5. DIY WEBSITES
• In the past few years, there’s been a rise of
websites made to help others create their own
websites. Instead of now needing a degree in
coding and design, set templates mean anyone can
add their own logos, pictures, text etc and further
their own brand. The more these websites crop up,
the more competitively priced they become – one
example is how Wordpress has multiple free
templates available.
7. ANALYZING DESIGN OF HOMEWARE WEBSITES
This design is minimalistic in its use of
negative space. I like the symmetry of it
being split in half by the use of 2 images.
The top row is made up of simply the shop’s
logo and a small tool for navigation.
The 2 pictures manage to summarise the
shop’s aesthetic and products fairly well
through limited imagery. It’s a simple but
effective layout.
8. • The first screen you come to
before you scroll down this site in
gorgeous and simple in its layout.
The focus is on the picture which
shows the products and the
aesthetic of the shop.
• The logo is placed in the top left
in an understated size, but its
importance is highlighted by the
location. The top left is naturally
what our eyes are drawn to.
• Your eye is then led to the
navigation tools across the very
top row. The site looks easy to
use and pretty, with the font
colour and the image creating a
beautiful colour palette. This is
then continued with the
background of the site as you
scroll down. The text is clear, with
headings and simple font used
throughout. The amount of text
means it’s not particularly
interesting, but is still making for
a visually beautifully website.
10. TARGET AUDIENCE
The target audience for a Scandi inspired
homeware shop is primarily 25-45 year old
women of a high socio-economic group.
A website would have to reflect what they want
when they think of Scandi shops – feminine and
sleek design, muted colours and a broad range
of homeware merchandise in a minimalist style.
The website will be easy to navigate, effectively
use negative space to further the aesthetic and
include multiple pictures of the items it’s selling.
15. Renowned for their simplicity, utility, and beauty, Scandinavian homes have a
pure, pared backed style that is centred around warm functionality, clean lines,
flawless craftsmanship and understated elegance
35. CHOSEN
LOGOI chose a font which had a subtle and minimalistic serif on
it. This was because I wanted to keep it simple and legible
and liked the ideas of using all caps, which I think looks
better. I then experimented with using a photo as the
colour / pattern on the logo. I played around with scale
and placement so it wasn’t just a single word written
horizontally, and with a box around it which I felt was
more Scandinavian inspired. I decided I liked the clarity of
plain black but used colour on the box and on a motif I
drew. I drew a snowflake as I felt it represented unique
qualities and Scandinavian living.
37. When comparing the layouts of email
campaigns, I noticed general conventions
that were used throughout. This included a
maximum of 2 columns, the logo being
shown in the top row, large photos often
taking up the entire row, the photos being
of the product/place/etc advertised, white
background, centred text in small
paragraphs and in a sans serif easy to read
font. In terms of branding there are small
colour palettes in each, tying together the
brand’s identity. The main headline would
be in a different colour and size to the rest
of the type which makes it stand out and
creates a balanced top heavy hierarchy.
38.
39. DRAFTS OF MY OWN
i used the research into existing
email campaigns to determine
the hierarchy and create a layout
which leads a viewer’s eye across
the important elements first, and
down through the email.
I did this by centrally placing the
logo, leaving a large area for the
heading, sizing of images and a
lot of negative space.
The negative space was
something I was keen to keep
relevant and noticeable.
I like the 2x2 picture frames and
think it works in terms of
showing a viewer and potential
customer a range of products in
an efficient and visually pretty
manner.
40. • This draft differs from the last by
way of having more attention
focused on the logo, it’s in a much
larger box and takes up more of the
space. If the logo is effective at
summing up the brand, this would
draw the right target audience in.
• however, I noticed that generally
most email campaigns don’t use a
very big logo and let the type and
images speak for themselves.
• I kept the 2x2 frame layout for
images and the heading just below
the logo. This created a hierarchy
which I thought looked right.
• I added another row at the bottom
with another image and a text box.
My previous draft hadn’t had much
text which fit most conventions, but I
didn’t like the lack of text. I think it
looks better with a text box as the
last thing a viewer sees when they’ve
scrolled down.
41. MAKING MY OWN
EMAIL CAMPAIGN ON
MAILCHIMP
Overall I found Mailchimp easy to use, I was
pleased with the end result of making my email
campaign. It was easy to insert textboxes, photo
frames, hyperlinks and logos, while personalizing it
with colour and graphics.
45. The 2 column layout made for a simplistic template
and easy readability which is of the utmost
importance for this project. I chose to use a light
pink background instead of the white which most
of the campaigns used to further the aesthetic of
the shop. I’d seen websites use this background
colour link to the images and thought it worked
nicely.
I went with the logo taking up a lot more room
than generally email campaigns do but the
background picture looked nice and was an
extension of the aesthetic. It created contrast
between the background and itself. It added
interest and I think it would have looked too plain
without it, even for a minimalistic style.
I would have put the links to different areas of the
shop underneath the images but couldn’t seem to
create 2 columns just for the buttons. I had to
overcome that by alternating above and below
which didn’t look as nice in my opinion, but I had to
47. • Instagram campaigns are
either story ads, which are
quite dull and don’t show
much branding, or they are
ads which crop up as you
scroll – like the ones pictures
here - which are more
dynamic and are through
research, I found better at
creating a brand and interest
and drawing people in. I
wanted to combine the
elements of the more
interesting ads with the story
ads.
