The target audience I had in mind for this website, is realated to the reason I am taking this course. I had in mind a target audience of a high school individual who may be interested in persuing a technology career. I therefore tried to keep my design clean and my colors bright. I chose pictures that demonstrated collaboration, and workspace settings. I kept my content uncomplicated as most high school students are used to high velocity scanning, such as that on social media sites. I also designed a @media query for media:course to detect the use of a touch screen to further aid in navigating the site.
The message of the website is to encourage the attendance of the NWTC Portfolio Showcase. The main page to the site has an animated aside that comes in to view as the user enters the site. This aside has the message "Don't miss it!" this calls the users attention to the date and time of the Portfolio Showcase. Also, the minimalistic style of the site limits the users distractions and focuses the users attention. The other animated parts of the page are the hover states on the programs cards. Which should also direct the users attention to the four different program offerings that will be at the showcase. This approach simplifies the message to its key components: there is a showcase at the specified date and time that includes these four programs.
My goal of this site was to appeal to a younger demongraphic, hoping that it would encourage interest in the programs being offered at NWTC. My main thought was that enticing prospective future student's interest would be more beneficial as it drives the longevity and attendance in the programs for the future. I tried to support this goal with my design. As a teacher, I understand how my students glean information. By keeping my design minimal and clean, I can be concise in my material. They could quickly browse though my site, identify key pieces of information, and decide for themselves where to stop and actually digest more information. I found that when I tested this site on my students within a few clicks they had landed on a program of their choice and had opened a gallery to look at the pictures. I felt that this was exactly what I was going for with my design.
My CTAs are in several places. I have hover states set on my gallery pictures to encourage clicking to open the gallery. I also set an @media query for media:course that identifies the use of a touch screen. This actually detects that there will be no hover state and then presents a statement that encourages the user to click on the pictures to open the gallery. The other CTAs are on the hover states to the cards. This is set to bring a picture into view as a user hovers over a program card. This encourages the user to click into the program to learn more. The other CTAs are on the contact page. The map encourages the user to get directions to the Protfolio Showcase, and the contact form encourages the user to conact the school for more information.
In summary, my design choices supported a minimalistic approach. This allowed for a more streamlined fast paced movement through the site. I chose bright clean colors to have a more youthful feel. My lay out was an offset block format to add a simple visual interest while keeping a linear design layout. The background image added interest and color being an asymmetrical design. The font was simple yet not too formal to keep in mind the feel of a more youthful look. The design of my site makes it easy to use, the simplicity keeps the message clear, and the minimalistic approach keeps the user focused.