To develop an understanding of the design process as applied to website design, including consideration of user needs and usability (the ease of use of a website), user testing, applying relevant style and functionality, and current technology and best practice.
Project Brief
Your task is to work alone or in a pair to design a news website for a New Zealand audience. The solution must enable users to perform the tasks or reach the information that you have identified and prioritised for the audience (user needs). The solution should be visually and functionally engaging, usable, and suitable within current information consumption patterns online.
While a competent technical level is required, emphasis is placed on well- crafted communication, visual and user experience, rather than how technically complex the submitted solution is.
The “look and feel” of the interface, the tone of language and hierarchy of material should be informed by the needs of the user as well as critically reflected upon in constructive critiques facilitated within the studio context. Consider the relevance of your proposal within the context of informing people about their community and their world. Consider semiotics of your design, its broad rhetorical style, and ease of access to information. Rapid iteration and user testing with a range of audiences will be key in the design process.
Choose between the two tasks; 'Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the Dominion Post website within www.stuff.co.nz. Redesign it.' and 'Inter-National-Me. How do you think the news of the day should be presented for engagement of people living in New Zealand, or in Oceania? Show us through design.'
Submission requirements
Prototype for fixed displays (Desktop) – Produce an interactive prototype that demonstrates the concept of your news website using user centered design techniques. Use three of the user personæ to demonstrate different features of your concept. At the least, the prototype could show a home page, a category page, a feature article and a “default” article page. The prototype may be produced in InVision (or similar), or built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Prototype for mobile displays (Smartphone) – Balancing the “use context” of the “fixed display” (described above) and using the remaining three user personæ, produce a prototype that demonstrates the strengths of your news website concept for use on a smartphone. At least one page within your visually prototyped user journey’s should show how the “default” article page layout responds to a smaller screen size. This could be prototyped in InVision (or similar) or built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Coded article page – One page of your website created using HTML, CSS and JavaScript that shows how the content of an article would be displayed. As the content (text and images) will be supplied towards the end of the project, your task will be to make your code and layout effectively accommodate the content prior to knowing the rhetorical form. Consider building a “responsive template” page.
Speculative Sitemap – Illustrates the information architecture of your proposed website. The diagram should describe where specifically addressed information sits within a database and how the user might intuitively locate information based on lexical semantics, or their general awareness.
Process Blog – This can be in whatever format you choose, but it must be accessible to your tutors. Use the blog to show your research, design process, and ongoing reflections on the project progress. Please sign off content so we can identify the contributors. You are not required to submit a physical workbook.
User journey report – A written report outlining a typical user journey from entering your site to reaching a desired endpoint or task completion. Using a user persona, illustrate the interactions and decisions a user would make in order to navigate to achieve a desired outcome, e.g. reach the latest sports article, or post a comment on a specific article. Report should be approximately 500 words with supporting images.
Concept Rationale – 250 words outlining your design concept, explaining your strategy, and why you’ve designed the website in a certain way.
User Experience and User Interface specifications – This includes instructions describing the aesthetic and functionality for the website
Don't forget to promote on social media! Use #coca3
Prototype for fixed displays (Desktop) – Produce an interactive prototype that demonstrates the concept of your news website using user centered design techniques. Use three of the user personæ to demonstrate different features of your concept. At the least, the prototype could show a home page, a category page, a feature article and a “default” article page. The prototype may be produced in InVision (or similar), or built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Prototype for mobile displays (Smartphone) – Balancing the “use context” of the “fixed display” (described above) and using the remaining three user personæ, produce a prototype that demonstrates the strengths of your news website concept for use on a smartphone. At least one page within your visually prototyped user journey’s should show how the “default” article page layout responds to a smaller screen size. This could be prototyped in InVision (or similar) or built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
Coded article page – One page of your website created using HTML, CSS and JavaScript that shows how the content of an article would be displayed. As the content (text and images) will be supplied towards the end of the project, your task will be to make your code and layout effectively accommodate the content prior to knowing the rhetorical form. Consider building a “responsive template” page.
Speculative Sitemap – Illustrates the information architecture of your proposed website. The diagram should describe where specifically addressed information sits within a database and how the user might intuitively locate information based on lexical semantics, or their general awareness.
Process Blog – This can be in whatever format you choose, but it must be accessible to your tutors. Use the blog to show your research, design process, and ongoing reflections on the project progress. Please sign off content so we can identify the contributors. You are not required to submit a physical workbook.
User journey report – A written report outlining a typical user journey from entering your site to reaching a desired endpoint or task completion. Using a user persona, illustrate the interactions and decisions a user would make in order to navigate to achieve a desired outcome, e.g. reach the latest sports article, or post a comment on a specific article. Report should be approximately 500 words with supporting images.
Concept Rationale – 250 words outlining your design concept, explaining your strategy, and why you’ve designed the website in a certain way.
User Experience and User Interface specifications – This includes instructions describing the aesthetic and functionality for the website
Don't forget to promote on social media! Use #coca3
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