After launching my website, I have decided to go through it's elements and how I came up with the format that I have. My main aim was to keep the website, simple, accessible and easy to navigate. This is why the website has a combination of writing, video and image. That way, people are kept engaged with all aspects of the site without it being too overpowering. I made a variety of decisions about the site as I went along and produced each page. I did not want to over plan this aspect of the project because I felt that it would have become too complicated has I have done so. Therefore, I came up with a selection of 'sections' that I would include such as:
- Home
- About
- Workshops
- Videos
- Forum
- Contact us
These headers for site sections cover every element I wanted to have. A home page, an about us page discussing what the aim of the site is as well as what the site does, a Workshops page where members can sign up for the workshops, a video page complete with every single video I have create during the project discussing a number of drawing elements, a forum for member discussion and a contact us page. I think this combination of elements keeps the website easy, simple to navigate and gives members the opportunity to get involved with discussion as well as the workshops themselves. I do feel that I can expand upon this site in its current state because it is not too overloaded with sections or information.
Colour Scheme:
- In an effort to keep the website simple, I decided on a monochromatic colour scheme. This is so the imagery, videos and workshops provide the colour and interest, not necessarily the website itself. I wanted it to look professional without looking to bright and uninviting.
The Name: I chose the name 'Sketch' because I think it is a simple, yet effective name for an online learning platform. To complement the name, the tag line 'Learn to draw at your own pace' sums the website up well. It is supposed to be a laid back approach to learning, from an artists perspective. Having it's own branding will be useful if I decide to make the platform into a business.
Membership / Log In Requirement:
- My decision to go with a log-in based website was to allow people to sign up for the workshops, so I can see the amount of people engaging with my content, and if I ever needed to monetise this site, I would be able to offer memberships for those who want access to my workshops. Although this may limit people from accessing the website, I do still think it is needed in the long term to have a knowledge of the most popular workshops, least popular and allow a community to develop of people sharing their work, questions and ideas.
Videos:
- Due to the website company I created the website with, video content was one of the more limiting areas. I could not post anything longer than 2 minutes, taking away the opportunity to have a website with more long-form videos. Although this is a setback, I have had to alter the way I wanted to produce videos by doing them in time-lapse form, complimented with captions explaining what is happening in each video. Even though they are short videos, seeing an artist working in different ways, as well as examples of tasks being done is a good way to learn how to approach a drawing or even improve your skills.
Workshops: - My workshops have been split up int manacle sections, allowing the members to work at their own pace. It has helped me separate the sections on the website too by having a format that prefers to have multiple sections. I have taken inspiration from skillshare, whereby they split large workshops up into week by week sessions, which has given my website some clarity, easy navigation and manageable file sizes for users to download.
Forum:
- The forum is a feature of the website to help artists engage with students that are working through the workshops. Questions can be asked, discussions can occur and work can be shared in this area. This simulates the in-person workshop interaction that many are typical with, but in a digital setting. although the is an aspect that will require moderating, I think the member system and the requirement that you need to be logged in will keep it strictly about creativity, learning and the workshops.
Below, are some stills of the site. Please see the website for a full look:
https://gemmafirth.wixsite.com/sketchlearning (Domain subject to change)
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