Homemade! Content Page Wireframes

I have been working on some wireframes ready to make into designs to show the client at the meeting on monday so she can finalise them. Therefore I can be ready after the proposal hand-in to start implementing the designs.

Artefact1! Development and Change

After further thought into the viral start off I realised I was implementing this stage to early in the project. Until I have gained enough information to build an effective addictive advertising banner there is no need for a start off viral as without an effective game the viral will not be successful.

I have therefore decided that I first need to follow on from research carried out in the written document surrounding current advertising trends. Research needs to be carried out looking at successful online advertising and then furthered into research of what users like in online banners. As without knowledge of banners and what people like I will not be able to start making a decent advertising banner.

Therefore my first artefact will now be a survey with example banners to establish what it is users like within online banners. The results can then be merged with the addictive traits discovered in the PRP document to help create addictive advertising. so that liked elements can be incorporated into the final game making it more successful.

Homemade! Risk Assesment

In our tutorial last week we were talking about thinking about possible risks that may occur during the project so we could work out how to overcome them if they did and be nice and prepared! At the moment the main risks I can see are:

1. Problems with achieving what is wanted in wordpress (high risk) - if the site is based around using the cms of wordpress it requires a high undertanding of how it works which i may find hard to achieve, and especially achieve the look i want from the design. However we have been discussing other ways of using a cms and thinking about looking at other open source software which we may be able to link to our site rather than create a css template. This way would be an alternative if there are problems with wordpress and would also allow the design not to be compromised. 2. The client is unhappy with the design once the 4th milestone is reached and they want more than the 5 changes allowed (low risk) - This can easily be overcome by keeping in constant contact throughout the design stages and making sure everything the client has asked for where possible is included.

3. IE8, with the new internet explorer comes new rules and it will mean validation may take longer than expected (medium risk) - as long as the designs are completed earlier enough for this to be taken into consideration and tested this risk should be avoided.

Artefact1! Viral Start

Following research into viral advertising after identifying the need for a viral start-off (a current marketing trend) in the conclusion of the written document I have decided to base my first artefact around this element. A viral will be incorporated in the form of a game rather than a film as my research question is looking at online gaming addictive traits. During a tutorial last week when dissussing this idea ashley was telling me about a viral game they had gone big involving clicking as many times as you could, so from this i decided perhaps doing a game similar to this as simplicity seems key.

I began thinking of a theme to build into the game and came up with the idea of bingo. It allows addictive potential and could be developed into a viral game using a bingo card and having to click the numbers as quick as possible. So that’s it the first artefact will be a viral bingo game!

Homemade Meeting – Finalise Final Design & Proposal read through – 18/01/10

Items to discuss

1.Need for a find us page within the sitemap
2.Opening date for the background history
3.Reading of Proposal
4.Chose final design
5.Hosting

Meeting

1. It was decided that a find us page consisting of the address and a Google map was needed within the site map.

2. The opening year of the café was 2005.

3. After the read through of the proposal the client was happy with both the functional and non-functional elements discussed within it as well as the schedule for the project. It was suggested that another page to be added to the site map would be a suppliers page (who makes homemade possible?) which would consist of Polaroid images of the suppliers and there favourite sandwiches. Also they are currently running a cakes to order service that they would like to promote so a separate page is needed for information on this.

4. The client has chosen a final design to be used:

The client liked the design for its simplicity as well as incorporating aspects of the café within it through the use of the black board. The 3 images to be included within it will be of fish and chips, the brownie cake and a freshly made sandwich. The quote will be taken from a newspaper about the award the café has won and the text will consist of about us style information.

On the further pages instead of the board appearing in the top right corner this will be taken out and replaced with a page layout where smaller boards appear along the bottom to create the menu bar. The designs for the rest of the layout for this will be completed by next Monday for a meeting to finalise the layout.

The temporary site to be created in the following week will follow the layout of the homepage but the board will be replaced with an image of a board with information about the shop allowing the text area to show the café opening times.

The client would like the text on the boards to be hand written by her so they are identical to those in the shop. And also suggested the use of dancing cupcakes could be incorporated into the design.

The client has said that she has some more images she would like to be included within the gallery and also of sandwiches to be used for the homepage and that she will have these ready for the meeting on Monday. She will also find the link to a cake site she liked the style of to show me.

5. The client has agreed to email the hosting details and passwords so it can be assessed what exactly the hosting they have offers.

Artefacts! Viral Marketing Research

Viral Net

http://www.viralnet.com/?ibx_sc=881&gclid=CPn_9PDUo58CFR9o4wodF1rtIQ

This is a viral network company which highlights role and production of viral marketing advertising. Following the links from the 'latest success' it is clear that gaming virals are currently popular, so perhaps the viral created could be a flash game, which will also appeal to the intended audience with a higher addiction potential of online gamers. The placement of the virals also relate to this being on a gaming forum so this could be taken into consideration when deciding if i should email the viral or place it within a site.

You Talk Marketing

http://www.utalkmarketing.com/Pages/Article.aspx?ArticleID=16518&Title=How_to_make_a_killer_viral_marketing_video._5_Top_Tips

The top 5 viral marketing tips:

1) know the audience - in my case the traget would be more towards online gamers as they are more liekly to become addicted.

2) be upfront and honest - never overclaim what the product can do. Be interesting, honest, passionate, and engaging. Think about your online enviroment (game forums, game sites, in game advertsing?).

3) walk the walk, dont just talk the talk - give the audience what you say you are!

4) respect your audience - always remeber the internet is user-controlled!

5) be engaging - give the audience something of value. Test peoples reactions before you complete the viral.

Genius Rocket

http://www.geniusrocket.com/blog/articles/emerging-trends-in-viral-video-and-the-implications-for-advertising/

Key viral findings:

- coporate content

- normally OVER a minute long

- thumbnails - humans not objects

- most viewed use user generated content

Artefacts!

The key criterias identified from the research document of whether addictive advertising can be created are:

- A chat system

- Rewards

- Progression/levels

- Character development/identity

- viral start off

This would therefore concluded that the first artefact must be a viral advert to be sent round to all of the target group participants.

To establish if addcitive potential is needed for addiction to occur two target groups will be used:

- Online gamers (high addictive potential)

- non - gamer females (low addictive potential)

To test the levels of addiction a tailored sympton set must be created and each individual tested against this as well as a scale indicating the individuals personal perception on their addictive level.

Wordpress!

As the client wants a CMS run website i am looking into the idea of learning a bit more wordpress and developing the basic layout to incorporate the designs I choose. Therefore research into this has begun and i am eagerly awaiting the release of an upcoming book Smashing Wordpress: Beyond the Blog (Smashing Magazine Book Series) by Thord Daniel Hedengren (Paperback - 22 Jan 2010).

The reason I have chosen to use wordpress rather than create my own is that it is a secure area and as this is a project for a real client I do not want to put the information of the client and the website produced at risk.

Homemade! Metting #2

Had another meeting with homemade and my client kindly gave me images to be used within the site for my design stages. It was also made clear that the background colour of the site is to be purple, so this is to be taken into account with further designs created over Christmas. Below are the initial designs I had produced before this meeting.