I created a mock-up of my website using PowerPoint. The purpose of this mock-up was to develop and experiment with my ideas. I also wanted to get an indication into which layout I would be using.
The first thing seen on the website is the new album from the artist. This is deliberate as the music is the unique selling point of the artist and it tends to be what the audience like the most about the artist. As a result of it being the first thing seen on the website, it informs the audience of the release of the new album. However, the album produced on the mock up website is rather small, so it needs to be enlarged as it is the main point of attraction. I may also decide to centre the album on the page to signify that it is the main point of attraction. This also acts as a form of promotion for the album. This is a common strategy that is implemented in most modern music websites. This in turn encourages more streams and downloads which in turn will increase the revenue that the artist and the label will receive.
Moreover, feedback from my target audience has shown that they don’t like the font of the artist’s logo, as it looks too childish considering the genre of music. In response, I will change the font to a more simple and rugged/ sharper font to reflect the connotations associated with rock music, being associated with aggression and violence. Furthermore, the audience also didn’t like the empty space on the home page, so in response I will make the digipak larger and feature some merchandise in order to fill up the unnecessary space.
Also, I have provided links to websites where the album can be purchased as this tended to be a convention, which I gathered from my previous website research. I researched My Chemical Romance’s website in the past which used their newest album on the home page so it can be considered to be the inspiration behind the layout of my website. By following conventions and having a layout like this, my website becomes closer to a realistic media product which in turn makes it look more authentic.
I have used a white background on the website to contrast the dark colours featured on the digipak to enhance the artwork and to make it stand out. From my research, I learnt that, most websites have a horizontal navigation bar across the top of the page for easy navigation around the website. So, I too have used a horizontal navigation bar across the top of the page that utilises hyperlinks on my website so that the audience can find what information that they are looking for easily and quickly. It also enables the audience to find the artist’s music instantly. I learnt that the use of hyperlinks are a convention of music websites from my research so once again my product is close to a professional and realistic website as it follows conventions.
From my research, I learnt that the primary photo on most websites is one of the artist. This can be the photo that is used on the cover of the artist’s newest album, or a collage of photos from tours, gigs and photo shoots used for the promotion of their album. In some cases the main image on the website isn’t linked to their newest album, for example, if they are an established artist and have been successful for a long time, their image might be one that generally matches their known star image and style, like P!NK’s website. So, I have decided to feature a picture of the artist on the homepage, which can be seen on the cover of the digipak, this instantly creates a connection between the artist and the brand name so the audience can put a face to the name. the artist will also be wearing the same clothes as the ones he wore in the music video in order to create a sense of continuity and brand between the three products.
My website research showed that the artist’s logo is usually consistent with the font and colour of their most recent album cover. This is used to promote their new album, as the artist will want to gain as much exposure as possible to increase the sales of their new album/song. The logo also tends to match the overall theme of the website. As a result I have kept the same font and colour scheme of the artist’s logo on the website and the digipak, moreover I have used the same black and white colour scheme for the two products too. However, my target audience didn’t like the font so both will be changed to a different font that is more suited to appeal to my target audience.
Additionally, there are the artist’s social media links on the homepage. The social media tab is full of hyperlinks, which will take consumers to Twenty One Pilots’ social media account pages. This includes; Soundcloud, Spotify and Youtube. Consumers will be able to find the artist’s music on these sites. Furthermore, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are featured, these sites enable the audience to keep up with the artist’s lifestyle.
The black and white colour scheme continues throughout the website to create a sense of continuity. It also connects it to the digipak as they both follow the same colour scheme; this reinforces the idea of the two products being a part of a brand.
Music - Slide 2:
My website research taught me that more often than not, there is a page dedicated to music videos, or videos of live performances. This use of multi-media encourages the audience to view more of the artist’s content, especially on YouTube, because YouTube views have recently become another measure of popularity and success, as well as album sales. Sometimes the music videos are restricted to one page on the website, however, other times the music videos are a feature on the homepage, where consumers can view them in a small section.
In response to this I have created a page dedicated to my music video in order to follow modern music website conventions. By doing this my website looks more authentic and genuine.
Clicking the music hyperlink will take people to the music video page. For the mock up I have just put in a screenshot of a video that is about to start playing so that I could get an idea of how the spacing would be. As of right now my video can be activated by the clicking on it, however, for my final website I want to make my videos play automatically as it will hopefully draw the attention of the audience to the music video which is the main focus of the website. The music video will be from YouTube and will be embedded on my site. This will be the final version of my music video and will link the three tasks together.
The background picture is a photo of an isolated swing set to reinforce the feeling of nostalgia. The picture is black and white to connote that it is lost and is in the past, which is reflective of the longing for the past that is explored in my music video thereby connecting the two products.
Gallery - Slide 3:
This will be a slideshow of some pictures from the music video shoot. However, feedback from my target audience showed that they thought that there were too many pictures so I will no be including the close up of the artist or a picture of the student’s room. Instead I will have a close up of the artist on the about page as it seems more fitting. This will provide an insight into the actual music video and some of the visuals that are included in the video.
Tour - Slide 4:
The ‘Tour’ hyperlink takes the consumer to a list of dates and venues. I used an image of the official twenty-one pilots band on tour however, my target audience didn’t like this as they said it was distracting and the main focus of the tour page should be the providing the consumer with the dates of the tour. In response to this, I will remove the picture and fill up the space with extra tour dates when making my final website.
About - Slide 5:
The ‘about’ hyperlink will take the consumer to a page of information about the artist with an image of him in the centre to show that he is the main focus point and centre of attention of the page.
Slide 6:
The ‘Merch’ hyperlink will send the consumer to the official Twenty one Pilots merchandise page where they can buy official merchandise form the band.
Audience Feedback:
- They liked the Colour scheme, they said it looks very sophisticated in Black and white
- They liked the way I promoted the digipak on the home page as it is the first thing being seen
- They also liked the pictures
Improvements:
- They said that the website could be more interactive – My response will be to make the website more interactive by imbedding links onto the site so navigation is easier. By doing this the website also becomes more interactive
- They said that there were too many images in the gallery section, so many that it was distracting the audience from the main focus of the website, which is the music video – My response will be to reduce the number of pictures in the gallery section on the website so that the focus is restored back to the music video
- They also commented on how I should fill up the empty space on the home page – My response will be to fill this space with some merchandise which will act as another form of promotion which in turn may boost sales of the artist’s merch
- One member of my target audience suggested that I could create a slideshow for the pictures that are in the gallery section – My response will be to use this idea in my final design for the website as it will make the website look more professional and authentic
- One member of my target audience said that they didn’t like the cover image for the digipak as it was too grey and looked bland and boring – My response will be to use a lighter shade of black and white so that the greyscale is not overpowering.
- As seen on the digipak feedback – some members of my target audience didn’t like the font that was featured on the digipak as it looked childish – My response will be to run a tally with 15 people from my target audience to see which font they like the most and the winner of the poll will be used in the final design. By doing this I know that I will be appealing to the majority of my target audience even though the sample is small.
- They also didn’t like the image on the tour page, they said it was too big and recommended that I either remove it or use a smaller image as it distracting – My response will be to remove the image as it is too distracting from the main focus of the page, which is the tour dates.
Target Audience Feedback Tally:
Conclusion:
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