P2: Generate ideas for a new interactive media product for a client brief
P3: Produce a plan for the creation of the interactive media product from the generated ideas.
Planning documents
Below is a mind map of ideas for the visual side of my website, this includes the colours of text and borders etc, as well as specifying font types.
Below is my blue sky thinking document which I used to start putting down ideas for my website. The red writing were my initial ideas which I was just writing down. The green writing was me coming back and specifying where I would use something and black was my feed back from a friend which I used to better my ideas.
Device flat plans
Below are the flat plans for how the website will look like on a mobile device.
Below are storyboards of how the website will look on a desktop device.
Below is the home page for the desktop device.
Below, circled in red, is what the drop down menu will look like when clicked on or hovered over with the cursor.
Below is the merchandise store page for the desktop device.
Specification document
Purpose
The purpose of my interactive website is to raise the profile of the musician by increasing sales and video views as well as to be a source of information on the musician to encourage more fans and publicity. Fans of the musician will be able to view and purchase the latest songs as well as viewing any new content and upcoming events. The website will also include a information page about the artist which will inform the audience of information about the musician. in order to increase sales I will also add a shop and an events page where the user will be able to buy merchandise and music related to the musician as well as to purchase tickets and be informed about the up coming events and gigs the musician has.
Client needs
The interactive website will need to be well structured and designed so that the user is able to view the artists work and information as easily and quickly as possible. They also need to be able to view tours and book tickets and etc with ease. The website will need to include information that's up to date about the artist as well as up to date music he's released.
These are the following requirements set by the client.
Target audience
The target audience for the interactive website will be directly linked to the target audience of the artist which the website is based about. This artists target audience is age ranged between 16 and 21 therefor the website will be targeting teenagers and young adults rather than young children and older generations. Due to the nature of the music genre the social grade of the target audience is likely to be ABC1 rather than C2DE as the music is less street than most mainstream songs out right now. The target audience will be teenagers and young adults who enjoy a musically intellectual yet goofy tune and who appreciate such artists. It's highly unlikely that anyone older than 22-25 would be my target audience as the music is simply not targeted at them and the music target audience is what the website target audience will also be.
Target audience needs
The target audience needs will include bright and an enticing colour scheme as it'll need to look attractive to the younger audience around the age of 16. The information listed on the website will have to be listed in fairly short paragraphs to keep the attention of the younger spectrum of the audience however it'll need to be sophisticated and well written in order to cater to the ABC1 part of the target audience. The website should include interesting information about the artist as well as a simply laid out store page and ticket book page in order to ease in the audience. We will want to attract the entire target audience, aged 16-21, by including many images as videos featuring the artists. This should encourage them to navigate more willingly through the website.
Content
The website will include the following information:
Format
The format of the website will have to work and be compatible across multiple platforms. Therefore I will have to make sure that the website runs smoothly across different browsers and on different operating systems. I will also have to ensure that the interactive website works on various devices. These include but are not limited to a computer, smartphone and tablet. I will make sure of this by using built in functions with whatever website code and creator I will be using.
Budgeting
The budget for my website is non existent as this, in reality, will be a student piece as part of my coursework. I am also not using any copyrighted materials that I would have to pay for. Therefor this website will cost absolutely nothing. However if this website had to made in real life we would be looking at an hourly rate for a website developer which would run around £55-£90 an hour depending on skill and portfolio of the website developer.
The purpose of my interactive website is to raise the profile of the musician by increasing sales and video views as well as to be a source of information on the musician to encourage more fans and publicity. Fans of the musician will be able to view and purchase the latest songs as well as viewing any new content and upcoming events. The website will also include a information page about the artist which will inform the audience of information about the musician. in order to increase sales I will also add a shop and an events page where the user will be able to buy merchandise and music related to the musician as well as to purchase tickets and be informed about the up coming events and gigs the musician has.
Client needs
The interactive website will need to be well structured and designed so that the user is able to view the artists work and information as easily and quickly as possible. They also need to be able to view tours and book tickets and etc with ease. The website will need to include information that's up to date about the artist as well as up to date music he's released.
These are the following requirements set by the client.
- easy to use
- provide the user with a positive experience
- provide relevant and up-to-date information about the band.
- linked to social media
Target audience
The target audience for the interactive website will be directly linked to the target audience of the artist which the website is based about. This artists target audience is age ranged between 16 and 21 therefor the website will be targeting teenagers and young adults rather than young children and older generations. Due to the nature of the music genre the social grade of the target audience is likely to be ABC1 rather than C2DE as the music is less street than most mainstream songs out right now. The target audience will be teenagers and young adults who enjoy a musically intellectual yet goofy tune and who appreciate such artists. It's highly unlikely that anyone older than 22-25 would be my target audience as the music is simply not targeted at them and the music target audience is what the website target audience will also be.
Target audience needs
The target audience needs will include bright and an enticing colour scheme as it'll need to look attractive to the younger audience around the age of 16. The information listed on the website will have to be listed in fairly short paragraphs to keep the attention of the younger spectrum of the audience however it'll need to be sophisticated and well written in order to cater to the ABC1 part of the target audience. The website should include interesting information about the artist as well as a simply laid out store page and ticket book page in order to ease in the audience. We will want to attract the entire target audience, aged 16-21, by including many images as videos featuring the artists. This should encourage them to navigate more willingly through the website.
Content
The website will include the following information:
- Discography of the artist.
- Art related to the artist.
- A store page featuring merchandise and music.
- A ticket booking function for upcoming tours and events featuring set lists.
- A newsletter with up-to-date news related to the artist.
- Multimedia including music videos and interviews with the artist.
- Various images and writings about the artist.
Format
The format of the website will have to work and be compatible across multiple platforms. Therefore I will have to make sure that the website runs smoothly across different browsers and on different operating systems. I will also have to ensure that the interactive website works on various devices. These include but are not limited to a computer, smartphone and tablet. I will make sure of this by using built in functions with whatever website code and creator I will be using.
Budgeting
The budget for my website is non existent as this, in reality, will be a student piece as part of my coursework. I am also not using any copyrighted materials that I would have to pay for. Therefor this website will cost absolutely nothing. However if this website had to made in real life we would be looking at an hourly rate for a website developer which would run around £55-£90 an hour depending on skill and portfolio of the website developer.
Site Map
M2: Explain the legal and ethical issues relating to product ideas
Whilst making my website I need to keep in my that I have to make sure that my website takes precautions against various legal and ethical issues which could apply to my website. The largest legal issue I could run into could violations of the copyright law. This law means that I cannot use any assets, such as images or videos from a copyright protected source, without the permission of the owner of the aforementioned content. As I am the creator of the website it becomes my responsibility to make sure that such mistakes do not occur. As the creator of the website I will ensure to steer clear of this potential legal issue by ensuring that I do not use any content in my website without the permission of the owner. As this is a student made website with no budget and little time I will not waste any time by buying or trying to gain permission for content use. In order to provide my website with content I will create it all myself which guarantees that I am not breeching any copyright laws and that I have exclusive rights to everything featured on my website.
Another legal issue I could face could possibly regard the Data Protection Act which states that everyone has the right for their private details to be kept under secure conditions and not be released to the public. This issue could will concern me as my website will allow users to create their own accounts which requires them to input sensitive data which falls under the Data Protection Act. In order to make sure that I do not breech the Data Protection Act I will ensure that all their users data is encrypted and that it can't be accessed by anyone apart from the secure socket layer servers which I will also use in order to protect the encrypted data from being exploited or accessed by hackers.
There are several ethical issues which could possible concern me. One of these is misrepresentation which can occur when a certain group of people are either not represented enough or represented in a way which does not reflect them in a positive or truthful light. This would apply to me because my website will feature images of people and these people might fall into a group which can be misrepresented. In order to make sure that I don't misrepresent any minorities or groups of people I will make sure that the website features images of people who fall into various categories of ethnical and social minorities and I will also make sure that they will be presented in a positive light by checking that non of the photos used could be deemed as inappropriate or offensive.
Another legal issue I could face could possibly regard the Data Protection Act which states that everyone has the right for their private details to be kept under secure conditions and not be released to the public. This issue could will concern me as my website will allow users to create their own accounts which requires them to input sensitive data which falls under the Data Protection Act. In order to make sure that I do not breech the Data Protection Act I will ensure that all their users data is encrypted and that it can't be accessed by anyone apart from the secure socket layer servers which I will also use in order to protect the encrypted data from being exploited or accessed by hackers.
There are several ethical issues which could possible concern me. One of these is misrepresentation which can occur when a certain group of people are either not represented enough or represented in a way which does not reflect them in a positive or truthful light. This would apply to me because my website will feature images of people and these people might fall into a group which can be misrepresented. In order to make sure that I don't misrepresent any minorities or groups of people I will make sure that the website features images of people who fall into various categories of ethnical and social minorities and I will also make sure that they will be presented in a positive light by checking that non of the photos used could be deemed as inappropriate or offensive.
D1: Justify the planned interactivity and range of media content to meet a client brief
The brief that I chose to pursue sets out the purpose of the website which I am creating. In my case the purpose is to raise the profile of the band/artist that I am creating this website for as well as to increase sales and video views and be a source of information to encourage more fans and publicity. The brief also sets out various requirements such as that the website is easy to use as well as that it contains a minimum of two forms of interactivity and that it must have up-to-date information about the band/artist.
I designed my website in order to fulfil the expectations and requirements of the brief completely. I have done this partially by seeing to the requirement that states I need to make the website easy to use. I believe I fulfilled this requirement by designing my website in a minimalistic style which ensures that the website is clear to read as it wont be cluttered. Another feature I've worked on to make the website easy-to-use was that I designed the search bar to feature a well-organised and well-written index of what the website has to offer. Another requirement which I had to work toward was that I need to include up-to-date information about the band/artist. I have designed my website in order to fulfil that requirement by adding space for text boxes which will feature information and facts about the artist under any piece of content which is appropriate to be described. This means that under every album shown by the artist there will be an album description which the audience are able to read to get their information about the band/artist.
In order to fulfil the requirement of having two interactive features in my website I have added various interactive features to go above and beyond for this requirement. Most notably, I have added embedded videos into my website where the users are able to play back various videos which I have included and are then able to rewind or skip the video itself. I have also included a chat box which is interactive in the sense that users can speak to each other in real time so that they can discuss their passion for the given artist with other fans, this also expands on the brief purpose of encouraging fans and publicity.
I designed my website in order to fulfil the expectations and requirements of the brief completely. I have done this partially by seeing to the requirement that states I need to make the website easy to use. I believe I fulfilled this requirement by designing my website in a minimalistic style which ensures that the website is clear to read as it wont be cluttered. Another feature I've worked on to make the website easy-to-use was that I designed the search bar to feature a well-organised and well-written index of what the website has to offer. Another requirement which I had to work toward was that I need to include up-to-date information about the band/artist. I have designed my website in order to fulfil that requirement by adding space for text boxes which will feature information and facts about the artist under any piece of content which is appropriate to be described. This means that under every album shown by the artist there will be an album description which the audience are able to read to get their information about the band/artist.
In order to fulfil the requirement of having two interactive features in my website I have added various interactive features to go above and beyond for this requirement. Most notably, I have added embedded videos into my website where the users are able to play back various videos which I have included and are then able to rewind or skip the video itself. I have also included a chat box which is interactive in the sense that users can speak to each other in real time so that they can discuss their passion for the given artist with other fans, this also expands on the brief purpose of encouraging fans and publicity.
Above are two screenshots of the chat box which I will include in the website as one of the interactive features.
There are various benefits of using interactive features in my website. One of the benefits is that a live chat allows users to discuss the artist/band with other fans. This allows for a community to be built around the artist/band which in turn goes back to the part of the brief which states that my website must encourage more fans and raise the profile of the band. Another benefit of interactive features in my website is that I am able to embed videos and music clips into the website itself so that the audience can watch videos which relate to the artist/band or even listen to samples of, and buy, music. This is certainly a positive as it directly links back to my product brief as one of the requirements was to "increase sales and video views" and this interactive feature does just that.
With benefits of interactive features, there are also downsides and limitations. one of the limitations of my interactive features is that some users may not be able to playback the videos or music which I have included in the website due their slow internet connection which may in turn cause frustration and sway them away from the artist/band because of a problem that we have no to little control over. Another limitation that I can foresee is that having a live chat box may lead to abusive messages being sent as well as spamming of the site which can slow it down significantly or even crash it all together which would lead to the site no longer functioning and that defeats the whole purpose of the website.
With benefits of interactive features, there are also downsides and limitations. one of the limitations of my interactive features is that some users may not be able to playback the videos or music which I have included in the website due their slow internet connection which may in turn cause frustration and sway them away from the artist/band because of a problem that we have no to little control over. Another limitation that I can foresee is that having a live chat box may lead to abusive messages being sent as well as spamming of the site which can slow it down significantly or even crash it all together which would lead to the site no longer functioning and that defeats the whole purpose of the website.