Artefact 2! Findings

The timed results indicate that the use of negative reinforcement was more successful as on average users interacted for 22.2 sec compared to the positives 21.5 sec result. It also showed that females (Neg. 26.5 sec, Pos. 29.5 sec) interacted for longer compared to males (Neg. 17.9 sec, Pos. 13.9 sec) on both banners. This was unexpected as it was previously identified that men are stereotypical of a more addictive personality.

The Q&A results showed varied responses but two results that were recurrent throughout on how to lengthen interaction were higher levels of interaction/animations and gaining a reward.

Therefore the next artefact will be look at reward systems.

Artefact 3! Visual designs

Ok I have mocked up some visuals to help me work out what I'm making flash wise! So here they are:

The skill reward should be pretty easy to achieve i hope as all the banner needs to do is have the progress bar at the top move up the more you click the button. I will have a timeout so if the button hasn't been clicked for a certain amount of time the banner will stop. It would be nice to achieve a progress bar which falls again if you stop clicking but I'm not sure if this is achievable with my skill level in flash!

The extension reward will involve a time limit and a click counter. The two buttons will only highlight and be in use at certain time variables throughout the time limit and will only be usable for a certain period of time. If hit the button will pause the timer extending the time and increasing the clicks achievable.

The resource reward follow the same structure as the extension reward however when the button is clicked instead of extending the game it will give the player an extra 10 clicks for nothing!


The motivational reward will follow the same simple clicking taken from the banner used in the negative/positive banners except that there will be a time limit and score/no of clicks indicated on the screen. After the time limit has ran out there will be a high score table showing the users score and motivating them to continue using the banner to beat there/others scores.

There is no design included for the visceral reward as this involves the use of sound and graphics to reward the player therefore i could not really visualise sound in a design! The structure will follow that of the negative/positive banner but will use rewarding sounds such as clapping and cheering, and will incorporate graphics through the button animating more when it is clicked, as suggested from the Q&A feedback.

Artefact 3! Mouse Tracker free downloads

Window Tracker 1.0

• Window Tracker - Tracks the mouse and gives information of the target windows.


• Window Tracker will show the Window Handle value, the Thread PID and the normal process PID.


• Window Tracker is small, simple, easy-to-use and does not require any installation.

Now Tracker Pro 1.0.02305

• The Now Tracker Pro application was designed to be a small desktop utility which displays the current system time, along with your mouse (X,Y) position.


• It sits in the top right hand corner of you screen tracking your mouse position.

A!K Mouse Off-road 2.17

• Odometer for your mouse!


• It tracks movement of the mouse and the time of a mouse activity.


• All tracked information is shown on the indicator window and may be exported to a text file.

My Mouse Meter 1.0.9

• My Mouse Meter is a free and useful program which calculates the range, your mouse cursor passes across the screen, when you move your mouse on a mousepad.


• Range displayed in kilometers, meters, inches and feet.


• It can also calculate mouse clicks and keystrokes number.

ArGoSoft Time Tracker 1.0

• Allows you to track the time you spend, working on your computer.


• Captures mouse movement, and keyboard strokes.


• If there is an inactivity for a specified amount of time, assumes, that you left your computer, and you are no longer working.

I also came across this site http://tracking.software.informer.com/download-tracking-mouse-movements-on-website/ and theres tons of choices on screen recorders!

Now with a little help tomorrow i will choose the final one im going to use :)

Artefact 3! Reward Incorporations

Ok I now need to think of how i can use the rewards previously blogged and incorporate them into my simple design as i don't really want to re make the banner too much given the time span we have and due to the fact i am not really concentrating so much on design but how the users are interacting with it.


Skill reward: letting the power improve - possibly include a strength bar? the more you click the higher your strength?

Extension reward: if a time limit is included then a button to be clicked to extend the time on the game could be incorporated. perhaps a pause button allowing extra clicks outside of the time limit?

Visceral reward: the use of graphics/sounds....perhaps an animation occurs from a result of clicking or words/sounds of encouragement could be played as a result?
Motivational reward: a point system could be included within the clicking game and maybe bonus points for the speed of the clicking within a certain time limit? the use of a high score table at the end of the banner?

Resource reward: perhaps buttons which can be clicked rewarding resources such as super-click (one click adds up to 10?).

Let me know what you think of these very rough ideas and if you have any suggestions that would be great!

SPP3! Covering Letters

I have decided to do a bit of reading up on covering letters so im sure to get it right.....i looked through a few cv books and none of them even mentioned the covering letter! but eventually i found a book with a whole chapter devoted to the covering letter :) Below is the key information i gained:

• Find someone to address it to! (highlights focus and specfic person will read it! also have a follow up name)
• brief never more than a page!
• follow protocol: date, employers name and address first, dear ........
• step one: grab the readers attention: think about the quality of the paper etc.
• step two: generate interest with content: explain how found and what you can offer. say it strong and straight.
• step three: turn interest into desire: form bridge as to job area, call attention to your merits, highlighting qualifications and 1 or 2 special achievements/contibutions.
• step four: turn desire into action: leave them wanting more, tell them you want to talk, how when and where to contact you and then you intend to follow this letter up.

other key points raised:

• no more than 4/5 paragraphs (200 words) long
• short sentences (av. 14 words)
• concise parargraphs - never longer than 2 or 3 phrases
• use action verbs that breathe life into your work

Homemade Meeting – Finalise Hosting & Discuss Page Content – 22/02/10

Items to discuss

1.Show HTML development so far
2.Discuss page content
3.Set deadline date for content text/images/etc
4.Hosting Final Decision and set-up
5.Google account set-up
6.Temporary page design check
7.Set temporary page text content deadline


Meeting

1.The client is happy with the development process and designs at this stage.

2.Page content will be as follows:

Home Page: About us section from temporary page.

Menus: Content will be taken from new menu designs to be emailed in the following week.Sandwich image needed.

Catering & Cakes: Page title to be changed to Wedding Catering.

• Images to be used will be of the kebab and BBQ wedding food.
• Top of page will have a short body of text explaining the service offered.
• Testimonials will follow from weddings previously catered for.
• A simple contact form – Email & Booking request.

Party Bookings: The content text can be taken from the Facebook group outlining this service.

• Images to be used will be of the space set up for hire (table shots)
• Top of page will have a short body of text explaining the service offered.
• A simple contact form – Email & Booking request.

Cakes to Order: Valentine’s cakes to be added to image folder.

• All images within the cakes to order image file are to be included.
• Top of page will have a short body of text explaining the service offered.
• A simple contact form – Email & Booking request.

Supplier Page: ‘Fun’ images to be taken and emailed.

• Photograph of each of the suppliers.
• Favourite sandwich
• Information on who they are and link to their business

Find Us: Google maps to be used.

• Image of map
• Address of the shop
• Directions from the market square.

Useful links: Page title will be changed to Friends of Homemade.

• Team photo
• Website link and short description of how they are associated with homemade.

3.A deadline date of 05/03/10 has been set for when all content (text/images/etc) must have been given to me.

4.The client has decided to host the site with a friend working for, GiraffeDog Technical Services Ltd. The hosting offered includes:

The annual cost for this is £100.00 + VAT and includes the following:

• 1 GB Data Transfer
• 1 x MySQL Database
• FTP Access
• Web Stats via AWStats (we recommend asking your Web Designer to setup and configure Google Analytics)

We will also configure your email to be managed by Google Mail for Domains
giving you the following benefits:

• 24/7 Managed E-Mail Solution
• 50 Email Accounts
• Secure document storage and access via a web browser

Hosting has now been activated and I have to update the name servers from the domain names to match the new hosting server. If I have problems with this I am to contact the hosting company for help. Once updated the changes wont activate for up to 36 hours, so I have been advised to only check it has been successful after waiting 2 days. If I have Vista XP on my laptop the hosting company have said that it will be possible to set up a cross server connection.

5.A Google Account set up was not needed, as the hosting company will do this as part of the hosting deal.

6.The client was happy with the design of the temporary page.

7.A deadline date of 24/02/10 has been set for when the temporary page content text must have been given to me.

SPP3! Postgraduate Course No.7

MSc Digital Marketing

The MSc in Digital Marketing programme is composed of 4 modules and a dissertation to be completed in a period of 12 months on a full-time basis.

There are no options, all modules are compulsory.

The core modules are:

• Digital Marketing and Consumer Behaviour
• Principles of digital marketing and the Internet
• Digital communications strategies
• Database marketing and customer behaviour
• Commerce and Law
• Commercial activities and e-commerce
• Digital business strategies
• Digital ethics, legislation and security
• Strategic Web Design
• Advanced web design
• Search engines: marketing and optimisation
• Multimedia
• Measurement, Development and Security
• Digital Metrics and Analysis
• NPD and Project Mangement
• Security and systems

I would love to apply for this course but unfortunately it is only open for entry if you have a degree in Business or Marketing.

Therefore I have found an alternative course similar to this which would allow me to apply!

MSc Digital Marketing


Entry requirements: First or upper second-class honours degree from a UK university
Duration: 1 year (full time)
Careers: Digital marketing roles in a range of industry sectors, consultancy, Web design and general management.

Programme structure:

Introduction to Marketing, Strategic Marketing Intelligence, Consumer insight; Data-driven marketing; Information systems strategy; Design and creativity; Digital marketing communications; Introduction to marketing; Key personal skills; Strategic marketing decisions; Strategic marketing intelligence; Web analytics; Web applications

PRP! Artefact3 Testing

Aim:

To determine which online gaming reward is the most successful within online advertising banners.

Testing:

6 banners, each incorporating a different reward, will be created and tested to determine which is the most successful in online advertising banners. A 'Mouse tracker' will be used to identify which banner recieves the most mouse interaction. Therefore highlighting the most successful banner.

Expectations:

I would expect the motivational reward to be the most successful as high scores are the most commonly used form of reward in online games.

PRP! Artefact 3 - Rewards Research

From the few results i have collected from my reinforcement banner Q&A sheets, people have said that people would have continued to use the banner more if they had recieved some kind of reward. By coincidence a reward system was also an addictive trait identified within the written document. Therefore as I am linking the banners to gaming addiction traits i have decided to do some preparatory research into gaming rewards.

I came across a blog 'Casual Game Design - Designing games everyone can enjoy' which outlines the basics of the reward system. They include:

Rewards

• A reward is something you receive and feel positive about.
  
• What is or is not a reward is completely subjective.
  
• Only the one who receives the something can determine whether it’s a reward or not.
  
• Therefore you can only make an educated guess as to what may be percieved as a reward.
  
• There is a notion that a reward must be earned. action = reaction = reward. This is not always the case as in games, rewards are often gained at random time intervals with no action required to keep the users attention.
  

Types of reward (some not all!(according to the blog))

• Resource rewards: Resources can be anything: money, food, soldiers, weapons.
  
• Skill rewards: Some games have explicit systems for letting the player improve eg. strength, stamina and speed. Skill rewards give the player a feeling of improvement.
  
• Extension rewards: If a game can end because the player runs out of health or time, then there is room for extension rewards. Extending the time the player can spend on the current game.
  
• Visceral rewards: Graphics, music and sound, when well done, can be very rewarding to the player. A visceral reward doesn’t offer the player anything in terms of the gameplay, but it does enhance the experience.
  
• Accomplishment rewards: When a player accomplishes something in the game that can be a reward by itself: beating an opponent. Accomplishment rewards are tricky, because everyone feels differently about them.
  
• Motivational rewards: The points a player receives during a game usually have no effect on the gameplay whatsoever, but they do help to motivate the player, to encourage her to score more points. An encouraging word from an in-game character might also do the trick.

Reward intensifiers

• There are the various methods you can use to increase the effectiveness of your rewards. I call these methods reward intensifiers. They don’t add new rewards to the game, but they do make the rewards you receive more effective.
  
• Increased benefits: A simple way to intensify a reward is to increase the benefits the player receives from the reward. Increased benefits have only limited effectiveness; there is a point beyond which the player just won’t feel more positive for receiving more benefits.
  
• Anticipation: If all the characters a player meets during thier quest keep talking about that beautiful Magic Gemstone, then it’s likely they'll want to find that much sought after item. Anticipation can also come from outside the game, for example, when all your friends keep talking about that cool cut scene that’s coming up after you beat the Big Annoying Boss.
  
• Accomplishment. Accomplishment can be a reward in itself, but it can also serve to intensify other rewards.
  
• Prize. If you offer a reward as a prize, then that implies that the player has earned the reward. Prizes and accomplishments complement each other nicely. The player already feels rewarded because of her accomplishment and by offering her another reward, making that reward the prize, they'll surely be left with a positive feeling.

From this I can take the rewards suggested and test them among subjects to determine which is the most popular and keeps their attention the longest.

SPP3! Post Graduate Course NTU

MA Branding and Identity Design

Entry requirements:

A good honours degree (minimum 2.2) or equivalent in a relevant discipline, or relevant experience, supported by a portfolio of work and a project proposal.

About the course:

You will study the phenomenal rise of the brand, its impact on society and how this relates to your own practice. The course looks at what sustains a brand and what makes it a success or failure.

You will be encouraged to research ‘brand’ from several perspectives from psychology, fashion, product and graphic design and consider its impact ethically, politically, culturally and economically. You will also explore how branding exists in several manifestations in the arts, sports and cultural industries. Your final research outcome may be practice- or theory-based.

Course content:

This modular MA is designed to offer a framework for advanced study and to develop core skills in a number of areas, including

• Research methodologies.
• The professional and cultural contextualisation of work.
• Practical project experimentation and realisation.
• Critical and reflective evaluation.

MA Interaction Design

Entry requirements:

A good honours degree (minimum 2.2) or equivalent in a relevant discipline, or relevant experience, supported by a portfolio of work and a project proposal.Competence in written and spoken English is essential.

About the course:

This degree provides students with an opportunity to push the boundaries of contemporary digital practice through the exploration of interaction between people, objects and environments using existing technologies, new developments and practices.

This will provide exciting opportunities to combine live and digitally created media. The taught elements of the course encompass new media developments and human interfaces, information spaces and interaction as an art form. Students will be given opportunities to develop content and unique audience experiences using the full capabilities of new technologies in truly interdisciplinary ways.

SPP3! Post Graduate Course No.6

Course: MSc Digital Marketing

Final Award:MSC

Entry level:

All applicants will be expected to have achieved a minimum 2.2 (or equivalent) undergraduate degree in Marketing or/and a CIM Postgraduate Diploma, or perhaps in E-Commerce/E-Business with a significant marketing component

Modules:

• Digital Marketing and the Consumer
• E-Commerce and the Law
• Strategic Web Design
• Measurement, Development and Security
• Management Dissertation

What you will learn:

Knowledge:

• You will develop a comprehensive understanding of Digital Marketing concepts and principles
• Enhance your awareness of Web Design and Search Engine optimisation
• Develop a critical awareness of new media
• Enhance your knowledge of Strategies and the Marketing Mix for new media

Thinking skills:

• You will develop analytical and numerical thinking
• Know how to analyse and interpret data collected
• Understand and critically evaluate the literature surrounding Digital Marketing
• Evaluate and implement tools and models in various contexts
  

Subject-Based Practical skills:

• A range of Marketing skills to become an effective Digital Marketer
• Complete a problem solving or analytical dissertation in Digital Marketing
• Use ICT tools to search for, retrieve and analyse marketing information
• Reflect and evaluate on digital marketing tools and techniques
  

SPP3! Post Graduate Course No.5

MSc in Advanced Computing - Internet Technologies with Multimedia

Programme Structure

In the introductory week you will take a programming proficiency test and will be placed in either an 'experienced' stream or a 'foundation' stream.

First Semester:

• Advanced Computer Graphics
• Character and Set Design
• Computer Graphics
• Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing

Second Semester:

• Project Specification and Design
• Object-Oriented Programming with Java
• Image Processing and Computer Vision
• Web Technologies
• Databases
• Server Software

Summer:

You must complete a final MSc project which consists of researching, planning and implementing a major piece of work. The project must contain a significant scientific or technical component and will usually involve a software development component. This is usually submitted by the end of September.

Key Facts:

Awards Available:MSc

Duration of programme: One year full-time; two years part-time
Part-time study available? Yes
Entry requirements: A good (at least upper second-class) Honours degree in a Computer Science or related discipline. International equivalents are also accepted.
Number of places: Not fixed
Fees: Full-time: UK/EU £4,450; overseas £14,950Part-time:UK/EU £2,225; overseas £7,475
Application Deadline: 1st August 2010

SPP3! Post Graduate Course No.4

Course title: MA in New Media and Internet Technologies
Apply: direct to the University
Start (ft): September/ January
Mode: full-time
Duration:1 year full-time

Summary :

This course investigates the major developments and current debates in new media technology, such as the internet, e-commerce, mobile computing and combines this with practical computing and programming skills.

This occurs in both theoretical and practical components of the course and uses an extensive and diverse range of literature and course materials which draw on a wide range of intellectual traditions.

The MA offers the opportunity to pursue a specialist subject demonstrating your skills, ideas and learning in an extended piece of written or practical work - for example, web-based work, interface design, mobile computing, or a digital art installation.

Areas of study include:

• Multimedia over the Web
• Interface Design
• Research Methodologies
• Interactive Narratives
• WAP
• E-commerce
• In-depth Practical Project or Dissertation
  

Why choose this course?

We boast a 5.5m Media Arts Centre containing television studio, white space studio, performance studio, two electronic newsrooms, radio station, ten digital video suites, multimedia computer suites, creative writing labs, and studios for animation and design work.

We offer a stimulating learning environment with regular research seminars, screenings, guest speakers, research projects, and the editorial base for Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies.

You will have the opportunity to develop your own specialist interests, with individual tuition for half the course.

We were ranked third in the country for our Media courses in the Guardian 2007 league tables

Career Opportunities:

The career paths open to successful students include:Multimedia designers or programmers,Project manager in new media,Researcher in new media,Mobile computing design (WAP, Palm Technology)

Assessment: Practical work, essays, presentations

Entry requirements:

A lower second-class first degree or a postgraduate qualification such as a Postgraduate Certificate in Media Studies and you should be able to demonstrate evidence of interest in design/media.

SPP3! Monster Jobs

SPP3! Useful link from shaun :)

Thanks to an email sent round from interactive media I checked out the link it suggested and im glad i did! Here it is again for all of you to check out incase you didnt:


http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/02/17/group-interview-advice-for-students-and-new-designers/


It offered advice from REAL professionals as to what to do during and after studying at university to make yourself more desirible to future employees.



The most helpful sections in the interview for where i am right now in terms of promoting myself successfully to potential employers was:




What job search advice do you have for recent graduates?

• Networking - not so much you look desperate!
• Portfolio work - quality as well as quantity!!!!
• Job boards/sites/sending out CVs
• Forming relationships
• Get Tweeting

What should new designers consider when deciding between working for an agency and freelancing?


(most useful for me was the acency pros and cons so thats all im putting here!)


Agency pros:

• Working for an agency after your studies can be great for gaining experience in how the industry
• works and how projects are managed from start to finish.
• At an agency, you work with like-minded colleagues, who you can learn from and develop with.
• Large agencies often attract big corporations and established brands.
• A full-time job guarantees you a monthly wage and set working hours.

Agency cons:

• You might get stuck working on projects that you don’t find interesting or might have to work on something you don’t agree with.
• Agencies sometimes have strict policies, rules and guidelines. For instance, browsing the Web, checking Facebook or tweeting might get you a slap on the wrist.
• Agencies work during the usual 9:00 to 5:00 business hours, so you will have to as well.

Key aspects of angency work are, LEARNING, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE.

How can students and young designers make themselves more valuable to potential employers?

• Portfolio
• Be concise!
• Dont exagerate!
• Interdisciplinary - highlight multiple disiplines
• Social skills - being an easy person to get on with and a team player
• Asking questions - if your interested in the company they will be more interested in you!

What are some of the best ways for new designers to find clients?

• Portfolios on galleries/sites = jobs = referals!
• Blogging
• Networking & Twitter
• Promote your self in a multi-faceted way
• Friends & Family

What networking tips do you have for young designers?

• Get into the design community
• Start networking now!
• Contact professionals and ask advice
• Business cards
• Quality of contacts not number!

Ok well Im happy to know I am infact already doing alot of these so hopefully I am on my way to employment!

Artefact 2! Research and Development

Operant Conditioning Research

http://www.simplypsychology.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/operant-conditioning.html

Positive Reinforcement - BF Skinner



Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. The box contained a lever in the side and as the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. The consequence of receiving food if they pressed the lever ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.
Positive reinforcement strengthens a behaviour by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. For example, if your teacher gives you £5 each time you complete your homework (i.e. a reward) you are more likely to repeat this behaviour in the future, thus strengthening the behaviour of completing your homework.

Negative Reinforcement - BF Skinner

The removal of an unpleasant reinforcer can also strengthen behaviour. This is known as Negative Reinforcement because it is the removal of an adverse stimulus which is ‘rewarding’ to the animal. Negative reinforcement strengthens behaviour because it stops or removes an unpleasant experience.

For example, if you do not complete your homework you give your teacher £5. You will complete your homework to avoid paying £5, thus strengthening the behaviour of completing your homework.

Skinner showed how negative reinforcement worked by placing a rat in his Skinner box and then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some discomfort. As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.

In fact Skinner even taught the rats to avoid the electric current by turning on a light just before the electric current came on. The rats soon learned to press the lever when the light came on because they knew that this would stop the electric current being switched on.

Banners Developed

2 banners were created to test these 2 types of reinforcement:

The negative banner used a sound clip and conditioned the user to interact with the banner to stop the music from playing.

The positive banner gave positive prompts such as "good job" for clicking on the banner to encourage engagement.

SPP3! TotalJobs Jobs

SPP3! Creative Pool Jobs

This job is good as it is a web design job in essex, meaning its an easy commute from home!

Internet Advertising Awards!

Only a short one from me for once! another good site for finding advertising banners I found was the Internet Advertising Competition :)

Artefact2! Development and change :(

Ok i have hit problems with the actionscript needed to finish my advertising banner games! With the presentation looming i have decided to use this as my third artefact and continue the developments in the next 2 weeks. I have therefore decided to change what i am testing in this weeks banner. The banner will incorporate and compare negative and positive reinforcement, an addictive trait identified previously, it will also incorporate the simplicity which was gathered from the survey results.

The banner has been based around an existing add banner which i found surprisingly addictive!


Aim: To figure out how to engage the user through positive and negative reinforcement. To compare engagement through timing the interaction lengths and see if the positive or negative reinforcement grabs the users attention more successfully. I will test on both females and males to test continue comparisons in whether men and women find the same things 'addicting'.

Testing: Each tester will look at 3 banners and interact with them. Before interaction starts it will be explained that the tester does not need to fully complete the interaction if they do not wish to. There are 3 banners in use to put the user at ease. Timing will only take place during the interaction with the banner i have created as the other banners are simply dummies.

Expectations: Research would suggest that positive reinforcements have a higher level of effect than negative reinforcements.

Artefact2! Female Banner Development

For the female banner I have decided on the theme of shoes and valentines a campaign inspired by the 'Barratts shoes' valentines promotion. The theme is based around a simple card memory game and the reward is the discount voucher code you will receive from interaction.

Below is the development so far:

Artefact2! Combing Written & Research

What Im making & Why!

Ok so I now have to combine what I have learnt from both the written document and my first aretfact to develop the second artefact and first ad banner testing addiction. Elements taken from the first artefact are the use of user interaction through the use of a simple game, and the fact that the user is able to change the outcome of the banner is also adapted from the survey results. Using 2 seperate banners with different themes, one for females and one for males has been adapted from both the first artefact (where it was shown men and women liked different things) and the written document with the stereotypes found. Addictive elements taken from the written document and incorporated into the design to heighten addiction is the use of a positive reward with a voucher being gained from interaction.

How I am testing!

To test the levels of addiction from this first banner I am going to time user interaction with 3 banners, two 'real' banners and one being mine. It will be tested on 3 females and 3 males, so that comparisons between genders can be made.

It is expected that my banner will hold the users attention for longer, indicating a level of addiction. It is also expected that men will interact with the banner for longer due to the gaming nature.

SPP3! Guru Jobs Cont.

Location: London

Key Skills

-Dreamweaver
-Flash
-Photoshop










Location: Home Counties

Key Skills

-CSS
-Flash
-HTML










Location: South East

Key Skills

-Actionship

-Flash

-HTML

SPP3! Guru Jobs

Location: South East

Key Skills

-CSS
-Flash
-HTML
-JavaScript
-Photoshop









Location: South East


Key Skills

-CSS
-Flash
-HTML
-JavaScript
-Photoschop






Location: Midlands


Key Skills

-CSS
-Flash
-HTML
-Photoshop









Location: South East

Key Skills

-Adwords
-Google
-PPC
-SEO

Location: Home Counties

Key Skills

-Adobe CS

-CSS

-Flash

-HTML

-Usability

SPP3! Hotcourses

When seraching for postgraduate courses i found this site alot more user friendly than prospects!

So heres the link: http://www.hotcourses.com/community/homePage.jsp?x=16180339&y=&a=0.

SPP3! Post Graduate Course No.3

Study Level: Postgraduate
Study Mode: Full Time
Course Length: 1 Year, over 45 weeks
Start Date: October.
Application Route: Through College. UK and EU students should download this application form (4MB - PDF).
Application Deadline: There isn't a deadline but it is best to apply at least a couple of months before you hope to start.
Home/EU Fee: £4,075 + £635. Fees given as guidance only - based on typical 2009/10 full-time fees - and are subject to review.
Course Location: This course is taught within the Faculty of Media at LCC

MA Interactive Media

Crossing the boundaries - interactive media spans the worlds of IT, software, digital media, web design and art.

The interactive media industry is worth several billion pounds annually and employs around 40,000 people, representing approximately ten percent of the total audio visual work.
This dynamic MA course, one of the longest-established in the field, is designed for people who want to work in interactive media, website creation and interactive art.. It combines theory and practice, covering conceptualisation, planning, design, coding, production, project management and usability testing. As a student you will be encouraged to explore, experiment and take risks.
LCC has an outstanding team of practitioners and published researchers and enjoys a powerful programme of visiting speakers. The course also benefits from a cross-European collaboration with media industry professionals and higher education institutions and there is an opportunity to visit at least one other centre in Europe during the course.This course is taught within the Faculty of Media

Course structure

Phase 1
You will be introduced you to the technologies that will underlie the practice of interactive media.

Phase 2
This phase concentrates on the management and intellectual skills that help you work innovatively and rigorously. You will select two electives from the following:

• Futurecasting
  


• Animation
  


• Content Management
  


• Multimedia Coding
  


• TV Studio Practice.
  

Phase 3
In the final stage (the MA) you will be required to undertake a group major project and write an individual thesis related to your project work.

Entry requirements

The normal entry requirement for this course is an honours degree. But other qualifications that are deemed to be equivalent to a first degree, along with any relevant professional or commercial experience will be considered in lieu of an honours degree. More specifically, applicants will be considered who have already achieved an educational level equivalent to an honours degree in a field that uses or is used in interactive media, or in a field involved in the wider context of interactive media.Although not an entry requirement, you should know enough

HTML, Dreamweaver and Flash to be able to communicate complex ideas with colleagues online. This is not a course that teaches software skills, or superficial styling tricks. We expect you to know or to teach yourself whatever software skills you need.

SPP3! Post Graduate Course No.2

Design and Digital Media MA degree

Course Type: Postgraduate
Length:1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Qualification: MA degree
Course code: ADT005
Faculty/School: Coventry School of Art and Design

Summary

This course is designed to provide you with the opportunity to explore and develop the creative possibilities of designing with digital media. Course content includes visual language, interactivity and reactivity, animation and a research module. An additional major project module completes the MA degree.More reasons to study...

The course has an excellent record in preparing students for employment soon after graduation.
Normally have an Honours degree in art or design, but if you are visually literate you will be considered on your merits.

In its part-time mode with one day spent in study at the University each week the course is particularly suited to those who are employed.

Entry Requirements

Normally have an Honours degree in art or design, but if you are visually literate you will be considered on your merits.

All applicants must demonstrate experience or knowledge of hybrid new media in convergent design-related activities, and a capacity for critical thinking and writing.

SPP3! Post Graduate Course No.1

Location: Hull University

Duration: Full-time 1 year.

Attendance: Approximately 40 hours per week

Entry requirements: Good honours degree or equivalent (in any subject area) or appropriate experience in professional environment, etc. An IELTS score of 6.0 (or equivalent) is required for international students.

Fees: Information about fees can be found through here

About the programme

This exciting programme provides you with the fundamental principles of internet computing and subsequently consolidates this with a creative approach to the design and management of digital media. Through an appreciation of internet computing, an understanding of human computer interaction and web design and experience of the theory and practice of multimedia, you are equipped with the practical skills required by contemporary computing companies and the ability to adapt to future developments in digital industries.

The programme consists of six taught modules and a substantial personal project researching an internetrelated area. The taught element is delivered over two semesters, providing intermediate qualifications – a postgraduate certificate (60 credits) and a postgraduate diploma (120 credits). The third semester (during the summer) is dedicated to project development.

Course content

The programme is organised under three study themes:

• Internet technologies
  


• Internet applications development
  


• Web design
  

Each of the themes is aligned to a different knowledge and understanding objective of the programme. Structuring the MSc around these themes provides a variety of perspectives on internet computing as a subject and a core understanding and knowledge of three important areas.

Core modules

• Internet Computing Fundamentals
  


• Website Technology
  


• Java Programming for the Internet
  


• Digital Media Management
  


• Internet Based Information Systems
  


• Advanced Web Design
  


• Dissertation Project (in the summer)

Homemade! CMS

I was searching for free content management systems to use rather than wordpress so i intergrate the updation into my design instead of building my design around the CMS. I came across this blog outlining 14 free CMS options for Web Design Professionals Reviewed (http://blog.webdistortion.com/2008/05/17/13-free-cms-options-for-web-design-professionals/).

We had previously discussed one on the list cushy cms, and after checking them all out it seems to be the most simplistic of the lot, which will be easier for a non technical client to understand. The intergration of the parts which can be updated is simple to, just adding class="cushycms".

There are some security issues to be considered with the passing of FTP details needed.

However this is a strong contender and will be talked through further in thursdays tutorials!

http://www.cushycms.com/

SPP3! Prospects - What job would suit me?

In preperation for job searching i looked at the prospects quiz to find out which jobs would suit me depending on my skills. The results showed that the top 5 jobs that would suit me most are:

• Administration


• Advertising, marketing and PR


• Arts, design and crafts


• Information services


• Publishing, media and performing arts

Under publishing, media and performing arts multimedia specialist was a job specified. Therefore maybe i should search for multimedia as well as web within my job hunt. The arts designs and crafts would suggest that it would be front end, web design i am more suited to. And administration would suggest that i could look into web management and planning as a possibility, especially with all this project management experience and gantt charts under my belt!

SPP3! Job 1 (at last)

I have no managed to make a decision on one job so this is the first job description to be posted :) The job was found via creative pool and is a web designer job for a company called limesharp.

http://creativepool.co.uk/employee/PAU/EN74734/JN900/Web-Designer-for-Limesharp-job-East-London.php

The pros of the job are:

• I have always wanted to work in london with its creative buzz and situation being close to home.


• Being a young company will make it easier for me to fit in nicely!


• They mention attention to detail until its irritating....and thats me (i will just check on more time...)


• I have the majority of skills needed


• It is front end so based on design over programming


• I get to speak with clients (and we all know i like speaking)

cons are:

• london is a competitive area


• I have more pc experience than mac these days


• I have not worked with linux servers or semantic xhtml


• commercial experience is preferrable!

Artefact 1! Findings

The most successful elements identified were, movement across the page (77%), interaction allowing the user to affect the banner (87%) and the use of a game within the advert to allow user interaction (80%). The high percentage liking the use of movement was an outcome that was not anticipated as it was thought that users would find this distracting from the page content.

Areas of improvement within the advertising banners highlighted were the lack of instructions when interaction was intended and within the highly interactive single banner the complexity of the interaction was criticised. Another element disliked was if the banner started without input from the user (50%).Indicating that within online advertising the user needs to feel in control. Within one of the banners a minimising effect was used on the browser and it was anticipated that users would find this element annoying but only 23% indicated dislike.

Cross comparisons were also made on the results between female and male participants. It was found that their opinions differed significantly. Therefore in the final artefact 2 separate banners with different themes will be created.

Artefact 1! Survey Pirate

I chose to use the free survey tool to create my online survey as it produced a report of the results and allowed them to be cross examined. It would also be easy to distribute and mean people were more likely to complete it as it was quick and easy online.

The format of the survey followed that of giving the banner example link and then asking the following questions about it:

What did you like about the banner?

Was there anything you disliked about the banner?

Could you see how to interact with the banner?

What did you like about the interaction?

Was there anything you disliked about the interaction?


The banners that the questions were linked to were Volkswagen Innovations (banner campaign), Distracted Drivers (single banner) and Collapse Banner (game application).

Artefact 1! The Webby Awards

For the survey I had now decided to compile for my first artefact I needed to find successful advertising banners to base my questions around. Searching into successful advertising banners online I came across the WebbyAwards a site showcasing award winning online advertising banner campaigns. You guys may want to check it out as some of the work featured on it is really good.

From the extensive winners I selected 3 banners to use as examples to base my survey questions around. The chosen 3 were a banner campaign, a single banner and a banner game application. The next step is to create the survey ready for testing and decide what it is exactly I want to find out.

SPP3! Job sites x100!

I have been looking through job sites suggested by Shaun and Linda and there seems to be tons of interesting jobs avaiable out there but now its just a case of narrowing them down! So let the selection begin!

Wordpress Learning!

Followed a wordpress link from the now to this site which is a simple explanation of how to edit wordpress templates so im going to give it a go myself soon!

http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/05/05/build-your-own-wordpress-themes-the-easy-way/

The key points are:

• That you build a child theme which you link to a parent theme!


• wordpress will do the linking for you as long as you specify it


• create a new folder with a simple name and no spaces!


• inside that folder create a css sheet called style.css add the parents
  details and edit and then copy and paste the css you have created


• drop in any images you may require


• upload the file into wp-content/themes


• and select your theme!

easy right??? we shall see!!!

Artefact1 - Online Advertising Research

Following the change of artefact 1 I have began doing some research surrounding online banner advertising. I found WebsiteTips a really helpful site that had a section on Banner Ads looking at banner design and marketing.

The marketing section hightlights online guidelines and standards and provides information on standard banner sizes.

It states that the most successful banner placement and according to Yahoo! with almost a 50% success rate was embedded content. This is surprsing as i would have thought this would stand out less as to the user and become less noticiable. The second highest is the leaderboard and according to Margaret Holland, a senior account manager at Yahoo! Publisher Network, finds that “from a click-through standpoint, most publishers get the best results when they place a 'leaderboard' above the fold between the top nav and their rich content.”

It also finds that banner colours are more successful if they blend in with the site rather than contrast. Again i was surprised at this as i would have thought this would make the advert go unnoticed however on further thought i realised this may be more successful as it is less intrusive. It allows the advert to feel part of the site and not as something completely different helping the user to feel it is trusted and will link to the site not some irrelevant product.

The deisgn section highlights 13 infaillable banner design tips:

1. Nothing beats a good punch line
2. Good Copy - Short and simple
3. Relevant content not xxx!
4. Something that will never die - intice the user using "NEW" and "FREE"
5. Include logo and url
6. Cliches work!
7. Banner file size - keep it under 10kb and keep loading times down!
8. Banner animations - typically a user spends less then 10sec viewing the banner so the annimation should be tis length or less.
9. To animate or not? anitmated banners = 30% higher click through then static. However optimistaion is key in animation.
10. Using flash - flash = higher click through then animated gifs as smoother.
11. Blue underlined text - users recognise as links
12. Tricking the user - html elements as images encourages movement to site.
13. Several banners for one campaign - allows you to reach a larger audience preference.