Website

I am going to look at five websites related to fashion to see the difference between good and bad websites. I am going to be focusing on characteristics which in like and dislike while looking at the layouts and context. After I have done my research I am going to create my own portfolio website.

 

Fabricland -http://www.fabricland.co.uk/ 

When I visited fabric land website the first thing that I notice is the vivid colour scheme which corresponds to the shop border and bags they use. I think this is a good aspect because it means that the shop becomes iconic and noticeable. I think the typography is suitable because it is a serif font so is clear and visible.  One aspect that I really like on this website is the visual animations on some of the pages. They really help bring the website alive because you are not looking at a still, standard, boring page. I think that the "help page/ Q&A" is a really good idea because it helps bring a link to the consumer and other customers.

As an improvement to the website they could consider the categories at the side more carefully because sometimes it's difficult to find what you’re looking for. Also because this website is aimed at visual/creative people they could perhaps make the images bigger.

fabric plus 

http://www.fabricsplus.co.uk/arboretum_by_lewis_and_irene

Fabric plus has a really easy search tool and really basic categories suitable for new comers and starters in to the sewing world.  Fabric plus may be considered confusing because it has subtitles at the top and the side. On the fabric plus you have to click, for a full view of the fabric and to see prices, whereas on fabric land you don’t, which I think is better. The font on fabric plus is smaller and mostly black or red. I particularly like the header and absolute adore the stitched writing; this shows me to consider typography carefully. I will ensure my typography and header is appropriate and will link it to logo on my website

 Comparison  of the two fabric shops.

On both fabrics land and fabric plus they make sure the contact details are the first thing you see and where they are situated. I will consider this when I make my website and put my contact details near the front. In terms of colours fabric plus is much more subtle and soft with the colours whereas fabric land is very vivid. I prefer the subtle approach of pinks and purple so will take this into account when choosing my theme template on weebly or wix . I think having a search category on the Fabric plus website is a brilliant and easy way to find your way round which can be tricky on the Fabric land website.  The search categories are more flexible on Fabric Plus because you can actually type in the boxes.

 http://www.todayandtomorrow.net/tag/fashion/

I think this fashion blog is very strong because it is clear and fluent. There is little text but what is there is informative. There are large images which are labelled in précised detail. I like the black and white vice versa text. The layout is crystal clear with header lines separating each collection. I think having the images the same width helps create a simple blog. Some people may view this as being ordinary. When I do my website I think I may take a more quirky and fun approach. One thing I do notice is that the fonts are very clear and easy to read so belong to a group called serif fonts.

 vogue  

http://www.vogue.co.uk/

 

When I look at this fashion magazine the first thing that hits me is the header image. It looks almost a dream world because the lighting and positioning is perfect, especially the angles and setting under the tree. It almost looks too good to be true. Do we all look this good if we stand under a palm tree?  I think the logo is iconic, I particularly like the writing in the 'O'. I like the writing on the images and the sizing. The long and narrow images make the page more interesting. I also notice that the categories down the side are a similar format to fabric land. I think the sixing of the fonts are deliberate because it draws you to the more important words.

http://paperfashion.net/

I really like the calligraphy effect as the title, it looks so elegant. I also like the image because I think it is appropriate because it is an image of the owner working. Great consideration has been taken for the picture because her body posture is upright; showing an importance and concentration, her hair is positioned so we have a clear view of her face. I think her work is very inspiring and well crafted. I like the images down the side because I think they work well with the main images.

When I make my website I am going to be aware of esaftey, therefore I am going to use limited photos of myself. Also I think it is wrong to upload photos of other people without their permission. If I have a picture that involve someone else I am going to ask them if this is okay, if it is not I am going to either find a different picture (perhaps quite not as good in quality) or Photoshop them out. I am not that keen on giving my personal details out so I am going to keep my contact details to the bare minimum. This means that I shall not put up my phone number, put up picture with distinctive backgrounds, where I live or go to college. One thing that I notice from most websites is that they normally have white backgrounds. For me I dislike this because I think it is a little standard and boring so I am going to try out some coloured backgrounds. The only issue with this is that my pages may look overly busy and packed so I will have to choose carefully.