The URL is http://www.gracefest.org.uk/
I email the website to someone else who uploads it on my behalf. I am hoping that he will have done this by the time this project is assessed. As soon as it is uploaded, it will appear on the above URL. Currently, it hosts the old Gracefest site.
I email the website to someone else who uploads it on my behalf. I am hoping that he will have done this by the time this project is assessed. As soon as it is uploaded, it will appear on the above URL. Currently, it hosts the old Gracefest site.
I feel that this end of year Major Project has allowed me to develop my skills as a visual communicator considerably. Most notably, I have developed skills significantly in the software I am able to use, as well as the way that I use software. This is applicable to Flash, Dreamweaver, InDesign and even Photoshop.
I am now able to execute simple procedures in Flash to produce simple animations for things like interactive adverts. I developed further independence by largely learning how to use this by doing video tutorials, something I also started doing for After Effects. I did however learn to seek help from tutors and technicians. I knew how to build HTML websites in Dreamweaver from the Future Technology project, but I applied this knowledge to developing skills in CSS, which I also largely learnt from video tutorials. By challenging myself to build a CSS site, I was able to produce a much higher quality site than I otherwise would have done. I also incorporated InDesign into this project, something I learnt from the Visual Exploration project at the beginning of the year. Additionally, I had to use Photoshop to edit images before placing them in Dreamweaver. Therefore, I see this project as a culmination of skills from the last year.
The major project has given me an ideal chance to work on a live project. I was able to combine my extra-curricular activities with course work by doing Gracefest promotion work.
Although I drew up a schedule at the beginning of the project, it was very rough as I did not know how long it would take to learn software like Flash. If I had known the timings more accurately, I believe I could have used the time more efficiently, which would have allowed me to push boundaries even further. I intended to use After Effects in the project at some point but this did not happen- mostly because there was no need to use it.
I looked at many different websites before I started designing the website, particularly festival websites, however I did not look at a wide enough range of sites that I could have gained more ideas from. Despite this, I needed to be ambitious but not unrealistic in what I could do. I like the Flash splash page of ‘The Secret Garden’ website, but I doubt I would have been able to create such a page in my site on this project as it was the first time I had used Flash. There were technical problems, but these were expected and I was able to work them out.
In conclusion, I believe this project has rightfully been the most successful project I have undertaken this year by far. I have developed skills considerably and pushed myself in several areas, while working on a live brief. The project has acted as a springboard into the second year where I hope to learn how to use more software more effectively so that I can improve my practice.
I am now able to execute simple procedures in Flash to produce simple animations for things like interactive adverts. I developed further independence by largely learning how to use this by doing video tutorials, something I also started doing for After Effects. I did however learn to seek help from tutors and technicians. I knew how to build HTML websites in Dreamweaver from the Future Technology project, but I applied this knowledge to developing skills in CSS, which I also largely learnt from video tutorials. By challenging myself to build a CSS site, I was able to produce a much higher quality site than I otherwise would have done. I also incorporated InDesign into this project, something I learnt from the Visual Exploration project at the beginning of the year. Additionally, I had to use Photoshop to edit images before placing them in Dreamweaver. Therefore, I see this project as a culmination of skills from the last year.
The major project has given me an ideal chance to work on a live project. I was able to combine my extra-curricular activities with course work by doing Gracefest promotion work.
Although I drew up a schedule at the beginning of the project, it was very rough as I did not know how long it would take to learn software like Flash. If I had known the timings more accurately, I believe I could have used the time more efficiently, which would have allowed me to push boundaries even further. I intended to use After Effects in the project at some point but this did not happen- mostly because there was no need to use it.
I looked at many different websites before I started designing the website, particularly festival websites, however I did not look at a wide enough range of sites that I could have gained more ideas from. Despite this, I needed to be ambitious but not unrealistic in what I could do. I like the Flash splash page of ‘The Secret Garden’ website, but I doubt I would have been able to create such a page in my site on this project as it was the first time I had used Flash. There were technical problems, but these were expected and I was able to work them out.
In conclusion, I believe this project has rightfully been the most successful project I have undertaken this year by far. I have developed skills considerably and pushed myself in several areas, while working on a live brief. The project has acted as a springboard into the second year where I hope to learn how to use more software more effectively so that I can improve my practice.
Although I think that the internet is now, and will be the future, hard copies of documents are still largely necessary amongst many groups. I have not ignored this through the promotion work for Gracefest.
The website is just one element of a wider promotion, but they are all interlinked. I have designed and distributed flyers, posters, booking forms, information sheets and information packs. The website is the portal to Gracefest for those who have not received information through the post, or need extra copies.
The information pack was designed after I held consultations with 22 youth leaders from across the area, who were all asking broadly similar questions and raising similar concerns. I compiled an information pack that details all the important information in a downloadable and printable format. It is a large document though, so I produced an information sheet that could be printed and distributed more easily. The information pack has therefore not been printed in bulk, but is available for those concerned about intricate details.
I asked the printers (Paperworks Harrogate) for 500 copies of the information sheet which were distributed to 320 Anglican churches across the Diocese. The remainder went to other churches in the area- notably the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches and youth groups. They were double sided with a poster on the other side.
I have recently sent an order for 1000 flyers to Paperworks, this time in black and white to save money. They will be printed in standard blue 160gsm paper. On the back will be booking forms so that people will be able to send booking forms straight back.
I have designed hard copy promotional material in InDesign and Photoshop, which I converted to PDFs for download from the website. Therefore, although it does not make up a core part of the project, they are indeed still part of it.
All of the hard copy work is uploaded to the website for download, and all the hard copy information directs people to the website.
The website is just one element of a wider promotion, but they are all interlinked. I have designed and distributed flyers, posters, booking forms, information sheets and information packs. The website is the portal to Gracefest for those who have not received information through the post, or need extra copies.
The information pack was designed after I held consultations with 22 youth leaders from across the area, who were all asking broadly similar questions and raising similar concerns. I compiled an information pack that details all the important information in a downloadable and printable format. It is a large document though, so I produced an information sheet that could be printed and distributed more easily. The information pack has therefore not been printed in bulk, but is available for those concerned about intricate details.
I asked the printers (Paperworks Harrogate) for 500 copies of the information sheet which were distributed to 320 Anglican churches across the Diocese. The remainder went to other churches in the area- notably the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches and youth groups. They were double sided with a poster on the other side.
I have recently sent an order for 1000 flyers to Paperworks, this time in black and white to save money. They will be printed in standard blue 160gsm paper. On the back will be booking forms so that people will be able to send booking forms straight back.
I have designed hard copy promotional material in InDesign and Photoshop, which I converted to PDFs for download from the website. Therefore, although it does not make up a core part of the project, they are indeed still part of it.
All of the hard copy work is uploaded to the website for download, and all the hard copy information directs people to the website.
I intended to use the Major Project as an opportunity to push boundaries and learn new software. I am aware that Flash has limited use, and its popularity is declining somewhat. However, I felt that I needed to add a dynamic element to the site, as well as learn more about how other programs can plug into Dreamweaver.
Like CSS, I learnt simple Flash by following online tutorials on YouTube, as well as seeking help from tutors at college. I quickly became used to the interface and was able to produce a banner.
The storyboard above was my original plan, however I've discovered it is a little ambitious! I need more time to develop skills in Flash before I'm able to work out more complicated animations, but I have been able to use the motion tweens to create an animation sequence where elements fly onto the stage.
I have created two banners, both relatively similar. These can be seen embedded on the final website. I have resolved a few technical problems I had with the Flash banners. The first was that it snapped to 900px wide on every Dreamweaver page. I noticed that all elements did this when I added them, so assumed there was an overarching command to go to 900px wide. I found this in '*' and deleted it. The second problem was that the banner did not appear when I previewed the page on other computers. There was simply a small bit of script missing that needed inserting into the CSS page.
One technical problem, which is also a design problem, is that the banner is not clickable. I discovered that it was not possible to make Flash banners clickable in the same way images are clickable. Dreamweaver also wouldn't allow me to use hotspots over it. The solutions to this problem seemed rather complicated, so I have had to accept they are not clickable unfortunately.
Like CSS, I learnt simple Flash by following online tutorials on YouTube, as well as seeking help from tutors at college. I quickly became used to the interface and was able to produce a banner.
The storyboard above was my original plan, however I've discovered it is a little ambitious! I need more time to develop skills in Flash before I'm able to work out more complicated animations, but I have been able to use the motion tweens to create an animation sequence where elements fly onto the stage.
I have created two banners, both relatively similar. These can be seen embedded on the final website. I have resolved a few technical problems I had with the Flash banners. The first was that it snapped to 900px wide on every Dreamweaver page. I noticed that all elements did this when I added them, so assumed there was an overarching command to go to 900px wide. I found this in '*' and deleted it. The second problem was that the banner did not appear when I previewed the page on other computers. There was simply a small bit of script missing that needed inserting into the CSS page.
One technical problem, which is also a design problem, is that the banner is not clickable. I discovered that it was not possible to make Flash banners clickable in the same way images are clickable. Dreamweaver also wouldn't allow me to use hotspots over it. The solutions to this problem seemed rather complicated, so I have had to accept they are not clickable unfortunately.
The main elements of the site are complete. I encountered one major problem, but discovered CSS was much easier than I thought it would be! The only major problem I found was that I couldn't work out how to get a three column site.
After a bit of googling around, it became clear that this was a common problem in CSS. I worked it out by 'cheating' a little and floating the left and central column left, and the right one right. The central column was floated left with a margin the same width as the left column to get round the problem.
I have also added a footer; something I hadn't intended to do originally. The footer closes off the site at the bottom and gives framework to the site so it doesn't float unanchored on the page. It also provides useful contact information on every page that may have otherwise been hard to find.
After a bit of googling around, it became clear that this was a common problem in CSS. I worked it out by 'cheating' a little and floating the left and central column left, and the right one right. The central column was floated left with a margin the same width as the left column to get round the problem.
I have also added a footer; something I hadn't intended to do originally. The footer closes off the site at the bottom and gives framework to the site so it doesn't float unanchored on the page. It also provides useful contact information on every page that may have otherwise been hard to find.
I found this tutorial on YouTube. It is helping me to get going in CSS, but the site tutvid builds is vastly different to what mine will look like, so I am having to adapt his tutorial quite radically to what I want.
CSS is not build using tables, but it has user-created elements that are either fixed in place, or floating left/right. CSS rules are created for each element, and these apply over the entire site.
To create the background, I have created a 13x13 pixel tile in Photoshop that will be repeated across the site.
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