Idea 8

For this idea I emphasised more towards splitting the website into three parts - for current students, staff and people interesting in joining. This could be a good idea for a homepage for the worcester website splitting up students staff and other clients at the top of the page can then lead to having many different types of designs for all three further down. This element can work and helps target its different audiences a lot more than jumping to one homepage for all 3.

Idea 7

The main thing I like about this idea is where the worcester logo will be positioned on the screen. It will help add a higher status to the logo because it is in a powerful central position and if there is anything i take from this idea it is most likely to be the aspect of having the logo in a unique place. The logo will be blended into the menu bar however will overlap the image taking up the screen.

Idea 6

This website design idea may be the most corporate one in terms of composition of form however this is something i will experiment with as i dont want my website too be too formal and business like. The layout is aligned centrally and this allows the outside space to give a border in where some plain colour or even design patterns would fit nicely to compliment the main website.

Idea 5

This idea can be generalised with most news websites, this is why i believe that with this website I must be careful and need to avoid taking this route. however the design elements are still good and factors can be adjusted to make it more fitting to the worcester website.

Idea 4

The first part of the homepage for this idea is similar to my third idea however i have changed some aspects of it. On my third idea the menu bar remains at the bottom and there is an image. Instead of having a general image i have replaced it with a welcome page. For this idea I took inspiration from the spotify website. The scrolling aspect is similar however spotify has all its pages overlapping, where as my idea shall have a welcome page at the top part and after scrolling downwards the menu bar will now be positioned at the top opposite to earlier. 

Current worcester website

current worcester website

PROS
- good accessibility and easy to find your way around the website
- two separate parts for students/staff placed on homepage - easy use.
- balance between target audience - corporate/students

CONS
- colour scheme - very safe and boring, blue isn't used effectively, almost too much blue for it to be an accent and not enough blue to be a primary colour. Doesnt fit.
- basic, boring layout that has been used a lot, similar to news sites and very similar to a lot of other university websites, scared to break the mould?

idea 3

This idea is similar to the second idea i had however the nav bar is different and located at the bottom rather than the side. Its also different because it isn't a slide out menu but is a more traditional one. The idea behind this design is that the page would scroll down so that the menu becomes either at the top of the page or will lie in the middle of the browser page (undecided).

idea 2

My favourite part of this idea is the menu bar sliding out from the left hand side. I feel that this is contemporary and effective if used right and by adding it to a university site i feel that its target audience is suitable. The main reason i like this is that when the menu bar is closed, a slide show of high resolution pictures will be on show meaning the emphasis can solely be placed on the pictures however as an alternative other elements can be added onto the picture such as news headlines and recent updates etc.

worcester website idea 1

This is the first idea that i put together and is one that i think can work for the worcester website. The drop down menu is simple and common however it is the easiest type to use for accessibility. An aspect which is putting me off this idea is that it is slightly similar to the current university website at a glance which is not a problem however I aim to take a different route as i feel this design is "too safe" and common.

Key elements I need to include

Key elements i need to include in my final project

- Balance between target audience
Dont be to upper class and too corporate when creating the website design, make sure it reaches out to younger students in an efficient and appropriate way but still imply its       university and its a privilege to be part of the experience

- Include unique history/landmarks related to the town/city
Like the William and Mary website including the colours and its old fashioned style maybe something similar can be used such as the cathedral in worcester, or also an old fashioned style as worcester is a small peaceful town, any elements relating to this can be used in a creative way and incorporated into the design effectively.

- Easy accessibility
If a website looks great but is extremely difficult to understand and navigate/switch from page to page then it isn't a good design. One way to enhance the accessibility is maybe having two navigation bars. This could lead to having two different themed versions depending who is using the site - students who are exploring the perspective of joining the uni and student users who are already at the uni. The two nav bars can also be on the same page as an alternative both ideas can be used in different creative ways to add a different and new element to the website.

- Colour scheme
Worcester university has a trademark colour it uses for sports teams and societies aswell as the city uses in various other events and competitions. This is common with most universities and is an element students like to be apart of especially to show their support and how proud they are of their university lifestyle. I need to use the colours effectively and Worcester colour is mainly white and blue however the blue can be used on other colours such as black/grey. The amount of blue i intend to use will be minimum however I will include enough of the colour so it is clearly represented as the trademark university colour.

- Homepage pictures
homepages in the past tend to only have one picture but a feature that is very popular in modern web design is the use of sliders and other similar web layouts. I plan to use a slide as I believe it is a very effective way of advertising and portraying more than one message in a small space. I know that personally myself when I am on a website and i see a slider with 3 or 4 images i tend to scroll through each one before leaving the page so purely down to personal experience I plan to use this in my design.

Research - uni/college websites

Depauw 

- Depauw is an American College and the site is a fairly new and modern rendition.

- The logo/title is big BOLD and clear. straight away you know what website/college your on as it almost "slaps you in the face" with its unique yet simple and majestic typeface used for the logo.

- The nav bar is aligned perfectly and the website layout in general seems like it is meant to be there and fits like a jigsaw.

- Variation is also a key element of this site as it ticks all boxes of a typical university target audience. It has the modern design aspect along with being easy for students to use and appealing to lectures/postgraduates and also businesses 

- Use of a slider adds to its modern outlook

- colour scheme - appropriate colours used splash of yellow and pictures brings it to life otherwise would be fairly dull            

Vanderbilt University

- Another American University with an updated but traditional type of layout and design

- use of header and nav bar is good and "old school" gives effect that it is a higher status university and adds elegance

- colour scheme - quite dull, boring, however its a university website not a nursery one so its appropriate within context.

- nav bar is simple and the website as a whole looks good and put together well however in my opinion it looks too safe and needs a bite more of an edge to it.

- looks cheap but not in a bad way, looks like someone has only put half their effort into it.

- ticks less boxes when it comes to target audience, wouldn't grab younger students attention as much 

Boston University - Boston USA
- looks more like a college/sixth form site than a university site 
- colour scheme isnt awful but needs more use of trademark colour, cant tell what colour represents boston clearly
- target audience - only really attempts to reach young students as opposed to business clients
- nav bar used is same as others but positioning isnt as good as it looks as if the nav bar may disappear when you change page.

William and Mary University - in Virginia USA

- Personally in my opinion the best university website on the web as it almost has everything

- classic elegant layout with colours being different but bold and effective and represent the uni trademark colours

- looks more like a club/way of life than a uni and when a user goes onto the page its like you have a taste of the lifestyle

- easy navigation. main nav bar stays at the top with simple tools - 5 drop down menus and a search bar and second nav bar on picture helps for easy navigation

- detail paid attention to everywhere, even the blank spaces dont seem to be blank unlike the other websites.

- hint of yellow for the arrows when navigating the pictures add importance and clarity however it isnt a bright yellow and suits the rest of the scheme

Worcester Website sitemap