Website UX Testing

 I tested the website with the class, and these are the responses I got from my feedback form

Most students thought my design was 'good' however perhaps the site is not as appealing to the younger generation!

Pleased to see that most people thought the navigation was excellent, since this I have improved this further as I was not happy with the mobile navigation, I think now this area should work very well.

Again most people thought the design and style was 'good'  I think that this is okay as perhaps it won't appeal to everyone and I think most importantly the site is easy to use and if you are interested in my work it is accessible here.

I am pleased mot thought the bio was excellent, somebody thought it was poor and in the last one this is the case, it is a pity someone really did not like it, but we all have our own tastes!

Most thought this was excellent or good apart from the one who clearly hates my site - so all is okay here.

Good and excellent and the one who hates my site again- I think that this is a good sign and my work is presented well here

Again/good and excellent apart from the one...

Most tested on the PC but I was pleased to see some tested on the tablet and laptop

One said that LinkedIn does not work and the homepage cut off however I tested Linkedin again and it seems to be working just fine but I will be checking this again live on other devices.  The Photo Portfolio is unfinished as this is for another class so I am doing this with them this coming week.  The CV is a CV and I think you would probably only read this if you were interested and so I do not mind that it is a little longer.

Overall mostly good and I do still need to keep updating and working on this to make sure it stays good and improves all of the time.

Finalising the Book

Once I had completed the book photographs and text, I began adding this to Blurb pages using Bookwright.  When this was completed I uploaded this to Blurb  

On Blurb, I created a short summary of the book and added the price.  I then ensured the preview was working correctly as below.

I then downloaded the book as a PDF and then uploaded this to Flipsnack so I could embed this into my website - Flipsnack link is here: Woman

Once this was completed I embedded this into my website in two places - I added it to a button and linked it under the Photo section 

I also embedded it as a link in the dropdown navigation box - the book now opens in Flipsnack in both places 

I will now check this on the desktop and mobile version to ensure it works correctly.   

Overall I think the book has worked well this term, the final version is simple and effective and works well on the site, I still may change this so I can write more of an introduction on a page however by embedding the links may make this more challenging in terms of website design.  I still need to work more on the design of the site but this should be an ongoing process.

Finalising the Website

 To complete this project and website I added my work to the portfolio pages.  I add buttons and then embedded the link so that the flipbook I created just opened up in a new window.  I did this by clicking on the 'Add' and then 'button' in the menu and then I placed the button in the correct position on the page and set up the links to either the website page or in the case of the flipbook the website address.

I also embedded a link into the navigation so the project can be accessed two ways on the site. I did this again by add and button and then customising the button - I changed the font on all buttons to Caudex 17 pts to be consistent throughout.

I then checked the mobile view and made sure all of the portfolio is working correctly and that the buttons are in the correct place.  The flipbook will not preview on mobile view so I checked this on my phone as my site is published 

I had to change the front portfolio page and I had some issues as my portfolio page used a repeater and I had to add a section on the desktop to ensure I did not get three buttons every time I added instead of one.  I did this but then on the mobile version this did not work - I, therefore, changed this, and at present, on my actual mobile the Woman project and Photo sections work well the other two sections,  I still think have some issues. 

I will need to change the repeater into three sections to make this work so I will have to work on this further!  Otherwise, though the project is embedded and this does work well in both places where is accessed on the site. 

The design of the site is consistent and I think that it is now (almost) as I want it, I will just work on the mobile version further to complete this.

Reshoot: Pregnant Barbie and Perfect Age Barbie

 I reshot both pregnant Barbie and perfect age barbie as the pregnant barbie originally was shot on a Canon 700D and I did not think the images were consistent with the rest of the shoot.  Perfect age Barbie I just thought she looked a little awkward in the images and I wanted to repose and reshoot to get what I had in mind for the book.

These are the contacts from the reshoot.  Again taken on the Olympus E10-II, the settings I started with were ISO 100, F4, 1/100, 19mm focal length and shot in photo light box.

Generally, I was much happier with these images and here are the ones I quite liked from this shoot

The first image I like as she looks proud, almost regal, she is the ultimate mother, the second image is softer and we look down upon her in a gentle way whereas in the third I think the light falls just right and this one looks most natural (if that is possible here)

The reshoot of the perfect barbie I liked these images

I liked these as she looks confident, perfect at the height of her powers and this is what I wanted with these images.  This was supposed to be the perfect age Barbie (around 30) all is good!

Photo Shoot: Teenage Barbie

 The one I was waiting for to complete the images was teenage Barbie.  I have now shot these on my Olympus E-M10-II using settings F3.5, Shutter speed 1/80, ISO 100 focal length 14mm.  Exposure compensation -1.  

These are the contacts from the session using the photo lightbox

The images I thought might work from these were the following:

The top image I think is perhaps the most engaging and will have the right impact in the book as the doll is close up, the unicorn t-shirt and mobile phone do make her look like a teenager.  The second image could work where the phone is prominent and I quite like that she is staring into the distance on this, not at the camera.  The third image makes barbie look young, and bouncy as she looks up (I think) in hope for the future! 

Book Process: Stages of Woman

 I downloaded Bookwright from Blurb and chose the Tradebook option in 8 x 10.  I set up the pages and uploaded images that I would start with and see what they looked like.  I then looked at the layouts and added a text layout on the left-hand side of each double page and a single photo layout for the right-hand page.

I went to my blog to copy the text I had written and pasted this into each box.  I changed the font to Alegreya 26 pts and black.

I added pages at the beginning for the title and inside page with copyright using another text and image layout.

Choosing the right photographs was difficult and I reshot pregnant Barbie and Woman as pregnant barbie I originally shot with a different camera and so she did not look the same as the other images and I needed consistency.

In the end times images barbie is disabled and mad and, she does look that here.  The wheelchair and strange face I do think work well.

I reshot pregnant barbie and I do think the new image is improved - this is the old image above.  The teenage image is missing as I am waiting for teenage barbie to arrive!

Lastly, I went to do the cover pages, I filled the background with black, and then I added the woman image that I felt most reprensented the book and I added a title (same font at 48pts) and blurb on the back 

I will now just check and adjust the text and add the last image this week so I can then export as a PDF to create a flipbook and upload real book to Blurb for printing so I can get a hard copy