Scaramanga: Designing a Web Presence
Assignment 1: Research & Interpretation
1. Royksopp
https://profoundmysteries.royksopp.com/
What is the websites main purpose?
The sites’ main purpose is to showcase and promote the bands’ new album Profound Mysteries.
Is it’s appearance & functionality appropriate to the purpose?
The appearance and functionality of the site is based on it being an explorative and immersive experience for the user. The sites’ homepage is very visual and displays the bands logo for the album. This page is intriguing as their isn't much copy or information, however, the symbol is interactive. The user is able to hover over the symbol, creating movement. I think this adds to the mysterious nature of the album and the hype the band are trying to build for its release. Once on the main webpage, again it is very visual. The top section shows tiles made up of peculiar images, some of the tiles are blurred - I think this is intentional and acts as a hook to lure the user back to the site to see which image will be uncovered next - it seems to act like a countdown timer to the albums’ release. I think this site is aimed at existing fans of the band, if you were coming to this as a new user it may be quite confusing.
Is it easy to use? Is it effective in achieving its purpose?
The site itself is fairly simplistic in design, there isn't a lot of navigation. It is heavily reliant on imagery to tell the user its story. The name of the album Profound Mysteries is very much reflected in the style of the site. The imagery used is very abstract and surreal adding to the intrigue and excitement for the release of the album. The only text on the site seems to be on the menu guide at the footer of the page.
What design elements are significant in design - e.g. layout, colour, text, graphics, images and various other media. Analyse its use - how does it help achieve its main purpose? Does it aid in any functionality?
The site is predominantly visual and seems to be made of two main pages. The homepage is bright and impactful - the colours change as you spin the symbol (green, yellow & red). The symbol itself is 3D, interactive (it plays a song when you click on it) and is the main feature of the homepage. The main page of the site contrasts the brightness of the homepage with an entirely black background and follows a grid layout to showcase the imagery. The images within the tiles on the page are very surreal and Dali inspired, you cant quite make up your mind about what your looking at. This is a really clever way to engage with the user and increase dwell time on the page. These tiles are also interactive and reveal a clickable link which leads to the music for a particular song. Everything within the site seems to be purposely mysterious which is appropriate to the albums name and does a great job of building intrigue and excitement.
What is the context of the site? What genre category does the site sit in? (e.g. is it a commerce site, News? Entertainment?) Analyse the sites’ position within the context. (e.g. what else is achieving the same goal?)
I would place this site within the Entertainment field with a small element of e-commerce. The purpose of this site is solely to promote the new album and there are clickable links to pre-order present at the bottom of the page, however, this seems to be a smaller element of the site with the main focus on building momentum and excitement for the new music. The site is heavily interactive and experiential which I assume would be a huge draw for a hardcore fan of the band.
2. Parklife
https://parklife.uk.com/
What is the websites main purpose?
This sites’ main purpose is to promote the Parklife festival and sell tickets for the event.
Is it’s appearance & functionality appropriate to the purpose?
The site came as quite a surprise to me, I've never really seen anything quite like it for a festival. It is heavily illustrated, colourful, fun and full of personality - it has a very psychedelic vibe to it. The site has a very youthful feel to it and the illustrative element works well for this type of music festival. The illustration itself is very busy and eclectic which reflects the line-up across the event.
Is it easy to use? Is it effective in achieving its purpose?
I found the site very easy to use, there is a huge amount of information present on the homepage, however, the illustrative element makes this engaging - it doesn't feel like you are scrolling through mountains of information. The only section that seemed to lack cohesion was the VIP section. This section includes clickable icons which seem to take you to the same page no matter which one you click on, there is only a small amount of copy to describe each of these icons. I think this section could have been more thought out, the VIP tickets are sold at a higher price point so as a user I would be expecting an more immersive experience from this section. You could argue that it doesn't overcomplicate its presentation of the information, however, as its highlighting a more special experience it doesn't quite deliver the same impact as the main site.
What design elements are significant in design - e.g. layout, colour, text, graphics, images and various other media. Analyse its use - how does it help achieve its main purpose? Does it aid in any functionality?
The site is heavily reliant on its use of illustration and colour. The sites’ homepage uses illustration and a visual language which woks in harmony without clashing. The colours are bold and bright which I think works well to target a younger demographic. Its a really fun site that reflects the essence of a music festival really well whilst also capturing the excitement and momentum for the event.
What is the context of the site? What genre category does the site sit in? (e.g. is it a commerce site, News? Entertainment?) Analyse the sites’ position within the context. (e.g. what else is achieving the same goal?)
I would place this site within e-commerce and entertainment. The main purpose of the site is to sell tickets and build excitement for the event.
A similar event would be TRSMT Festival - https://trnsmtfest.com/. This site also utilises bold, bright colours but in a more understated way. The site is very visual but clean and less chaotic than the Parklife site. Navigation is easy and information is clearly presented on the homepage and via a dropdown menu. It has a completely different look and feel which feels like a more calm experience, however, I don't think it delivers the impact or the fun of the Parklife site.
3. The Beatles
https://www.thebeatles.com/
What is the websites main purpose?
In contrast to the previous two sites, The Beatles website acts as a ‘one stop shop’ for fans looking to immerse themselves in the rich history of their music. It includes a full discography of their music as well as an e-commerce section where you can purchase merchandise. The homepage is dedicated to promoting IMAX screenings of the bands’ final live performance in 1969.
Is it’s appearance & functionality appropriate to the purpose?
The appearance of this site is very clean, understated and simplistic. It is easy to navigate with clear direction and cohesive layout. The target demographic would likely be an older audience so this simple design would greatly appeal to them. The simplistic design allows you to find what your looking for very easily and is really effective as the site houses so much information and history about the band. The aesthetic of the site is sophisticated using black and white colours reflecting the look and feel of the bands logo.
Is it easy to use? Is it effective in achieving its purpose?
The menu bar at the top of the page allows for easy navigation and location of information. The sub pages offer a structured grid layout which presents the information in a clean and impactful way. The Beatles are an established band with decades of history so I feel like the website doesn't need to compete with that - It isn't overly fussy in terms of design. The site allows the user to easily dig down to the information they need without overcomplicating it, its a really streamlined experience. The main criticism I have regarding the site, is the homepage. When you first land on the homepage you are met with a main body of text which takes up half of the page. I feel like this is a missed opportunity to showcase some great imagery or audio content - I don't feel like it captures the essence of The Beatles.
What design elements are significant in design - e.g. layout, colour, text, graphics, images and various other media. Analyse its use - how does it help achieve its main purpose? Does it aid in any functionality?
The site is very user friendly offering a fairly streamlined user experience. The grid layout over each section works well to present a lot of information in a really clear, simplistic way. I think it achieves its purpose of being a bit of an archive of history, music and culture of The Beatles very well. Fans of the band are able to completely immerse themselves with all the information they need in one place. As much as I like the design and layout of the site, I do feel it lacks the atmosphere and vibe of the madness of the bands’ era, I feel like there could have been more imagery or video used to capture this.
What is the context of the site? What genre category does the site sit in? (e.g. is it a commerce site, News? Entertainment?) Analyse the sites’ position within the context. (e.g. what else is achieving the same goal?)
I would place this site within entertainment and e-commerce. The website is informative but also acts to sell merchandise. It will have an established audience but the information is presented in such a way that it is easily understandable without being overwhelming to anyone new to The Beatles music. I would compare this site with another iconic band of the era such as The Rolling Stones -https://rollingstones.com/. I would say their website is way more visually interesting, it retains the heritage of the band in a modern way, however, it doesn't contain the same level of detail and information as The Beatles site which allows for a more playful design.
4. Magnetic Magazine
https://www.magneticmag.com/
What is the websites main purpose?
The last site chosen by our group is an online magazine designed to be a EDM music hub for fans of that specific genre. Its main purpose is to offer its audience a place to go to immerse themselves in EDM culture and community. the site is host to articles, news, events and a podcast. There is also a fairly large section dedicated to sustainability which seems oddly out of place but I guess this is a huge talking point within current affairs in any genre.
Is it’s appearance & functionality appropriate to the purpose?
The website appears very sleek and stylish with a structured grid layout. The site is image heavy with overlaying text (headlines), its a really effective way to present visually appealing imagery without being too text heavy - a magazine tends to be very text heavy but this allows for a break in scrolls of body copy.
Is it easy to use? Is it effective in achieving its purpose?
Yes, easy to use with clear navigation - drop down menus across the top of the page allow for simple user journey. There seems to be more ads on this site compared with the others which is annoying at times.
What design elements are significant in design - e.g. layout, colour, text, graphics, images and various other media. Analyse its use - how does it help achieve its main purpose? Does it aid in any functionality?
The layout of this site is reflective of the genre, its cool, stylish and minimalistic. The grid layout works really well to display lots of information - there is a good balance between copy and imagery. The grid layout definitely aids in the easy navigation and functionality of the site. Once you click into an article it looks fairly basic and a little sparse, it doesn't feel as engaging and could be described as a little boring.
What is the context of the site? What genre category does the site sit in? (e.g. is it a commerce site, News? Entertainment?) Analyse the sites’ position within the context. (e.g. what else is achieving the same goal?)
I would place this site within the entertainment/news genre. It is a place where you can immerse yourself in all things EDM - this site allows you to become part of a community. A similar website would be https://edm.com/ - this flows in a similar way to Magnetic with its grid layout, however I would say its a little more exciting and visually appealing.
