Learn. Develop. Create - Multimedia Progress Blog

Addictive Advertising Placement within Practice!

2010-05-17T02:28:00.000-07:00

Now I have created an addictive advertising concept I got to thinking about the placement of this product within current practice. I began thinking about what kind of advertising I had created and whether there was a current category it could be placed under. This is when I thought about the idea of Interactive advertising and realised there were strong similarities between this concept and addictive advertising and that perhaps it could become a sub set of this marketing tool.

I found a paper outlining 'Interactive Advertising and Presence: A Framework' by Matthew Lomboard and Jennifer Snyder-Duch. Some of the key points within the paper that draw similarities to addictive advertising are:

- That the central goal of advertising is still the same - to persuade consumers - the media environment where advertising is placed is changing and therefore advertising is changing as well.

- Everyday users face 100s of adverts on the Internet. As a result of this exposure some argue that consumers have developed a more sophisticated understanding of advertising, creating a greater challenge as to how to attract attention.

- Advertising has become more colourful, vibrant, bigger, faster, louder and more obnoxious.

- Although this trend often associated with TV now happening on the Internet.

- A new approach takes advantage of technological possibilities to provide a customised and personalised experience (fitzgeral, 1999).

- Incorporating the idea of user control, consumer engagement and interaction with the banner.

- Interactive advertising = choices and experience that stimulates a one - one interaction.

- Central idea is is the concept of control. Information seen depends on where the user wants to go.

- Number of Variables - inputs allowed from the user, characteristics modified by the user, amount of change possible, speed of input and input and response.

- As technologies evolve and are becoming more interactive, personal and sophisticated advertising is forced to evolve.

Furthering this research i came across another advertising concept of Advergaming, where branded games are created to capture the user. Key aspects of Advergaming are:

- Majority of advertising is interrupting advergames successfully entice the user to play with advertising messages and even pass them on! (viral possibilities).

- Flash games one of the most widely consumed online medias.

- One recent advergame 'Celebrity Pedigree' had an average view time of 10 minutes.

- Despite success still low on the marketing scene as misconstrued as a new 'risky' concept, even though they have been around for years.

- As audiences become more empowered and sophisticated the potential to engage and entertain will become far more important.

- The average advergame receives over 1.6 million visits in the first 3 months.

- 7/10 Internet users play online games casually = advergames reaches all demographics. Its well known women play a lot of casual games.

- Some natural existence from users to branded games, if compelling enough will win users over.

- Advergames = low cost, engaging, entertaining, lasting piece of content.

- Persuasive to engage in users downtime = good click through rates (5%-20%).

- allows users to create there own brand experience.

- Careful consideration = integral part of the overall marketing funnel, driving awareness, consideration and word of mouth.

So due to the incorporation of gaming traits i would place my concept as an advancement on the Advergaming Field.

Artefact 6! Testing and Findings

2010-05-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

Banner Testing

The banner will be placed within a ‘fake’ page layout and will be available for participants to view online. Analytics will be run on the page to establish amount and frequency of visits.

It is predicted that there will be a 10% re-visit to the online banner.

A link to the online address of the banner was sent to 32 contacts with a social prompt (‘check it out’) encouraging them to view it. This allowed the successful addictive trait of social influence which was established during artefact four testing to appear within the final banner.

Banner Findings

Analytics on the page demonstrated an overall average of 34 page views. This showed that social influence is highly effective in encouraging engagement and possibilities of addiction. Further banner circulation was highlighted due to more page views than initial contacts. The majority of users only viewed the page once (23/34), a considerable amount however did revisit (8/34). The overall revisit of 24% is significantly higher than the 10% I predicted; suggesting the banner displayed a moderate level of addictive potential.

User engagement times are also being lengthened beyond average which according to Internet Marketer: Justin Michie is around 2 seconds. The banner view duration displays an average time of 57 seconds an extreme difference suggesting successful addictive engagement.

Immediate banner addiction was difficult to achieve due to interest being dependent on the user and personal preferences, a recurrent obstacle marketing strategies often come up against. The banner could achieve a higher addictive potential through further testing and a banner campaign could strengthen addiction and develop a stronger addictive relationship.

Artefact 6! The ULTIMATE advertising banner?

2010-05-13T09:44:00.001-07:00

Only you can decide.....check out the best banner around!

http://kirstysheehan.co.uk/piratesofthecaribbean.html

Artefact 6! Development Stages...

2010-05-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Developing the banner has had its fair share of ups and down and a few things have been cut as a result.

Banner movement was achieved with a drop down effect as artefact 1 found that this was a liked element within advertising banners online. The transparency tutorial i found worked perfectly and the banner overlaps the background information and the larger dropdown overlay is transparent on the smaller initial banner width.

The negative reinforcement was successfully incorporated into the banner with the music soundclip playing until the banner is rolled over. Intially as in artefact 2 I wanted the soundclip to restart if the user moved away from the banner and back onto the page. However with the complex use of scenes and timer handlers i was unable to achieve this. So once the banner has expanded the soundclip stops all together. Negative reinforcement was still successfull though as it encourages the users to engage with the banner.

A countdown timer was included on each level of the banner as in testing users reacted well to timers and enjoyed replaying the banner to beat their times. Initially i wanted to include an extension reward (time paused) on each of the levels. However when implementing the code this proved unachievable, so it was decided that the extension reward would only appear on the final level. This Placement was chosen as this level is the hardest and users should be rewarded for getting that far!

The levels that were included in the banner were designed and followed the same maze layout as those tested in artefact 5 as these proved to be the most successful. They require the most level of concentration encouraging longer interaction time and also the designed aspect gives the user a definate feeling of progression.

A social aspect was incorporated using facebook and email to send a link saying how much i like a banner i found to encourage them to use it. I will also post a wall link of facebook to encourage others to use the banner.

The banner is now complete and ready for testing!

Artefact 4 cont! Findings

2010-05-10T15:21:00.000-07:00

The results showed that females displayed the expected gender specifics (shooter times: 2min 47sec/2min 37sec. role-play times: 4min 37sec/7min 7sec). However the male’s results showed movement away from the gender specific games with one participant interacting with the role play game for 8min 35sec and the shooter for only 1min 38sec. All participants interacted with the puzzle (non gender specific) game for considerable amounts of time. Leading to the conclusion that there are no ‘gender specifics’ just personal preferences.

Overall time results found that combined interaction times with all games were higher with females then males (female: 12min 48sec/14min 44sec. male: 12min 17sec/12min 30sec). This further challenges the male stereotype with results indicating higher levels of interaction and therefore addiction from females over males. A finding that proves the current stereotype is outdated.

Artefact6! Transparent Backgrounds and banner sizes

2010-05-07T05:27:00.000-07:00

Ok time to get working on artefact 6. I have decided on a theme of 'Pirates of the Caribbean ' as I feel this is a gender specific theme as both males and females like these films. It also allows a strong negative reinforcement with the incorporation of the theme tune. The design will follow a designed level game structure similar to the maze used in artefact 5. There will be a time limit for completion of the levels with the incorporation of a time extension reward button.

The banner size will follow the standard leaderboard to begin with but will be expandable to reveal the game on rollover by the user.

To achieve this I will be making the background transparent and I have found a tutorial to achieve this http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/524/cpsid_52418.html#flash.

I have decided to use an expandable banner as artefact1 found that users liked movement within a banner so this is a way of incorporating this element. User interaction was also an element highly liked within advertising banners and this is displayed with the use of a game. One of the banners tested in artefact1 found that the users didn't like tit when a banner started without their input. The negative reinforcer goes against this finding but artefact2 found that this negative reinforcement helped encourage engagement.

SPP3! Uploads for Exhibition

2010-04-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

I have now chosen the 5 pieces of work I will be uploading for the exhibition. They are:

Bestwood Engine House Re-design - This was chosen as it demonstrates team work.

My Personal Portfolio - To allow potential employers become familiar with my personal branding.

Homemade Cafe - Final year client project demonstrating all the skills gained during the 3 years here!

Artefacts - I have put time into making an advertising banner every week and it demonstrates flash skills and an interest in online marketing and advertising.

Classic Catering - Depending on the speed of design and development progress in the next week this will be either a working site or design images. This project demonstrates freelance work and commerical experience.

I got to thinking about how would be best demonstrate the artefacts and the results gained through testing and have decided to build a website showcasing them for the exhibition. This will allow people to interact with the banners rather than images which would not fully portray the tests carried out.

I have been working on it today and hope to have it finished by this eveing and ready for my last 2 artefacts to be added once complete. Here is the design so far, let me know what you think :)

I found the tutorial for the Jquery at this site and thought i'd put up a link for you all.
http://www.downloadjavascripts.com/Horizontal_Accordion_Panels.aspx

Artefact 5! Findings

2010-04-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

Screen and webcam recordings of participant interaction indicated levels of engagement and interaction times. Finding the designed level banner was the most successful with the highest overall interaction time (Designed: 2min 26sec. Non-designed: 1min 41sec. Platform: 1min 48sec), proving expectations to be correct. The webcam results displayed higher concentration levels on all level banners proving higher engagement levels to be gained using levels.

A short Q&A was then completed surrounding banner preference and placement. Finding that the level banner was preferred (level: 50%. Non-level: 33%. Neither: 17%), however the reason why was inconclusive. The results were 50/50 when asked which banner was interacted with first. Indicating placement does not affect users over preference.

The next development is to create the ultimate advertising banner!

Artefact 6! The ULTIMATE addictive advertising banner

2010-04-22T04:33:00.000-07:00

For my final artefact I will be combining all the successful findings of each of the previous tests to create an online advertising with a high interaction level and usage time proving that addiction is a possibility.

I will email around an email to check out a banner with a HTML link to the page and monitor the analytics of the page for a week. This will allow me to see the levels of returns to the page and if addiction is developing.

The Banner will incoporporate:

*Negative Reinforcement

*Social Influence, through posting on a social site so people can share the link if they want to and

intially targeting friends through email.

*Extention Rewards

*Level

*Gender Specific theme

Exhibition! Catalogue progress

2010-04-21T03:08:00.001-07:00

Art4....Continued! Testing Gender in addiction

2010-04-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

Aim: To find out if the stereotype of males being more addicted to gaming then females is true.

Testing: Using the game site youda games I will test males and females playing on 3 different games, a simulation game (female specific), shooter (male specific) and puzzle (not gender specific). Time results will show the levels of interaction and addiction.

Expectations: According to the stereotype you would expect that males would play on all games longer. However through the use of gender specific games I want to find whether addiction is more centred around the game then the gender.

Art4....Continued! Gender Specific Games

2010-04-19T03:55:00.000-07:00

I found an online paper researching the idea of gender specific games. The paper states that on average, girls and women are less involved with video games than are boys and men, and when they do play, they often prefer different games.

The paper investigated and disscussed the results of studies looking at the gaming dislikes of German Females.

One of the studies looked at an online survey cocnetrating on frequency of gameplay of certain game genres for both male and females. This study found that female respondents were less attracted to competitive elements in video games, suggesting an explanation for gender-specific game preferences.

The most popular game for males were shooter and the most popular for women were role playing. However the difference I would have expected between males and females is a lot less and women seem to show less definite preference. Therefore when testing whether there is a gender specific gaming trend these would be the 2 games used within the testing also allowing whether women are in fact displaying higher levels of interest and addiction to be established.

Artefact 4! Results & the rise of female gaming!

2010-04-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

The results indicated that those viewing the banner as a group displayed both higher levels of enjoyment and also interaction times.
It was also found that females interacted more times and for longer, this was a finding that was not anticipated due to the typical male stereotype associated with gaming. From this finding a conclusive result can not be formed as it does not test different types of games associated with genders.

Further research into gender gaming has been carried out and additional testing will be carried out as a result of this finding. Recent gaming articles surrounding female gaming addiction suggest that females are showing higher levels of addiction to gaming then previously expected and that female game addicts are out there.

One article highlights the growing issue of female gaming addiction discussing a show that was aired on MTV titled 'I'm addicted to video games.' which included an African-American female gamer named Charisse who struggled to maintain romantic relationships and her gaming habits. (http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/213723/video-game-addiction-gets-attention-from-mtv-kent-state-university/) .

Other articles surrounding female gaming highlight some shocking statistics that are much higher than I anticipated. Indicating that:

- What may be a surprising 40% of gamers are now female, with adult women making up 33%. (http://addictions.about.com/od/lesserknownaddictions/a/videogamewho.htm)

- 57 percent of online game players are male and 43 percent are female. (http://www.theesa.com/facts/gameplayer.asp)

- Women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (34 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (18 percent). (http://www.theesa.com/facts/gameplayer.asp)

Portfolio work! Classic Catering design development

2010-04-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

After Showing the latest design to some family members for feedback we have changed the layout slightly so that the text area comes across in a less standard boxed feel giving the site more of a modern edge. Simply moving the text around has given the site a informal feel but keeping in with the simple image dominant design.

Artefact 5! Development

2010-04-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

I have now completed the non-design banner. There are 5 levels and the random button movement speeds up on each but each level follows the same deign.

The Platform level game to be tested has not been created by me as I was not confident in achieving a successful platform game in the time available. The code was taken from the book flash game university. The game follows the platform structure of points, platforms and enemies.

The final design-level game is a maze game where each of the mazes have been designed specifically to increase difficulty.

Now all thats left is to do some testing!

Artefact 5! Levels

2010-04-11T04:32:00.001-07:00

Banner Development:

Ok so after researching into levels I have decided that I will be testing 3 level types, Platform, Designed and Non-designed. I will incorporate the levels into the design of the existing artefact banner.

Platform - A simple level game with levels where the player must collect the buttons.

Designed level game - A simple clicking game where the levels are designed with the buttons in a particular pattern, with more buttons on each level making it more difficult.

Non-designed level game - A simple clicking game where the design doesn't change and buttons randomly appear only moving around the screen quicker to add difficulty.

Banner Testing:

A fourth banner with no levels will be created and both this and a level banner will be placed within a fake page.

The page will be displayed to a user and tested using an eye tracker. The eye tracker will be centered on areas within the page i wish to test. The key areas will be the 2 banners on the page and i will also be looking at the length of interaction and which the user interacts with first. The results will show if banners with levels are stronger than the banner without and will also highlight which level is the most successful.

It is expected that the banner placed in the centre will be interacted with first and that the platform level will be the most successful due to levels, actions and enemies providing a fuller game experience.

Artefact 5! Level Research Continued

2010-04-11T03:10:00.000-07:00

A powerpoint presentation was found outlining Game Genres: Platformers (www.soe.ucsc.edu/classes/cmps080k/Winter08/lectures/platformers.ppt) and the key points outlining game level design elements have been taken from this:

2 types of level designs:

1. Games with designed levels - where a different design is created for each level
e.g Lemmings (design of each puzzle level)

2. Games with non-designed levels - More precisely, the design of the level does not extend beyond setting the size of the playfield
e.g Tetris (always same size, pieces fall randomly)

Level elements:

Conscious sculpting of a player’s game experience via the construction of variable physical spaces and the creation and placement of level components, such as obstacles, enemies, rewards, triggers, or other player interactables.

That is, when engaging in level design, you are

- Creating a player experience
- Creating the architecture of a level
- You consciously create the space in which action takes place
- This space constrains or affords types of gameplay, challenge, conflict
- Placing elements inside the level to create challenges
E.g. platforms, goombas, objects, triggers in platform games

Platform Levels:

Plateform games involve Jumping and Platforms (floors)
That’s it!

Well, OK, It must be possible to control jumps, fall from platforms, or miss jumps

Artefact 5! Level design research

2010-04-11T02:33:00.000-07:00

I have concentrated research around level design to gain an idea of what my level banner needs to include. I found this article which has been pretty helpful for identifying a few key elements and I have selected the key points for you to see but if you want the full article its found at http://www.gamearch.com/2009/09/13/the-three-qualities-of-level-design/.

Firmitas

As mentioned before, this is a pretty basic category. A sort of minimum requirement if you will. If a level fails to fulfill it, it ceases to be properly playable due to technical issues. The two main areas here are stability and performance.

Stability as I see it refers to the level not crashing and breaking the game.

Performance is the other side and means that the level is running properly.

Utilitas

This aspect of level design deals with the design of the actual play space. That is to say it defines the space within the player moves.

Utilitas defines the boundaries within which the player(s) move(s). It directs the flow of play and it’s job is to iteract closely with the game design to provide the intended experience (which doesn’t neccessarily have to be “fun”).

These goals can range from anywhere between controlling the flow of players within the space to providing obstacles and challenges for the player to overcome.

Venustas

Levels don’t need to be beautiful, instead their goal is to evoke a mood, an atmosphere.

Familar visuals can cause certaun expectations in the player and they establish a frame of reference.

Additionally the visual elements can help tell a story.

Portfolio Work! Classic Catering

2010-04-11T02:03:00.000-07:00

I have worked with a catering company for years and years and finally my boss has decided she wants a simple website as she realises she needs a online presence. She isn't strong with computers so she doesnt want a big flashy website. I have set about making some designs and think I am starting to get somewhere. Just need to email her them so I can see if she likes them!

Design 1

Design 2

Design 3

Artefact 4! Findings

2010-04-10T14:56:00.000-07:00

Using the web cam proved successful in indicating the users engagement with the banner and highlighted social prompts encouraging a longer interaction within group testing. Proving positive feedback from peers is influential in sustaining addictions and in this case interaction times. However with subjects being aware of the camera some of the user interactions may be more subdued then they would be normally and therefore not that realistic.

The results found on average those tested as a group participated in banner interaction for longer (Group: 1min 34sec compared to Individual: 54sec). Proving the previous hypothesis to be true and providing further proof of social influences contributing to addiction.

Results also showed that females interacted for longer a finding that would suggest that the current male stereotype associated with gamers could be challenged and further research surrounding this area will be carried out as a result of this finding.

Artefact4! Social Influences

2010-04-04T13:02:00.000-07:00

Within the PRP document 2 key social theories were identified. The first was the Social-Behavioural-Cognitive-Moral model developed in ‘Excessive Appetites’ (Orford 2001). Considering social context to be present throughout the development of addictions and that the influence of others is essential in developing and sustaining addictions.

The second is The Social Learning Theory (Bandura et al 1977), stating that we learn through observation and listening to others, therefore indicating if someone was to become addicted to advertising then the addiction could be passed on to others by them observing the enjoyment the addict is experiencing. The addiction is likely to develop from participation in viewing the advert being encouraged with positive feedback from peers, and that social context of viewing causes a heightened level of addiction.

Therefore artefact4 will concentrate on whether viewing an advertising banner in a group or alone can effect the length and level of engagement from the user.

Using a webcam to record participation will show the reactions of the user as well as the length. When looking at whether peers can influence interaction, it will highlight any influenceual prompts that may arise.

It is expected that the groups will be the most successful.

Homemade! Cross browser and Screen size testing

2010-04-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

Overall testing the site across different screen sizes, the site displayed successfully. Only two simple changes were needed one for the wedding and party pages the height had to be set to auto to stop overflow being hidden. The second was positioning the logo and page titles within the header absolutely so they would appear in the same position across all screen sizes. Luckily both of these changes were nice and simple :)

The site also works well on all browsers and only internet explorer of course has shown some issues! The site works completely fine down to IE6, however positioning of the site is slightly different within this browser. In IE5 the flash does not appear however the text navigation still allows the user to navigate through the site. A PNG fix was added so that PNGs would display correctly in IE 5/6.

The only other issue that was discovered through cross browser testing was that the toggle div on the cakes to order page does not work below IE8 however does work in all other browsers. This was not fixed before the deadline but is still being worked on to be resolved.

Homemade! Polaroid Captions

2010-04-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

The client wanted to add handwritten captions to the polaroid images within the site. To achieve this they had to be written and then scanned in and edited into the polaroids. It was a painfully long proccess but i managed to get them all done before the deadline!

Homemade! Server Issues

2010-04-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

If you have been trying to access the site recently I apologise if you have been unsuccessful as the site has been down due to the hosting switching to a new server! obviously there is nothing I can do about this but i hope it will be sorted asap!!!!

Homemade! Flash menu borads navigation

2010-04-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

The client wanted a menu board navigation which was animated so that the boards jumped around and 'danced'. This was achieved using flash, but once implemented within the online version the links wouldn't work.

During a surgery with David it was identified that I had made a simple coding error and was calling the wrong URLs and simply had to number them correctly within flash. Once this change had been implemented the swf file then successfully linked to the pages when not online. However when added to the working site the links still didn't appear to be working!

David then asked me if i had changed the permissions within the flash publish from local files to network files, which stupidly I hadn't. After this extremely simple change of course the menu worked perfectly :)

A simple text navigation was added to the top of each of the pages to increase usability as if the user does not have flash they will still be able to navigate the website successfully.

Homemade! Images!

2010-04-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

This means that the client is able to edit the images within the wordpress dashboard simply by upploading new ones and assigning a css class to allow the image to float correctly.

I have floated the images from the main body so they will appear in line where i want them to over the polaroid background.

I had problems with the upload as the server would not allow wordpress to create an uploads file to hold the images and therefore would not let any new images be added. This problem was overcome by manually adding a folder with the correct file permissions through the ftp. Once the uploads folder had been created the imgae upload within wordpress worked perfectly.

Homemade! Validation

2010-04-04T02:43:00.000-07:00

I spent hours validating the site using the W3C Validator as I couldnt work out what was bringing up an error! Turns out the meta tag code was typed slightly wrong with an example I had found using 'META'and it actually needed to be 'meta'. There was also an error within the keywords text where the word cafe was displaying as Caf�. Once I had worked out these issues finally the site validated successfully :D

However due to wordpress widgets being applied for contact forms and sidebars there are errors on pages containing these but this is something i cannot change as the code is being written by wordpress.

The pages including the widgets are:

-Homepage
-Cakes to Order
-Sandwich King
-Contact Homemade
-Friends of Homemade

The pages without widgets which validate completely are:

-Cafe Menu
-Wedding Catering
-Party Booking
-Gallery
-Suppliers
-Find Homemade

Homemade! Flash Gallery

2010-03-30T02:59:00.000-07:00

The client specified a flash gallery. It had been discussed that the images would pop up in a way similar to that of the bottles on the feel good drinks website.

However a plugin gallery using Polaroid’s was found and it was thought that this would be a better option as it ties in with the site theme more successfully. This idea was aborted as the hosting the client has gone with blocked the application and I could not find a way around this problem. However the idea of using Polaroid’s was kept.

An open source Polaroid stack gallery was found and adapted to display homemade images however after much work on actually getting the gallery to work the client decided she in fact wanted to return back to a more simplistic grid layout.

The final layout therefore consists of a grid of Polaroid’s which when you click on one brings up lightbox with captions for the photos.

WordPress Plugins!

2010-03-29T04:01:00.001-07:00

I found a simple contact form plugin that I edited slightly for each of the pages that needed a contact form. These pages were:

- contact page
- party booking
- wedding catering
- sandwich king
- homepage
- cakes to order

The main contact form has the most required fields with, name, email, subject and message. The subject field is needed within this form, as it is a general contact so could be for anything. This form is inserted within the edit box of the page.

The contact forms for the party and wedding pages were cut down to only have the form fields, name, email and message.

And the subject was set to automatically appear as wedding catering or party bookings for ease for the user. These forms are inserted within the edit box of the page.

The rest of the contact forms had to be inserted within sidebars as they needed to be positioned within the page. Sidebars were set up in the functions.php with a simple line of code.

The code was then called within the page.

And then the sidebar appeared in the themes – applications within the wordpress dashboard and then by adding the contact form code within it, it would then appear on the page in the required position.

The homepage contact form simply consists of an email field, as it is to join the mailing list so this was all that was needed. The subject again was set as mailing list, and the email address was changed to send to mailinglist@.

The cake to order contact form only has the form fields, email and message. Name was omitted due to the space available within the page and this was the field that was least important. The subject was set to automatically appear as cakes to order for ease for the user.

The sandwich king contact form has the fields, name, email and what is your favourite sandwich and why? The subject will appear as sandwich king for ease.

WordPress....WordPress.....WordPress!!

2010-03-29T03:13:00.000-07:00

Ok I have neglected the blog for a while with 2 hand ins and all this wordpress building but I can now say I am liking wordpress and all it can do!

The first thing I had to do when it came to wordpress was to download the file package. Once I had done this I had to make a few minor alterations to the wp-config file to allow wordpress to link to the websites database. I also followed advice from the smashing wordpress book I had read and generated authentication keys to help keep it more secure from hackers. The dashboard was then set up and the link was made between the two.

The next job was to add the pages to the blog and activate my theme within wordpress. This was a nice and simple task and didn't take long at all :) To create a theme within wordpress I had to name a folder within the theme folder (in this case I chose homemadecafe) and then within that folder you have all the usual files of the website, index and pages, images, swf files, javascript, css etc.

As I had multiple layouts for the pages i had to add a piece of php code at the top of the site pages to allow a specific template link to the css of that page. This was then linked within the wordpress pages too.

I then set up permalinks so that the web-address was more relative to the user (for example homemadecafe.com/cafe-menu) and now when you visited the page address there were empty templates displayed.

Within the php site pages a wordpress loop was added where the editable text was to be displayed. Once this task had been completed any text written within wordpress would now be displayed within the page online.

The pages of the website that the client is able to update are:

-Cakes to Order
-Contact Homemade
-Find Homemade
-Friends of Homemade
-Homepage
-Party Bookings
-Sandwich King
-Wedding Catering

Pages that are listed that the client is unable to update are:

-Café Menu
-Homemade Gallery
-Homemade Suppliers

With the basic wordpress working site now complete I next wanted to look into plugins for the contact forms required within the site.

Homemade Goes Live!!!!

2010-03-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

My Homemade client live project has now officially gone live :D Check it out at: http://www.homemadecafe.com/

SPP3! Code Image Layouts

2010-03-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

It was felt that maybe some element of coding should be incorporated into the design as page shots do not show the back-end coding behind the working websites. This was achieved within layouts in two ways. Firstly simply including an image of coding from one of my projects. This works well as it is a direct way of displaying the code however it is also not very visually stimulating. I did try and make it more visually appealing by choosing code snippets of PHP rather than HTML as it offers colours.

The second way of incorporating code within the design was a sticker idea. Listing the code used within the design on the sticker allows back-end skills to be acknowledged in a way that has less of an impact on the visual design.

SPP3! Single Image Layouts

2010-03-22T13:23:00.001-07:00

Another idea taken from portfolio research was simply including one large single image of a page. Therefore I have chosen a single page and created a single image for each of the websites i have chosen to work with for the catalogue layouts.

Out of all the single images I would chose to use the Homemade image (first image!) as within this project I have implemented all my skills developed throughout my three years at university. It has been dominate of this year and therefore I feel if any it should be dominate within the catalogue. However If I do chose a single image as my final entry i may use the idea of a composition similar to the one used for Homemade in the previous post.

SPP3! Standard Image Layouts

2010-03-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have now completed a few standard layout ideas for the exhibition catalogue. I like the more standard layouts as although structured there is still room for design within them.

Block Layout

The first layout concentrated around four squares displaying four sites. The sites have not be styled but have simply been positioned to show a key element within the design of the page. This was an idea incorporated from previous portfolio site research on layouts. The Bestwood Engine House image has zoomed in on the interactive floor plan as this was an element purely designed by me within the group project. The Yorkshire Tea re-design concentrates on the tea page as this was the page design I felt was most successful within the site. My portfolio highlights the flash header, this was chosen as I feel it is representative of me and my communication skills which is why it was originally incorporated into the portfolio site design. Finally the Homemade image displays the polaroid and menu navigation across the bottom as these were quirky elements within the design bringing both the off-line and on-line presence together. This layout is successful at identifying key elements within my design work however with simple straight images it may be thought as bland within the catalogue design.

The second block layout follows the same layout and site choice as the previous but instead of a single shot of the site there are compositions of elements and pages. This layout was successful as it allows multiple elements within the page to be displayed at once and is more visually stimulating then the previous. However mixing elements especially in the case of the Bestwood box may cause the design to become slightly overcrowded.
The third block design incorporates an extra box within the layout. This therefore allows an extra piece of work to be displayed. The boxes give a slanted view of the sites to move away from the conventional straight layout within the box. All of the boxes incorporate key design elements with the pages as demonstrated before.

Horizontal Layout

This horizontal layout works well as it allows multiple pages to be viewed within the windows. It gives a feeling of progression through the site reflective of viewing the page on-line. However the multiple pages also create a busy layout and cause information displayed to be covered due to the overlapping of the pages.

This horizontal layout is simplistic in comparison but also a lot cleaner than the previous. It allows a wide view of the page and therefore a greater page span then previous layouts.

Vertical Layout

The use of a vertical page layout allows a greater span of the page as a whole in a vertical sense allowing a more complete view of the site design. The opposing slants separates the windows successfully and also leads the eye along the line. The downside to this design is that due to the width of the windows not much information is seen within them which can be limiting at highlighting design skills. However this could be overcome by using only three strips allowing a larger width.

SPP3! Non-Standard Image Layouts

2010-03-19T15:40:00.000-07:00

I have put together a few non standard page layouts for the catalogue design. It was chosen to do this as I wanted to include some images that would stand out within the catalogue so moving away from standard boxed layouts achieves this.

The first Image incorporates the idea of displaying portfolio work on a screen, discussed in the previous blog post. I like the way this design allows the work to be viewed in the same way as it would be online and also the incorporation of my laptop which this year has harldy left my side! The colours (due to the green laptop) ties the catalogue in with the branding colours of my blog and portfolio site. The downside to this design is that the images on the screen are quite small and therefore can be difficult to see.

This image was used as I wanted a way to show more than just one page of the site within the catalogue image. It works well and is a clean design however this does not work with all sites as some of the key design work can be hidden due to the overlapping.

The final image used the idea of the large image similar to that found when researching how portfolio sites display web work. The shape of the image is the city of Nottingham reflecting where I am currently based and where these designs and my development into a web designer has taken place. I chose the image of the grass and the sky and I wanted a way to symbolise how my front-end design and web development skills are separate and yet work together in my final design outcomes.

Artefact 3! Findings

2010-03-15T14:53:00.000-07:00

All banners tested showed a higher level of interaction than previous results gathered with each of the participants fully completing the required interaction.

Skill, Visceral and Motivational rewards were the least successful with the participants not using the replay button. However mouse movement in the Visceral recording indicated that the user was attempting a replay but was not using the intended replay button to do so. Therefore in future tests the inclusion of a replay button must be more obvious to the user.

Both the Extension and Resource banner interactions were repeated indicating more successful reward systems. However the recordings show that overall the Extensional reward was the most successful. As although the Resource reward banner was repeated the reward was not actually used whereas the Extension reward was.

The Q&A results found that the banner was liked due to the score system and this worked as a reward in itself giving the user the feeling they had achieved something. The lack of levels within the banner was indicated as an element disliked most and users suggested if they were to be included interaction length would be greater. Therefore for the next artefact levels will be tested to see if stages do in fact lengthen interaction with online banners and increase addictive potential.

SPP3! Catalogue image layouts

2010-03-10T11:38:00.000-08:00

Above are some image templates to which i will add the images of my work. The work i am looking to include within the catalogue i feel would best highlight my design skills are:

Homemade client project
My Portfolio site
Bestwood group project
Polyverse poets
Gardening site
Yorkshire tea/squares redesign

SPP3! Exhibition Pack - Image research

2010-03-10T08:39:00.000-08:00

I have looked at some web designer portfolio sites to see how they have captured images of their website work for inspiration for my 8 portfolio images as part of this submission.

The first portfolio looked at was http://www.omdesign.co.uk/website-design-portfolio.html :

I love the large image and used on the website for a start and would like to possibly incorporate something similar into my catalogue image. Other image captures include displaying the web page on a slant which works well as it moves away from the conventional. Another is simply using a stricking image used within the work rather than the page itself. Or selcecting a certain section of the page rather than the whole, or finally if the website included print work then a typical portfolio shot of pages laid out as though on a table top.

The second portfolio looked at http://www.danlindop.co.uk/default.html :

This portfolio also uses alot of the same image layouts as the previous. However an image idea used within this portfolio is to simply use the logos from the work rather than an image. This could work for a few images within the main catalogue image, as logos will not really display the work successfully to prospective employees/clients.

Another portfolio viewed was http://www.joystik.co.uk/design-portfolio/design-portfolio.php :

From this portfolio i liked the idea of having 2 larger images with 2 smaller below showing site content. This is a possible layout idea to be incorporated into the catalogue image.

An idea taken from http://www.pixa.co.uk/ was to chose one single site that i feel best displays my design abilities and have one large image of this piece only.

The portfolio http://www.dannyhaines.com/ used the idea of displaying work on an a computer screen which i thought was a nice touch and could maybe be built upon for a layout.

Homemade! Meeting - Minor Changes

2010-03-08T05:17:00.000-08:00

Todays meeting was the third milestone where minor changes to the design were disscussed. These are now the only changes that will take place before the deadline date and any other changes the client may want will take place after project completion in my own time. A form was signed to agree to this and the changes to be made are:

2nd kebab image on the wedding catering page to be changed to a buffet image.
party booking page title to be changed to party bookings and to further highlight FREE hire
navigation menu to be a constant animation as though they are jumping around and flower/star images taken from the index page menu board are to be added
supplier page = 5 images
Add written captions to poloaroids
Cakes t order page - horizontal layout with rollover effect where blackboard bubble appears with handwritten explaination
Index page change cafe image to menu board with opening times (add am/pm) and add animated button "are you the sandwich king?" in the left margin
create new page for sandwich king competition
add join our mailing list under top menu board on index page
remove testimonals from party booking page
add icon links in footer - facebook etc

Although this looks like an extensive list for minor details a few of them are very simple tasks so this is why it has been allowed!

Homemade! Content page development continued!

2010-03-07T08:45:00.000-08:00

I have completed 3 more of the content page designs. The contact and useful links page follow the same layout as the find us page to keep the design consistent. A team photo will be added in the following week after the client has provided one for me. There is no contact form present in the design as like the other pages requiring one I will be using a Wordpress plugin at a later date.

The supplier page images will also be changed and maybe a few more suppliers added after the meeting on Monday when I have a definite amount of suppliers and have been provided with the images.

Below are the designs :) just the cakes to order and gallery page to go!

Homemade! Content page development

2010-03-07T03:01:00.000-08:00

I managed to get 3 content pages done in HTML so now only have another 6 to go! The designs follow the layouts finalised in the last client meeting and also have followed the final content page decided. I have created a slight tilt on the Polaroids but not as extreme as in the original design due to the client wanting to be able to update the pictures, so they have to be held in CSS so I was unable to have them on a diagonal.

The Booking forms have not been included as I will use a Wordpress plug in to create these at a later date.

A white border line has been included under the menu in the footer as Sarah suggested that the black of the menu on the dark purple meant it didn't really stand out to the user. Which I agreed with an this simple solution seems to have done the trick :)

The Find Us page has an interactive google map and I have continued the content theme into the page with the use of the Polaroid even though there is less content.

Homemade! Latest Design Development

2010-03-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

I Have slightly altered the design to incorporate further needs from the client. The client specified she wanted to add a sandwich competition so I had to incorporate this into the index page. Following the original design the page was holding too much information for a welcome page. So after some re-jigging I have now come up with a tab system shown in the images below.

I removed the menu board image and have included an image of the cafe as I felt this was a vital image for the homepage. Having the menu across the bottom also ties in with the other content pages and makes the user aware of its placement from the start.

The temporary page has also been re-designed following the latest look and is ready to be uploaded asap when i can get hold of the hosting password details!

The next job today is to complete the content pages for the rest of the site.

Course Final Four: Pros & Cons

2010-03-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

Course 1: MSc Web Design and Development (University of Hull)

Pros:

-Develops understanding of human computer interaction and how this relates to web design
-Develop JavaScript skills
-Digital media management – allowing project management skills

Cons:

-Focuses a lot on web fundamentals so may be repetitive of previous studies
-Developing back end skills may hinder front end skills in future employment

Course 2: MSc Digital Marketing (Southampton University)

Pros:

-Allows knoweledge of online market to be gained
-Mixes development and management of site after completion togther
-Allows top ranking in websites created – module cocentrating on SEO
-Social media knowledge will be developed

Cons:

-First or upper class second entry requirement
-Some business knoweledge would probably be helpful for the marketing structure
-May limit jobs to marketing positions after completion over design

Course 3: MA Interactive Media (London College of Communication)

Pros:

-Gaining further interactive skills
-Longest established course in field
-Group project work rather than dissertation

Cons:

-Moving away from web and more into user interaction
-Bases around media and animation in first phase

Course 4: MA New Media and Internet Technologies (University of Bedfordshire)

Pros:

-Develop JavaScript skills
-Develops e-comerce website building
-Interface design allowing user interaction knowledge

Cons:

-Not really focusing on design
-Concentrates around WAP and mobile design rather than screen web design

SPP3! Jobs Final Four: Pros & Cons

2010-03-02T02:17:00.000-08:00

Job 1: Web Designer for Limesharp (Creativepool)

Pros:

-Desired location
-Young company so being a graduate will fit in well
-Know how to connect with clients and small team means I will have to deal with clients
-They like starbucks!
-Front end skills – wireframes and designs which I have lots of experience in
-CSS/HTML skills required which I pocess
-Mention needing attention to detail – a quality I am regulary moaned at for having to an extreme!

Cons:

-Competitive location
-No linux server background
-Basic illustrator knowledge
-Comericial experience is prefferable and coming from graduation I lack this.

Job 2: Digital All-Rounder for Focus Integrated (Creativepool)

Pros:

-Ideal location from hometown easily commutable
-Large company for internal progression
-Multiple services meaning lots of skills can be developed
-Marketing and creative broadening skill set
-Separate web company = dedicated team
-Largest outside of UK city means strong commericial awareness
-Design experience required – can be proven through freelance/uni projects
-Front end skills required – my strengths!

Cons:

-Salary dependent on experience so could be low!
-No experience with HTML email design
-Being digital marketing may want further knoweledge within this area

Job 3: Web Designer (Guru Jobs)

Pros:

-I pocess all the skills required – HTML, CSS, Flash and Photoshop
-Wants potential which I can offer being a fresh grauate aware of current trends
-Agency has ambition which I can most definarelt bring!
-Location is good for staying here and comuting
-No mention of comericial experience being needed

Cons:

-Flash skills indicated to be quite high but mine are only medium skilled
-No mention of who the company is so hard to reserch around
-Specifically being web design not much scope for new skills to be developed

Job 4: Digital Designer/Web Designer (Monster Jobs)

Pros:

-Large client base means I can gain essential contacts!
-Need to be designer with little development knowledge or vice versa which I am with limited PHP skills
-Front end skills required are my strengths
-I have a knowledge of WSC standards required
-I have design experience which is mentioned and good as its design over commerical!
-I pocess some of the additional skills listed
-From final year of university I am compitent at multi deadlines!

Cons:

-No definate location could be one of three only one is really close to either nottingham or my hometown
-Assisting designs may mean limited design input
-Basic illustrator knowledge

Artefact 2! Findings

2010-02-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-25T03:06:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-24T07:06:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-23T08:08:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-22T05:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-19T15:34:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-19T08:58:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-19T08:41:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-19T08:33:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-19T08:08:00.000-08:00

SPP3! Useful link from shaun :)

2010-02-19T06:31:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-18T12:34:00.002-08:00

SPP3! Creative Pool Jobs

2010-02-18T12:34:00.001-08:00

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

Internet Advertising Awards!

2010-02-17T13:15:00.000-08:00

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 :(

2010-02-17T07:01:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

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.

2010-02-12T08:04:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-12T07:12:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-11T09:31:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

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.

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

2010-02-11T09:00:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-10T04:05:00.000-08:00

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?

2010-02-09T08:43:00.000-08:00

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)

2010-02-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-04T13:49:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

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

2010-02-04T04:44:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-03T12:59:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-02-03T11:46:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

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.

Homemade Hosting Research!

2010-02-02T05:47:00.000-08:00

The client has a friend in web development who has offered a quote for a years hosting including:
· 100mb Disk Space
· 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

at £100/per year.

I have decided to look for some alternative hosting for the client to see if there are better deals available. To do so i looked at a website outlining the top 10 hosting deals: http://www.thetop10bestwebhosting.com/ukg

The ones that offered the most for money were:

- unlimited disk space

- add on domains

- php

- unlimited sql databases

- customer support

- statistics and visitor reports

- and more!

all for just £2.95 a month averaging £36/per year.

- 10GB disk space
- add on domains
- php
- 1 sql database
- content management
- and more!

all for just $4.74 a month averaging £36/per year.

- unlimited disk space

- unlimited domains

- unlimited add on domains

- php

- 100 sql database

- and more!

all for just $6.95 a month averaging £52/per year.

Homemade Meeting – Finalise Content Page Design & Complete Sign Off Sheets – 25/01/10

2010-02-01T04:46:00.000-08:00

Items to discuss

1. Content page design decisions
2. Proposal and design schedule sign off sheets
3. New image collection
4. Blog for design progress and content
5. Hosting

Meeting

1. The content page design chosen is:

The client chose this design as it had a similar feel to the existing leaflet with layout and the text was clear and easy to read with strong use of images. It was discussed that the images would be held within a Polaroid border with the meal name written below them or a short description. The idea of Polaroid’s were discussed during the last meeting for the local produce page so this will also keep a consistency between the pages.

2. The client completed the project schedule sign off sheets agreeing on a final design and to the proposal and that she is satisfied for the project to progress.

3. The client has given additional food images to be used within both the site and the gallery section. Images of outside events taking place at the café and buffet foods were also provided.

4. It has been decided that during the design process a blog will be kept to allow the client to follow progress. Through the use of the comment system the client will be able to leave text content for each of the page designs as they appear.

5. The client currently has hosting with FastHosts.co.uk, and the login details have been given for a greater understanding of this to be established.

Homemade! Content Page Wireframes

2010-01-23T05:36:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-21T07:18:00.001-08:00

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

2010-01-20T12:28:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-18T05:38:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-14T02:24:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-14T02:09:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-03T23:54:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-03T23:35:00.000-08:00

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.

Client Live Project! Homemade

2009-12-06T08:10:00.001-08:00

I have found a client for next term, Homemade, a cafe/bar situated in the centre of Nottingham. They pride themselves on using fresh local produce and want a website to promote them and this. They also offer a catering and cake service as well as venue hire which they would like highlighted within the website. After a meeting to discuss the brief and complete the sign off sheet we came to the conclusion the pages that are needed are:

-about us
-menus (pdf)
-catering/cakes
-booking information
-contact form
-links section
-gallery

We also discussed current websites that the client likes to help with development of initial ideas to be presented with to the client within the next few weeks. The sites the client liked were:

-innocent smoothies
-feel good drinks
-larwood and voce
-the hockley hustle festival

Client Project! Progress...

2009-11-25T09:05:00.000-08:00

I have now completed all of the pages with the new design including images (thanks to my sister!) in html and created the CD animation ready to be inserted into the html either tonight or tomorrow. I also have sent out a user feedback email with a link to the working site so far and a short survey and will use any replies I get to that to make the suggested improvements tomorrow ready for the hand in Friday :)

I have already had a few mentioning the fact that the image overlaps the text so that's one thing I definitely need to sort tomorrow!!

Client Project! Final Design

2009-11-21T01:54:00.000-08:00

After a final discussion with Simon (client) I have come to a final design. It has a lighter theme and moving the CD navigation incorporates it better into the design. I now just have to make the dreamweaver designs and all will be done :)

Client Project! Lighter colour designs

2009-11-14T14:33:00.000-08:00

Here are a few lighter coloured designs I put togther tonight....thoughts please :)

Client Project! Final Design Development after presentations

2009-11-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

Ok from feedback after presentation (which went well!) Simon mentioned he wasn't too keen on the layout so I thought I would have a play around and move things around a bit. Once I moved the CD navigation to the side I decided I preferred it there and have now decided this is my final design layout (and will not change!). I emailed Simon the new layout and set to work on adding images and developing my interactive element which I have now completed. And these are how the pages are looking at this current stage.

To view the interactive element please click here!

Simon got back to me and is still not sure on the colour schemes with the dark colour of the background so I am now trying some new ideas with that....which I will add soon so feel free to comment :) as once I have chosen I can start my user testing!

Client Project! Flash Banner Animation

2009-11-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

Done the first flash banner and surprsingly with very little problems! Next is just to recreate the animation in the different colours :) To view the animation click here.

Client Project! HTML Template continued - pages

2009-11-04T03:53:00.001-08:00

I have continued work on the templates to include the HTML static versions of the Flash Banner and created the main homepage.

Personalised web advertising another step forward!

2009-11-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

I was doing a bit of online shopping for my friends sons christmas present and had been on the 'Marks&Spencer' website as they had some dinosaur toys and he is obsessed with dinosaurs. Later that evening I was browsing 4OD when an advert caught my eye as I realised it was the products I had viewed earlier!

I followed the link to find out more about the provider and found it was a company called 'Criteo' which tracked users views so they could target them specifically later with the products they viewed helping to encourage customers who viewed products and then left the site without buying to return to the site and purchase them.

http://www.criteo.com/

I found it quite strange to think that my viewing history was being tracked without me even knowing and wonder just how many websites are using this new marketing trend!