Client web site brief

Web design brief
Your task is to make some sample designs for one of two clients. You can choose between Judy, an alternative therapist, and Peter, a carpenter.

• Judy’s current web site can be viewed at judyharrison.co.uk
• Peter’s old site can be viewed at andrewx.com/pfc (he has also recently updated it at
  pf-carpentry.com but that is more complex!) 

You need to present the same basic information but can use different images and display their text differently.

They will require the key features of web pages to be present:

• their name, logo and/or business title 
• a navigation menu providing simple access to the indicated pages 
• a consistent page layout (although you can have a different home page if you wish, providing it still matches the general theme adopted) 
• a footer showing some contact details and include ‘Design by [your name]’ on all pages except the Home page 
• headings to identify the content of each page, which may be in an artistic or graphic style 
• normal text should be in a font that will display properly on most users’ computers 

1. Make two different designs for one or two pages first

2. Your tutor will then discuss with you which is most likely to appeal to the client or be most suitable for later actual production

3. Using the selected design, or an adaptation of one of them, make samples of the other main site pages.

4. You can use any application for this stage of the design process but sketches are unlikely to be suitable for adequately reflecting what published pages might look like. As you may need to submit your designs electronically, digital representation (Presentation slides, DrawPlus sheets, PDFs etc) is recommended.

5. For images other than the clients or your own you should note the source and whether you are aware of its licence terms. (If a client did wish to use a particularly suitable one then you would have to ensure that it was either licensed for commercial use or seek permission to include it. At this stage you may assume that it is in order to include in your drafts).

6. More advanced students can move on to include indications of dimensions for the components of the pages (overall width, image sizes, menu area padding etc.) and to note the font names, colours and sizes proposed. This will be required when the designs are converted to pages for publication.



Output

• 2 initial design samples 
• All main pages in selected theme and style 
• Image sources noted 
• Licence status of images 
• Annotations added for measurements 
• Font details noted 

P3 Website categories

A simple guide to how the web works

This animation on the BBC site is a bit old but it illustrates the important elements involved in how web pages get from wherever they're stored to your screen.

The 12 simple slides and brief explanations are what you need for part of Task 1. Here's the link - not the picture.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8552415.stm

Introduction

Aim and purpose
The aim of this unit is to give learners a knowledge of how websites function and an understanding of their purpose as business tools. Learners will then gain develop the skills required to design and create a multiple page website.

Unit introduction
The worldwide web has given rise to a new medium of communication. Websites can allow us to ‘walk into’ a world with very few boundaries. We can find MP3 files and download them with ease. Our digital images can be sent to relatives overseas in seconds. We can go shopping without leaving our homes and source the  very best prices with the click of a mouse button.

Essential to developing the worldwide web are the people who design effective documents that can be 'read' by a web browser. Web designers have the fascinating task of taking text, images, video and other resources and crafting them into high quality documents for broadcasting across the world via the internet. Their brief is to produce attractive and informative sites that are accessible to everyone. This includes users with disabilities, where, for example, features can allow speech synthesisers to read out pages for blind users. In this unit learners see the potential of the web and will develop a skill set which will be highly valued by industry and commerce as well as being a useful personal skill for leisure pursuits. Web design is a skill that is becoming more and more popular as the worldwide web expands and as companies see the advantage of using browser technology for their company intranets. The unit provides a firm grounding in the concepts of web design which will help learners to progress to employment or to another educational course  and to become valued employees with the key skills needed in their chosen employment.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this unit a learner should:

1 Know web architecture and components

2 Understand how websites can be used by organisations

3 Be able to design website components

4 Be able to create website components.