OUGD504: Design Production - Web Task

For our first web design task we were asked to look at existing websites and give our first initial thoughts to each of them, we were then asked to look closely at the website and answer three questions:

1. What is the purpose of the website?
2. Who are the target audience?
3. What do the target audience need?

Source

The first website I looked at was Mirim Works which is a designers online presence. My first thoughts were that is was clean, simple and minimal. Looking closely at the website I think her intentions were for the design were to be exactly that. As the purpose is to promote herself it is very important for the site to be easy to get around and browse through. The target audience for the website would be perspective clients who are looking for a designer, with this in mind they would need to see her contact details, examples of her work and a small bio. 

Source

Secondly I looked at the D&AD website. My first thoughts about this design were that it looked easy to navigate and the simple aesthetic was very pleasing. After browsing through the site my thoughts have changed, I find it very difficult to browse through and left feeling confused. The purpose of this site is to promote new designers, competitions and the brand D&AD, the site does this but, personally I think in a very bad way. The target audience would be professionals, freelancers or students studying design and they need to know about the competitions and which design trends are popular at the moment. 

Source

For another example I wanted to look into a site with a niche audience. I looked at the one ring .net which is a fan site for the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit franchise. My initial thoughts were in keeping with the design of the franchise, template, dull, uninteresting. I think that these film franchises are so popular and have so many different options when it comes to design that they could have produced something much more creative. The target audience for this site are fans of the franchise and they visit the site for the latest gossip and news from the set of the films and the cast/crew. 

Source

Analogue are a Leeds based design agency who have produced work for a wide range of clients. The purpose of this website is to promote and showcase the work they have produced for their clients with the hope that it will attract new clients. The target audience would be new clients and they want to look at the work which has been produced by the company.