1. Design
In this section we will be an explanation of the aesthetical reasons and the
significant design principles that were taken into account for the visual design of
BCN. About the content and the philosophy, a price comparison site has to show
loyalty, trustiness, motivation for buying and of course to be useful. It has to be one
level above than the shops in everything and in that way users and shops will be
interested in using it and co-operating with it.
Starting from the logo of the website, Best Comparison Ninja and the URL
www.bcninja.com, is briefly typed as BCN. The word ninja is chosen because
represents protection and is also a very memorable word. On the logo, the green
color is preferred with a font that reminds letters written by a sword. Also, the
existence of a ninja avatar in the logo is necessary for memorable reasons, it can be
a characteristic symbol for the site, which can be also used as a teaser or in
different promoting actions as banners.
Based in the above philosophy and target groups, the colors that were used are
green and light orange. The green color is chosen because of the stability and the
harmony meaning, features that they are necessary for online shopping. Also, the
gradient style is for giving a modern look & feel. The light orange is chosen because
of the enthusiasm, optimism and action meanings, features also necessary for
buying. Moreover, the combination of these colors is something new for a price
comparison site and doesn’t exist to the competitor sites.
The style of the website has to be practical. That’s the reason why boxes have been
used to separate each session and give the necessary balance. In the homepage,
search engine and categories are the most important features for the user to start
his navigation. Horizontal categories are with orange color and bold fonts to be
emphasized and different from the rest of the site, because they exist in every page
until the user is redirected to the shop. The rest sections are mainly with a gradient
green color, and the most emphasized part is the feature products.
The screen resolutions are mostly used from 800x600 until 1280x1024. The best
screen resolution that is chosen for BCN is 1024x768, which is the most common for
the average screen sizes. A resolution which can be used equal for laptops and
netbooks.
In conclusion, the symmetrical balance, the color contrast and the navigation
emphasis, make users and shops to understand easily BCN’s philosophy and make it
one of the most useful price comparison sites.