encourage people to click on the image to go find out more about the article rather than just view the header. I developed the anchorage further by adding a small summary under some of my images. This was inspired by The Crack and I feel this adds for encouraging the reader to click the image even more. In the summaries I have used colloquial language and linked to regional places in order to keep my website regional. I have used ... to pause the sentence so that they have to go to the article page to read the rest. This creates a cliffhanger style which will draw people into the magazine. I feel this development makes my image headings much more detailed than that of INDIE. I have only used summaries on some images and left just a header on others. I think this adds to the care free moodboard style which will be appealing to my specific audience.
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I have linked each image to a sub-genre by using my secondary colour scheme. Each header is underlined slightly in the colour of a sub-genre for instance The Cat Cafe image has the events colour below it and then the vinyl image as the music colour of purple underlined to it. I feel this allows people who have a certain interest to immediately find an article they would enjoy without having to unnecessarily scroll though the pages. It also shows the homepage will appeal to everyone and will therefore not alienate any interests. I was inspired to do this by INDIE magazine who name the sub-genre below the header. For instance in this example, they have music written in a black box to show the image belongs to the music group. I feel that because I have a secondary colour scheme to establish my sub-genres, it was much more effective to use an underline technique as this was unique to my magazine alone. It also served the same purposes at INDIE just in a more creative way. I therefore developed the sub-genre idea to match my color scheme and to widen the acknowledgement of my house style and brand image which is important for all real media products to do.
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My homepage also has further interactive features that will appeal to the audience and therefore uses real media techniques. For instance, when you hover over an image it fades slightly. This is to show it is a clickable link and therefore will take you to another page if clicked on. This is an easy form of navigating which is used throughout websites and therefore makes it easier for the reader to go directly to the content they want. I also have a navigation button at the very bottom of the page which reads "See More." When clicked this would open further images and a larger moodboard therefore it is a development that shows the content of my website is diverse and therefore there is something for everyone which is appealing.
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Events Page: Navigation Link 1
Most conventional is my events page which was highly inspired by The Crack magazine. The events page reflects what all the sub-genre pages of my magazine website will look like and therefore the layout is pretty basic to allow each sub-genre to be adapted to it. Down the left hand side of the page are the events articles. I chose to include only 3 and then have a show more button for further articles to appear once the navigation button is clicked. This allows the page to be less crowded and for information to be only given when the audience is ready or wants it. This prevents unnecessary scrolling of the reader, a convention that most real media products use in order to create a better audience interface. The Crack website has the left hand side of the page image led and then the right side text led. I decided to follow this layout scheme however developed it slightly to keep my minimalistic look. I feel that The Cracks pages have lots of detail which is informative however looks a bit overcrowded. As throughout all my products I have consistently kept a contemporary and minimal scheme, I decided it would only be fitting to keep this up throughout my website also. I therefore decided to have less articles present at once and spread them down the page more instead of all in one scroll. I feel this links better with my magazine as it avoids the page from looking too crowded. My layout almost reflects that of a blogger style with the listings down the left hand side and then the recent posts/ archive down the right. I think this is a very modern style and as blogs are very popular, my audience will appreciate the layout.
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I used The Cracks convention of underlining the page title in the colour of my sub-genre. I really like this idea because it it shows the whole page is tied together and also keeps the colour scheme consistent. I have developed this idea further by making different headers teal and each article name is in a teal typography which is the designated colour for events. Each page will have the colour scheme of their sub-genre incorporated in the conventions and therefore I feel this shows a professional style of continuity. It also makes it obvious which page the audience are on and which sub-genre is being featured. This is effective in creating an identity for my magazine and soon the color scheme will be memorized due to its reoccurring appearance.
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The Crack use subheads and summaries to support any images that they use. This allows people to get a taste for what the article will be about before clicking on it and exploring it further. I decided to use this convention as it was a good way to advertise the image and then promote the article. I challenged the layout of these conventions however as I had the subheads at the top of the image to introduce it. I then put essential information like the date of the post and the name of the writer beneath the subhead. This is because I think it is important to acknowledge the contributors in a regional magazine and know this from real media products such as The Crack who puts an entire acknowledgment section on their contents page. I then put the summary below the image. This is because I think visuals are more important to my audience than text and even though this challenges other products, it is more relevant to my audience. I was inspired by the language used in The Crack which is quite comical and funny. I therefore used language that was witty and sarcastic as seen in the vinyl competition summary. I also used regional language and informal internet slang due to this being an online platform. I feel this is a modern way to speak and therefore will appeal to my audience well. I also ended the summaries on cliffhangers in order to entice the reader to enter the site further which is something that The Crack did not use.
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Interactive features I included on this page include a video for the short films awards and numerous navigation buttons. The Crack encourage you to click on the image or the text to read the article. I developed this by creating a read more button under the image which allows for more user interactivity and therefore is a successful convention of my website that is unlike The Crack. On the right side I have created an archive with links that open to previous articles. This means that if someone is looking for something in particular and know the date or issue number it was featured in then they will be able to immediately find it without scrolling. I haven't found this feature on any real media products yet therefore I have challenged generic conventions.
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OUR CLIQUE: NAVIGATION LINK 2
I think the biggest challenge to real media products that I undertook was through the creation of my final linked page which is labelled "OUR CLIQUE." I have created this page to represent a social media type account and communication platform. As my magazine is regional, I understand the importance of having a personal, relatable and exclusive vibe throughout all the products. The audience needs to feel at home, relaxed and part of a community in order to form a relationship with the magazine. I therefore decided that by creating an online portal for my audience, they will be able to form a more personalised experience which is extremely important for local people. I think by having my own portal log-in system, it will encourage returning customers and give them more of a reason to come back to the website. I haven't seen this idea featured on any other magazine that I have researched and therefore it is a challenge that will help me to stand out from competitors. The general concept is that a new reader will be able to make an account and then be given their own profile page. This can be logged into every time they enter the site so that they can have access to exclusive features, content and make their experience with the magazine much more personalised.I have set up the page so that I am logged into my own account. This is to show what it would look like for the user once they have logged in to their own profile. The main purpose is to allow readers to bond over the magazine, talk about articles, write their own articles and make friends in the region. This emphasises the regional spirit of the magazine.
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Before the profile account there is a page title and summary to introduce what the login in space is about and how it should be used. All of my website pages have a title which use the same font, are in the same location and are underlined with their sub-genre colour. For instance, OUR CLIQUE title is underlined in light grey. This idea was inspired by The Crack magazine who also underlines text according to the sub-genre secondary colour it belongs. I also liked how The Crack used a page title on every navigating link so that the audience can immediately know what content will be featured and whether or not they will like it. This creates a user-friendly environment and therefore is a convention I used. The summary I have created is very informal and chatty to add to the relaxed, relatable content. I have used language that is quite humorous but mature and gave a brief summary about the CLIQUE community page and what it is for. I also used a lot of regional register such as "fish and chips" or "wonderful northerners" which the audience will find funny and relatable. This shows I have used real media conventions as I have tried to constantly appeal to the audiences needs and interests.
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The rest of the page is set up as the logged in social media/ community page. The layout of my page was inspired by current social media platforms. All social media profiles have a profile picture, the persons name and a header. I have therefore created my header similar to the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Just like Twitter, the profile picture overlaps the header image which is positioned at the top of the page. The individual would be able edit and insert their own images here to make their account unique and personalised. Below the image is the persons name which is completely editable and their number of posts, followers and following. I was inspired by the twitter profile to create this information section as I feel it is a popular convention of social media that people like to use. The whole point of the Our Clique page is so that local people can communicate with each other through the magazine and therefore by following different readers they can all make new friends.
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The remaining layout of the page was inspired by Instagram and Pinterest. I have adapted the pin-board gallery styles from these social media sites to create my own content display. This shows continuity with the arrangement of images on the homepage of my website and therefore is similar to real media products in the sense that all my work is successful when combined. I categorised the media page into 5 groups which I have distinguished with an individual image, title and summary for each. Your saved articles allows the reader to save stories that they really like so that they can have easy access to them in case they haven't finished reading or want to show a friend. The image supports this as it is a hand holding something just like the article is being held in archive. The second option is Clique Chat. This is one of the most significant features of my page as it allows the audience to find new friends and discuss stories with other people in the region. This will help to spread the word of my magazine to a wider platform but also encourages the community vibe. The next is title magazine releases. This is an archive of all the previous magazines that have been published including their front covers, issue numbers and release dates. This means that if someone has missed an issue, they can order a certain one or find out which one they have missed. It also creates a greater bond between the magazine and website which is important in creating my brand. Reader Talent is a link which allows the audience to post their own articles. I feel this will make my readers more active rather than passive and therefore is an encouragement. I also feel that the magazine is built on the efforts of the region therefore this is a good content convention. The final link is meet the brains. This is similar to the acknowledgment section on my contents page and basically will list all the people who are involved in the website and magazine productions. The most key people will have more detailed profiles and social media links so that the audience can get to know them on a more friendly rather than professional level. At the end of my grid I have included a contact us box which is generic on real media products in order to encourage the audience to give feedback. I noticed that INDIE magazine have a similar contact us section in their menu and therefore I was inspired by such. This overall content however of my Clique community profile is extremely unique to my magazine only and therefore challenges real media conventions in a unique way which will attract the audience.
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I have however used real media conventions of a magazine to ensure the unique content and idea is still successful as a website. I have followed The Cracks layout technique of using an image with a title and then summary as I feel this is the most professional and factual format to follow. I have also included interactive buttons like INDIE magazine does which encourages the reader to "View" more. This is a generic convention as it directs the reader and makes the site easier to use, which is something I was inspired by.
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