Hey guys, welcome back!
Over the past two weeks, I have continued to develop and design my town precinct website for the coastal town of Cronulla.
Since my last post, I have played around with a lot of layout options over various pages on my site. I have completed several pages that will act as a guide for all the incomplete pages I am yet to finish. I want to make each page unique whilst maintaining the same design and style elements. Every third level page will have the same design for the header image and title for consistency. This will make the user’s whereabouts on the site map recognisable. The images and titles themselves will change to match the page’s content. Pages will use some form of grid to cleanly layout information and images together.
All typefaces will be used for consistent purposes such as titles, headings or paragraphs. Pages regarding destinations will include images, a map, 5-star ratings, and reviews. This will provide users with insight into these places, ultimately promoting them and encouraging business and tourism for Cronulla.
The overall colour palette is gender neutral and beach-inspired. It reflects a calm and relaxing beach vibe throughout to convey a positive atmosphere and vibe of Cronulla, which is inviting and engaging. The logo design is also used in this way as its graphic elements’ bare semiotic connotations to the beach.
The site map is also quite simplistic and offers users a back option via text, the menu bar or logo. So far, the transitions have been smooth and entertaining however there is room for improvement on this, to make the user experience more exciting and playful.
I am trying to have a line and circle element, images, and at least 2 typefaces on all pages. Through this technique, I hope to maintain a consistent style and design throughout my website to create a brand identity that incorporates Cronulla culture and atmosphere while being modern and easy to navigate for users.
In conjunction, all these design aspects work together to fulfil my rationale as the site’s purpose is clearly demonstrated to users by providing them with various local hotspots, activities, and places to eat and drink. By providing this information in an easily navigable and aesthetically pleasing manner, the site promotes the town of Cronulla in a beachy and positive light to tourists, the general public and its local community. I am yet to encounter any feedback or experience of usability issues and hope that I don’t. Although, I will be looking to seek these issues out going ahead through feedback and personal experience.
I feel I did well to follow the design process, however, I did struggle in the prototyping stage as I typically readjust my designs on the spot without copying the artboard and then changing it. This makes it hard for documentation and sometimes I did forget to stop, copy and redesign pages, making it impossible to compare my designs. Going ahead, I need to remember to prototype thoroughly. In saying that, I am happy with the overall design style of my website and can attribute that to my successful ideating.
By Kayla Mathew
Capture By Kayla 