Delivery Requirements Portfolio

Initially I would need access to a computer with the usual set up; keyboard, mouse etc. The systems I would use to make the website would be Dreamweaver 8, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2 and Flash CS3, the reason for the use of each of these versions is due to them being the versions that I own. Also I would need access to an internet connection to upload the site via FTP; I would do this from my local computer, on which I would design the website.

The first technology that I’ll be using to produce the site will be XHTML 1.0 Strict. I will be using this to produce the basic documents which hold my content; I have chosen to use Strict to show a better understanding of the mark-up.

The content will be styled by CSS, I will be using CSS to enable me to keep file sizes small and make coding faster. In addition CSS should provide a better result for my portfolio in search engines and help me to adhere to the W3C guidelines 1.0. The version of CSS I will use is CSS 1 and widely implemented features of 2 as they are the most widely supported version in current browsers.

When I am using Flash to produce elements of my web page I will be using Flash CS3. Should the elements produced contain actionscript it will be implemented in Actionscript 3.0 as this is the latest version of the language which is supported in Flash Player 9.

PHP 5 will be used if I am to use a form element on my portfolio and also if I want to password protect sections of the site. I am using this version of PHP as this is the latest version that is supported by my web host. I will also use PHP to enable people to contact me in on a form page.

Target Audience for my Portfolio

Target Audience 1

Audrey is a 40 year old female member of the board of examiners for BTEC, her pay is based on a per visit basis and would receive £100 for one of these visits. Audrey also works part time with computers on a day to day basis, within her working hours she would mainly use it for email and word processing. Her online experience is somewhere between newbie and experienced as she has little time outside of her working life to use a computer as she is married with two children to whom she devotes most of her free time. Her online activity would range between 4-6 hrs per week. Her connectivity is through her works computer and occasionally her home computer to check emails both of which use a modem connection. She has an 8mb broadband connection, internet explorer 7 and a 17” monitor. The types of sites visited are Amazon, Yahoo Mail, Ebay, Tesco online and Wikipedia. Online purchases are very rare and would only be one every two months.

Target Audience 2

Seymour is a 35 year old male who is Lead Designer within a medium sized design company based in London. Seymour earns £50k per annum and works in an open plan office with his team of designers. Seymour lives with her long term fiancé in a flat on the outskirts of London and commutes to work on the train. He takes an active interest in technology and the creative arts but also takes an interest in football and socialising with friends. At work Seymour uses a desktop Mac to do various design jobs but also has a Laptop provided by the company for which he uses email and the internet outside of working hours. His internet access is through Firefox and uses an 8mb modem connection. Seymour uses the internet to access email, browse competitors, carry out research and shop online. Sites visited are Corbis, Yahoo, Itunes, Play, Amazon, ASOS and Halifax. Online purchases would be between 1 and 2 per week. Seymour accesses the internet regularly for up to 5 hrs per day and is very savvy with internet use.

Target Audience 3

Matthew is a 30 yr old male Dentist who owns his own apartment in Spain. Matthew, outside of his own use of his apartment, lets it out to people who wish to book their own flight and accommodation for their holidays. The site is the primary and only source of the apartments advertising and is in need of a redesign as it lacks in a professional and aesthetically pleasing appearance. Matthew uses the internet to bank online and uses email but doesn’t have very much use of it outside of this. He uses a desktop PC from home with a 20” widescreen that has a 2mb broadband connection and uses Internet Explorer 7. His online activity ranges between one and two hours per day and he is experienced within his use. He enjoys time with friends in his spare time and is currently in a long term relationship.

Refined Goals

1. To design a site that meets the requirements of W3C guidelines 1.0

2. To create a website in XHTML 1.0 strict and CSS 2.1 that validates at http://validator.w3.org/.

3. To incorporate original content in the design of the webpage.

4. To produce a website that is appropriate and aesthetically pleasing to the target market.

These are my refined goals. I have made amendments in response to comments and suggestions received, and removed original goal no.2 as it was felt that this was a prerequisite. I feel the only goal now that should need further clarification is goal 4. In this goal I still intend to gain feedback during the interview process, if I apply for a job and receive an interview then I will consider my portfolio a success in respect of this goal. However when asked at the end of the interview if there are any other questions I will use this as an opportunity to gain feedback on my work and portfolio, but as I am at an interview in the first place I would assume I had achieved this goal anyway. If I was not offered an interview or did not hear from a company after an application I would use this as a reason to contact the employer via phone or email and ask for their observations and feedback. This would all take place after the course finishes which, I understood, is an acceptable time for these goals to be measured as this is the final project and we are looking to produce something that will aid us in looking for employment.

Goals For My Portfolio

1. To design a site that meets with the W3C guidelines for accessibility.

The site I produce needs to be compliant with these standards so that it is professional and to a standard of employability. By incorporating these standards it will show awareness to prospective employers but also make the site accessible to the largest possible audience. Things to consider would be alt tags and ensuring there were no broken links. This could be tested with users tests.

2. To design a website that has a consistent layout.

The website would need to be consistent in layout so that when users are navigating the pages they are confident that they have not navigated away from the home site and gone to a new site. Feedback for this goal could be gained from user testing.

3. To create a website in XHTML 1.0 transitional.

I will be using this technology as it is what I have produced work in previously and am confident in using. This goal will be easily measured by using the validating service provided on the W3C site.

4. To incorporate some original content in the design of the page.

With this goal I mean to say that I will be creating a portfolio that is itself a piece of design work and I plan to create original pieces of design to further show my potential as an employee. This would be easily measured as I would provide the sketchbook work to back up my design process.

5. To produce a web page that is appropriate and aesthetically pleasing to the target market.

I need to ensure that the design is pleasing to the target market as they primarily will be prospective employers and course tutors. The importance of this goal is that it will contribute to my employability. This would be measured by gaining feedback from prospective employers; I would do this by asking for feedback when going through the interview process if the feedback wasn’t offered freely.