Rationale

Rationale

I have decided to promote Gracefest using new media for several reasons. I decided to promote Gracefest as it was a project that I was already undertaking. I therefore know the full details of its target audience and the nature of the event so I know exactly what is needed and who it will be going to.

In the past, the majority of promotion in churches has been concerned primarily with printed material, with little representation in cyberspace. I believe this is one reason as to why many churches have been failing in connected countries such as the UK. Considering this, I have decided to build a website as it is clear this is the primary method of communication between people aged 14-25. In fact, 87% of 14-21 year olds use the internet regularly (American Life Survey, 2006), and this is bound to have increased since then.

The website will encompass several elements for three reasons. The first is that just a website may not sustain me for the duration of the project. The second is that I do not feel a website on its own would push me enough, and I would not learn as much if I constrained myself so much. Therefore, I will attempt to expand greatly upon the Future Technology project to start to learn how to use Flash and After Effects. I think that it would be important to learn these programmes now so that I can use them in projects to come, as well as in my own work outside college. Carrying on from this is the third reason; the user experience. I want a visitor to my website to be able to have a dynamic and engaging experience to excite them about Gracefest. On the practicality side, I want to have PDF downloads available so that they can be printed off, and ideally videos that can be shown to youth groups/churches offline.

I want to work with new media in order to show a contextual understanding of Visual Communication, and communication as a whole. It has become clear to me that digital and virtual communications are now the most important form of communication and information sharing. Usage of the internet has increased seven-fold since 2000, particularly with the arrival of Web 2.0, and the future of communication lies in the internet more than anything else. I feel I must reflect this in my work and projects.

I have gained an extensive contextual understanding by following a number of blogs including The Guardian’s detailed technology pages. I have also been following the BBC’s Superpower season which took place across TV, radio and the internet last month. As it can be hard to filter information on the internet sometimes, I have used books such as ‘The Internet Revolution’ (Firth, L 2008) to get some specific statistics and facts that could help me in developing promotional material.

It is my aim to graduate with extensive ability in design for web and new media, and indeed it is in my statement of intent for this academic year to have learnt some web design by the end of first year. I have already accomplished this, but I don’t want to ‘sit on my laurels’; I need to push the boundaries further.