Interface Design

The design of this website is going to need alot of thought to make it appealing and also to suitable present the work it is trying to show.  I have done some reseach into website design and found a few facts that will influence any website.  According to http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/tweak/blink/ web users get first impressions of a web site from the first 50 milliseconds they are on that site which is called the ‘halo effect’.  This is determined by the visual effect of the website in credibility, usability and influence.

Also a good influence on websites is a term called ’social proofing’.  According to http://www.doshdosh.com/social-proof-optimization/ people are influenced by the people around them and the atmosphere.  If your site is well known and is talked about then people will follow.  There are many other nfluences that change human minds in the way they read or determine colour but this list can go on and on.

Right, so from my idea of the website the design needs to be eye catching with very flowing colours representing the flow of data and the flow of the mind thoughts that the users should get from the site.  However this should not be too bright and too much on the screen as this is a serious art gallery with fun features.  Each page needs to be flowing with not too much information on making the user look around and trying to work out what everything is on the page.  It should be logically laid out.  The design should not take away what the website is trying to offer. 

I have attempted to make a mock-up front page for the ‘layermix’ website but because my skills are limioted in creating this it doesn’t look exactly how it should but it gives a good idea of the website.  It is clear, consice and will hopefully entise people in.

Details

Each page on the website needs to flow into one another as if it were almost a slide show enabling users to want to explore and use the site.

Keeping with the Web 2.0 the interface needs to suit this idea and looking around the Internet certain factors need to be in this website to give it that more web 2.0 feel.  For example the button below is considered a web 2.0 button because it uses clean, glossy colours with good use of gradient.(http://iris-design.info/photoshop/web-20-style-buttons/)

Along with just the way it looks the website needs to be very easy to use and have advanced menu functions which will give the website a very advanced feel to it.  Functions such as the Fish Eye menu system which could be used in the gallery of the website to scroll through the pictures in a users gallery.

Slider based filtering could be used in the judging of competitions

Other details will include the ability to see all photos full screen in the best resolution possible and also the ability to open multiple photos at once.