Continued...
I have looked at a number of photogrpahers' websites and it's been a really good learning experience. My observations:
1. I was shocked to see that a number of 'not so well' designed websites seems to be much higher than a number of well-desinged and well-presented websites.
2. Some companies provide domain hosting and website development services specifically to photographers but I've noted with regret that many websites that they produce look very similar (probably because they keep using the same templates over and over again).
3. It's important to think of who the website is for (who is the customer), who will be using the website and for what purpose before committing to anything. It's also helpful to try and imagine yourself being this customer/ end user and try to re-create their experience. Testing an idea of a website or a pilot website on people that might be the customers in the future, might be useful. Their feedback might change the way the site is developed and used.
Below are some websites that I've looked at this week:
This website offers a lot of good pictures, carefully catalogued into separate folders. The person who created the site was quite methodical but I found the number of images included was just too overwhelming for me - I did not know where to look and felt like in a big supermarket with too much choice. Maybe limiting the choice is not such a bad idea?
The above site had more space and I felt comfortable with having a bit more room to move around.
I liked the Dmitry Dobrov's site and his work. All images are clearly labelled and all information is easily accessible - this website is a pleasure to visit and browse around! I also liked the light background, I think it suits the images very well.
I noted the colour scheme on this website and I think that I probably would select more subtle colours for my site when I get to desing it.
I liked the above website and the way the images are presented on it. It's very nice and simple and I liked the fact that I could see a selection of relatively large thumbnails nd browse through them.
Alex Chez's site was one of my favorite - at least among those websites that use the black colour scheme. It's clear and displays the pictures well. The menus are very useful and I will consider using some of Alex's headings myself. The site loads up swiftly and everything seems in the right place. Very good and thoughtful design!
Finally, this is my favorite site out of the 'white' web-versions. I really liked the way the images are presented on this site - every image has sufficient space and the thhumbnails offer enough control and are clearly visible.
Here is the second level of menu from the same site - all very clear and self-explanatory, easy to navigate and a pleasure to look at such high quality range of images that work very well individually and all together. This is something that I will definitely consider myslef - how well are all images on the site work together?
I will definitely be guided by the last two websites when I work on developing my own! These two websites are a pleasure to visit and show the work of the photographers in the best possible way.
I have looked at a number of photogrpahers' websites and it's been a really good learning experience. My observations:
1. I was shocked to see that a number of 'not so well' designed websites seems to be much higher than a number of well-desinged and well-presented websites.
2. Some companies provide domain hosting and website development services specifically to photographers but I've noted with regret that many websites that they produce look very similar (probably because they keep using the same templates over and over again).
3. It's important to think of who the website is for (who is the customer), who will be using the website and for what purpose before committing to anything. It's also helpful to try and imagine yourself being this customer/ end user and try to re-create their experience. Testing an idea of a website or a pilot website on people that might be the customers in the future, might be useful. Their feedback might change the way the site is developed and used.
Below are some websites that I've looked at this week:
I liked the Dmitry Dobrov's site and his work. All images are clearly labelled and all information is easily accessible - this website is a pleasure to visit and browse around! I also liked the light background, I think it suits the images very well.
I noted the colour scheme on this website and I think that I probably would select more subtle colours for my site when I get to desing it.
I will definitely be guided by the last two websites when I work on developing my own! These two websites are a pleasure to visit and show the work of the photographers in the best possible way.
