Theory Report
In this short report, I am going to talk about interactive media graphics and graphic design. I am going to discuss the meaning of these terms and then how they are used in media projects and the media workplace. I will be sharing some of my own thoughts, ideas and research but I will also be looking at 3 different websites, as a source of secondary research, to review their approach to these media skills.
Interactive media graphics is a term used for products or services that respond to a person's actions and respond back to the person in a variety of computer-based ways. The response can be still images or animated/moving images, it could be text, audio or a game.
One of the most common examples of these is the action button on websites such as Amazon. The site has lots of yellow action buttons that allow you to select products and place an order on-line.
These action buttons are often the main way that users move through websites and access the content they are looking for. The names given to these action buttons vary depending on how a person interacts with them. They are referred to as rollover buttons, navigation bars or navigation menus.
Graphic Design is when the different design elements of colour, layout and composition, typography and aesthetic appeal come together. When a designer understands the target audience for the website and brings together all these elements, it is far more likely that the website will be successful, with a coordinated look and feel aimed at the audience the site is trying to attract.
Website Analysis
First website - https:ashleemasonsgroup.com - This website is for promoting photography and videography services. From the review section, I am concluding that it is aimed at young models in their teens, 20's and 30's.
The homepage for this website shows a close up, half cropped photo of a man looking through a camera lens. I like the idea but I think it would be better to use a full photo so the audience can see him. The header has a black background with white and gold writing.
The navigation bar is gold. The rollover buttons change colour from black on gold to white on gold with the url for the page being displayed on the bottom left of the screen. I like the idea of changing colour in the rollover buttons. It has a 'highlighting' effect.
In my opinion, the colour scheme of black, white and gold is very neutral and more suited for older people.
The fonts are a little too plain and small making it harder to read.
There is no navigation drop down menu which reflects the restricted products and services on offer.
The photo gallery provides some movement as it transitions from one photo to the next.
Every page has a contact form on the right hand side. This is a waste of useful promotional space. Contact details could easily be limited to one page dedicated to contact information. That way, any changes would be in one place rather than affecting every webpage.
The footer has links to Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Hyperlink - He has used a hyperlink to his own website and the audience can find his website easily by copying and pasting his hyperlink from email.
Second website - https://bespokebanter.com/film - This website is primarily for advertising and promotional messaging for products and services. It has an impressive list of recognisable clients suggesting that the target audience is the marketing departments and boards of big companies.
The homepage has a black on white header with a purple banner with a short, sharp message "content with purpose". It is crisp and clear. There is some movement on this page as the second video plays automatically. For me, this is off putting because you cannot see the whole video without scrolling down the page. I would swap the two videos around so that the video playing is fully visible.
I like the idea of a logo giving this website it's unique identity.
This website does not use rollover buttons or any navigation drop down menus. It simply has a navigation menu which takes you to different pages when you click on them. I really like this navigation bar as the font is a strong bold. The audience can see the fonts very clearly. But I'm not sure this colour grey works well, maybe black would be better.
There is some use of animated graphics / movement via transitions when filling in text. The one above moves in from right to left. I like this and would consider it for my own website.
The navigation menu takes you to a pictorial menu page as above which takes you to a lot of videos, descriptions and information similar to other websites.
Hyperlink - Bespoke Banter has a hyperlink to it's website as well. It has no technical issues and is done well.
The footer continues with the purple & white colour scheme and has contact information as well as links to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. Just like the ashleemasonsgroup.com website, there is no need to duplicate contact information on every page as well as having a dedicated contacts page. I like the use of colour Red to highlight missing data on the input form in the contacts page.
Third and last website - http: //johnbrawley.com/ - This website promotes John Brawley's work in Photography and Filming. It's target audience are people in Television and Filming industries.
John Brawley makes film scenes to put into his blogs and he uploads videos from Vimeo. I like his website but the background colour is the same as the second website Bespoke Banter and that is a plain white background.
The homepage is simple and effective. The photo gallery fills the page and provides movement via a photo slideshow.
The footer simply shows icons of twitter and flicker on the bottom right corner and links to them if clicked.
I like this website. It uses minimal writing. A lot of it's content is very visual and attractive. A better logo would improve it's branding.
The header consists of the navigation menu which uses good size fonts and is clear to see. All fonts are a good size and an improvement from the last website.
The rollover buttons change colour from black to red to highlight when in use.
Animated Graphics - John Brawley ACS website has translation filter effects using animated graphics on the home page website.
Navigation Drop Down Menus - his website has navigation drop down menus to show his video blogs from Vimeo and creates blogs to show his videos, which is similar to the The second website. He uses video hyperlinks and copies from his website then creates blogs about Television, Features and Short Form.
Hyperlink - He has hyperlinks here as well and there are no technical issues on his website and much better quality.
Summary
There are lots of good ideas that I can use for my own website. I think that a logo is important to make my website my own. I like the use of movement by having a photo gallery scrolling through the photos and text moving into place e.g. moving from right to left. This makes the website more dynamic. I like the rollover buttons changing colour and missing data being highlighted with red. Having a consistent colour scheme in your header and footer is also a good idea with icons linking to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.