The document summarizes experiments the author conducted to develop elements for a news site and newsletter. They tested logo designs, newsletter layouts, and website builders. The author concluded that the masthead, changing image opacity, using Wix, adding red dots, and separating elements visually were effective techniques to include in the final products. The experiments helped refine the design process.

1. Experiments
Corem Hind

2. Process
This was an experiment to see whether a logo
made from the name might look good. "MY"
meaning Media-York.
I knew I wanted to test a 3d text logo as my research showed me that news site
like DDN use logos like this. To begin creating this logo, I loaded up photoshop
and started adding text. I decided that the Y being bigger fits better. I then
added the green borders to try give the text a 3D feeling, which on the Y it
almost worked however on the M it doesn't work as well at all. The final step
was creating a line at the bottom that would make it look more like a full logo.
This is an interesting logo however I will explore as many possibilities as possible
before deciding which to use. This logo stage is so important as creating a brand
feel is one of my biggest goals for this project.

3. Process
• There were two things I wanted to test which were to:
re-try the previous logo design and to start testing the
fonts and layout for the newsletter.
• I started by experimenting with the newsletters layout
however I had to change software as Photoshop
was taking too long to respond so, I changed over
to Pixlr X to try a mock-up of a newsletter. (I ended up
just making the masthead)
I changed the font and
colours between to make it
look clear and bold.
I then started to experiment
building on from what I had
previously done. Through doing
this I have discovered that these
three colours together on a logo
like this look either garish or to
Italian restaurant looking. This
logo is now off the table.
The final change I made to the
masthead was to include the entire
colour scheme while giving the three
main subjects this brand covers.
The beige here is directly what I
don't want the beige to look like.
This colour error was caused by
only testing it on one screen. This
problem is worth looking out for as
on the screen I designed this on
the beige looked fine.

4. Process
This is a minster logo I found online which
I wanted to use for the experiment. So, I
turned the opacity down to make it fit into
the back of the page without effecting any
written text.
This side panel is designed so I can give
three separate topics in a short
paragraph for each one. This should help
to grab the reader's attention.
The white lines vary in
size and brightness which
I will have to be extra
careful about for the final
newsletter. This problem
occurred because I
created the white lines
separately instead of
duplicating the original.
Turning down the opacity of
images like this to make them
look like part of the background
is extremely helpful when it
comes to designing the
newsletter. This will definitely be
used in the final newsletter.

5. Process
I added red dots across the side as the bottom left felt to empty compared to the rest
of it. This is 100% going in my final project as it gives It a burst of red and helps towards
enforcing the colour scheme. This is even more important as I need the red to attract
my younger target audience. I then tested inserting the image into the middle to see
how it would fit. This is where I discovered a couple ways, I could place this, as you can
see on the left it is slightly separated from the side panel whereas the right is
connected. From this it looks more natural and modern being separated. Again, it
looking modern and feeling up-to-date is important in attracting my target audience.

6. Process
These are two of the variants of
the experimental newsletter
The red theme in this one is to
make it more interesting and to
help connote passion while
reading it.
The side panels colour looks completely different
depending on different screens. This is worth noting
when developing my final project to make sure the
colours look good on as many screens as possible.
(done on same pc as logo so Same issue as logo)
• The masthead on both experiments
look good and this is most likely what
they will look like in the final project.
• The side panel is where I will give
updates to news and the bottom is
where I will talk more about the
website itself. For this purpose, I think
these side panels will remain in the
same position just with a colour
change.
• I think the version on the left looks
too much like an Italian restaurant
menu which is why I think the
other background fits more.

7. Process
My final experiment was to
determine which website builder to
use, Wix or Webself. I was already
leaning towards Wix as it has an
incredible number of features. As
you can see to the right, I tested
whether I could use the far left and
rights of my page and on Wix I could
(Even though it gave a warning
saying some screens might not be
able to see this) whereas Webself
would not let me access it at all. I
needed this feature as when
researching I found other news
websites include ads or other article
links across the sides of the pages.
This made the decision obvious, Wix
was the choice.
I also did a quick check to see
if one of them works better on
phone and they both work about
the same.

8. Process
Before beginning to create the video, I wanted to refresh myself on editing
software, so I decided to take an unreleased song that was originally 5 minutes
and turn it into a 3-minute song (using Shotcut). I did this as It was a quick and
effective way to get me back into the groove of editing sounds and images as I
had to add multiple different image layers and then add a fade out at the end.
(In reflection this was incredibly helpful when it came to editing the audio as I
needed the beginning from one clip to start at the beginning of the following
two and still the voices be in sync, this really helped to expedite the process).
From my research I knew that by doing this it would help for when I need to cut
up and edit bits of the footage like the researched interview.

9. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product?
– The masthead from the newsletter design will be included on the final
newsletter as it makes it stand out as a Media-York product.
– The first two logos are off the table as I will stick to my planning and find a
logo that has connotations of York. This is important as I want them to be able
to see something of York on each page like you can see the minster while
being in York.
– Changing the opacity of an image will be used in my newsletter as it gives it a
slightly more finished and cleaner look this will be achieved by using Pixlr like I
did for the experiment.
– I will use Wix as it enables me more freedom to use the edges of the page as
this will be helpful to make it look and feel like a professional news site.
– The red dots along the left hand-side will be included as I want to add extra
red to connote energy and passion in a way that makes the newsletter feel
fuller, I will do this through Pixlr and I will duplicate one red line, so they are
all of equal proportions.
– The gap between the image and the side panel will be included as it is a very
slight difference that makes it feel slightly more professional.