B.M.W

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=Phase 1: Envision= By: Brenda, Melanie, Nicolette and Wen

Original Resources

 * Visual Art Website: [|ccca.ca/york_va/]
 * Current Website: []

Introduction
Visual Art website is a small but very informative website that locates under the Fine Arts Faculty website. We found this website very confusing at the beginning. It is a website that contains a great amount of information for the convenience for mainly future students and current students. However, we found it not so effective as it should be.

P.A.C.T

 * **People** || * undergraduates
 * graduates
 * faculty members
 * administration (maybe)
 * visitors(maybe)
 * future students ||
 * **Activity** || * browse current events - calendar
 * currents news about current staffs or students in the faculty
 * requirements to enter programs
 * undergraduate programs and graduate programs
 * contact information
 * location
 * faculty members
 * resources (galleries, studios, specified research sections in university library)
 * students' handbook
 * student and academic services- FASAM (Fine Arts Student Ambassador & Mentoring) Centre
 * Giving to Fine Arts (York University Foundation Web site) ||
 * **Context** || * indoors- free access from home and labs
 * social context - no social interactions
 * the visual art website is set under fine arts website and york website, a lot of content jumps back and forth across fine arts and visual arts.
 * hard to find without using search engine
 * website printing is unnecessary
 * the web page doesn't belong to any existed catalog that shows on the york website
 * information overloading turns off browser's interests, also makes the browsing process complicated
 * similar layouts confuse users to locate themselves in the website (example here) ||
 * **Technology** || * computer with internet
 * content: updated information about current events (calendar)
 * technology: web pages loads fast with little waiting time ||

Good, Bad, Ugly

 * **GOOD** || * very informative (could be both good and bad)
 * headlines at the top are very visible, they work as reminders when information crosses different faculty web pages
 * flash banner provides an impression of the visual art faculty
 * news and currents events place as index page - page looks clean- viewer can click on "read more" for more information ||
 * **BAD** || * over informative
 * a lot of bad links and blank pages
 * Information goes across different faculty web pages (ex. York University Foundation Website)
 * visitors can't find the website unless they use searching engine
 * hierarchy of information
 * navigation and headings do not fit the content properly
 * it is hard to target specific details in browsing process
 * very badly organized
 * no student work is showed on the website, only a few and very small thumbnails
 * twitter????? ||
 * **UGLY** || * the course management for course timetable is terrible
 * overall design of the website
 * visually unpleasant ||

Scope - Future Students
As we browse through some parts of the website, we found a lot of problems that block users from the information they wish to get. The design and organization of the website is not working so well as expected. The visual art website is small and a lot of information goes back and forth, mixed and combined with the fine art faculty website. There are a lot of things need to be updated and perfected. However, considering the audiences that has the most possibility to use this website are potential future students. Till this point, our group decided to focus on making a effective and informative website for visual art future students.

Rough Organization
According to class exercise and discussion, our group came up with the following structure and interface ideas. Of course, more design will be involved in further progress. (ps group members: I'm missing pieces in this, if you have things to change, the downloadable file is right in the backstage)

Second Draft: Indicates the main things we want to do.

= Concepts =
 * thanks to Brenda for organizing concepts and making this mock up website layout. **

About Clients:
Visual Arts Department talked in class about their expectations. Broadly, we summarized the following requirements.

We also reduced the process that students need to locate necessary information by putting different types of catalog in the needs of different types of audiences. ||
 * **Our Client's requirement** || **Our Answers** ||
 * Visual Arts Department site: **Visually interesting, attractive and engaging.** || By applying an interactive environment, it visually attract all audiences to browse the website, stay longer and get more information and further understanding about Visual Art Department in a wider context. ||
 * Organized: **An unique and efficient way to locate information.** || We try to reduce the boring menu and submenu searching and browsing process by applying a new "** way finding system **" network. Incorporating footsteps and photographic panarama. Make information more visible, interesting, straight forward and self-explainable.
 * Including ** videos and pictures ** || Plenty of visual materials are introduced in our concept in efficient, straight and interactive way. ||
 * In a ** "pocket" ** || We assume that client wants a sort of "subjective" feeling by standing individually and separately from York website. Therefore, we intend to avoid global academic style website. Instead, we want to build up a site that promotes self-perspective, self-scoping and free atmosphere. ||

Our Approach:
= Information Architecture =
 * Try to involve a more **interactive** environment
 * The idea of ** panorama ** as flash interactive background(an unbroken view of an entire surrounding area)
 * Let future student ** envision ** themselves as a current visual arts student at York
 * Scope: Future students (mainly undergraduate students)
 * Main focus: facilities, application process & student gallery
 * Some changes:
 * 1) Redesign the **__Visual Arts logo__**
 * 2) Taking **__new photographs__** of student works & facilities
 * 3) Include **__testimonials__**
 * 4) Incorporte the **__handframe gesture__**
 * 5) **__Footsteps__**, as the main navigation
 * 6) __**Sound effects**__ as feedback
 * 7) **__Downloadable__** pdf for Visual Arts handbook

**Final Network:**


= Scenario framework =

** Case 1: Allen ** -
High school student who is interested in visual arts, however he hasn't decided which university he's going to apply. Main Process: Google search, "visual art" home page, application, student gallery, About us, contact info

** Case 2: Mike Macitosh ** -
High school student who has already decided to apply York universtiy visual arts department Main Process: Application, Student Gallery, Handbook, Facilities, Contact Info

=Backstage for Group Members -> enter=