Websites Part 2

I will be analysing 3 websites from artists of different genres in order to gain more knowledge on how to create a successful website.

Pop Music - Miley Cyrus
www.MileyCyrus.com

As soon as I went on Miley Cyrus' website I was greeted with a large full page advert to buy her music. As you can see, this advert is promoting her new album 'Can't Be Tamed' showing the picture used on her album cover and an offer of a 60 day free VIP pass for her website if a person buys the CD. This is an effective marketing tool, as whenever a person goes on her website they have to see this and can only get onto her website by clicking the 'x' in the corner. The offer is in the colours red and gold in order to stand out from the black and white theme of the advert. I noticed the typography used is also the same that is used on her album cover, used to link the two and keep consistency in her brand.

However, after clicking through and seeing the homepage of her website, I noticed that the typography here does not match her album cover at all. There seems to be no link between colours or typography, seeing as her album cover has a mainly black and grey theme with gold almost damaged looking font. This completely contrasts with her website as it has a theme of warm colours such as oranges, golds and browns. The font used for the links is a cursive font, again contrasting with the font on her album cover. This is unusual among websites, as usually the website has the same theme as the album cover, adverts and maybe even the first single's music video. Perhaps the designers have decided to use warm colours and feminine fonts in order to cater to Miley's younger target audience, which consists of mainly 11-16 year old girls.

This website seems to be very promotion based. There is a music player in the top left hand corner where a visitor can preview some of Miley's songs. However, these songs aren't from her most recent album which makes it seem like the people in control of the website haven't updated it for her newest album, which could explain the strange choice of page design. Above the music player is a link to buy her album, and on the middle right hand side of page there is a link to pay for a membership to 'Miley World', a community for Miley Cyrus fans. On the left hand side of the page there is an orange box which shows news updates, which is also heavily promotion based, not only promoting Miley's music but also artists she knows. The promotion ranges from Miley's music to her films to the awards shows she's involved in.

The navigation bar near the top on the page is pink, which was probably coloured that way in order to stand out from the background. There are 7 links in pink and 1 in grey for people to sign up for her newsletter. There is also a search box, which is handy if a visitor is looking for something that they don't think would come up under any of the links.

One thing I have noticed in relation to linking her brand together is the fact the designers have continued with the theme of the notion of looking. Miley is looking straight into the camera for most of her 'Can't Be Tamed' video, her album cover and in the picture of her on the websites background. It is also used for all her adverts for her newest album.

Although I'm sure this website was made to cater for her target audience, I don't feel its very successful at showcasing the Miley Cyrus brand. Her image right now is showing her growing up and being a young adult, whereas her website contradicts this and seems quite childish. I think it would have been more effective if the designers had kept the theme that is used on her album cover, as the adverts for her album 'Can't Be Tamed' seem out of place on her home page and don't tie in with the warm colours that have been used.

Rock Music - Staind
www.Staind.com

The first thing I noticed about this websites home page was the big picture of the band performing live. This is the main background picture, and shows Staind as a band that are all about their fans. Although the colours don't exactly seem like normal colours used on a rock band's website, the picture is used to promote Staind as a real rock band who perform live and give back to their fans.

Another thing that caught my eye was the advert in the middle of the page for there most recent album 'The Illusion of Progress'. This is a Flash advert, which fades between 2 different pictures: one promoting the album, and one promoting a gig. There are click-through links for both of these adverts which leads to being able to buy the album online or buy tickets for the gig. This is a very good promotion tool as it makes it easy for people to buy what they are selling.

Staind's website ties in with the theme of the cover of their latest album cover for 'The Illusion of Progress'. The album cover consists of light cream/gold covers as the picture is has been edited to have an 'antique' or light 'sepia' tone, this is continued in the navigation bar near the top of the page which consists of 12 links - however, the same typography has not been used here. The website designers have included the bands name at the top of the page in the same font as is used on their album cover, however it is in a different cover so it stands out from the background image.

And innovative feature of Staind's website is their Twitter feed on the left hand side of the page. Here, if anyone mentions the bands name in a Twitter update this will be displayed on this feed, which updates on its own. This not only allows the band to see what people are saying about them, it allows fans to be able to see updates about the band and what other people think whenever they come on the bands homepage. I haven't seen this on any other bands website recently.

The right hand side of the page is used for promotion. There are many links to the official Staind merch store, their Facebook, MySpace and more. However, these are discrete and don't overpower the page with promotion. Other features of the page include links to videos that the band has uploaded and blog where posts from the band appear.

This website seems to hold some of the conventions that we would expect to see from a rock band, such as a black background as we scroll down, not too many bright/light colours and a very masculine typeface. I liked the fact it was only subtley promotional, I think it got the message across without being too in your face. I also liked the innovative use of the Twitter feed and Flash advert. Although this website doesn't tie in with their most recent album cover or adverts for the album, it has subtle links with it and comes across as a successful website.

R&B Music - Usher
www.UsherWorld.com

Much like Miley Cyrus' website, Usher's websites opening page was an advert for his two most recent albums. This gave me the impression that his website was going to be highly promotional. This page gives visitors click-through links to order Usher's 2 new albums and has his newest video playing to the left of the page. However, when I viewed this website the video wasn't working on any of my browsers. Usher's name is in a large metallic font that has a shine effect at the top, this kind of typeface has been used by Usher throughout his career and is featured on most of his album covers and adverts. At the bottom of the screen we see a link for an 'online social networking safety group' which I had not seen before on other websites, and also had text which showed who had copyright of the page (Usher's label).

After clicking through to the main homepage I noticed a consistency in the style of the website. The deep blue colour runs through the whole website and the typeface is exactly the same for the links and the adverts for the album. There are many links on the page, 18 in total, which range from links to Usher's online social networking sites to links to preview his album and so on. My earlier thoughts of this website being highly promotional were right, with links to his music for visitors to 'buy now', 'listen now' and 'watch now'. There is also an advert at the bottom right of the page for visitors to buy his album. Most surprisingly to me was the link at the bottom of the page for the movie 'Takers'. I hadn't seen an advert for anything other than the artist on any of the other websites I looked into, so this took me for surprise. This advert also holds the same colour scheme as the site does, so it blends in and isn't garishly obvious as an advert for a movie. However, as this advert can't be closed unlike normal pop-ups it does get rather annoying when trying to navigate around the home page.

This website, unlike the others, seems very clean and tidy. It seems well planned and everything has its place, all with matching colours and typefaces. The blue theme is also transferred into the picture of Usher at the top of the screen, which again makes everything look a lot more smooth.

On the left hand side of the screen we see a box labeled 'headlines'. This shows news updates for Usher, such as information on newly released singles, appearances, videos, etc. This is once again another form of promotion.

Down the middle of the page visitors are able to watch Usher's new videos, view official photos and purchase songs from a mini 'mp3 store'. This mini 'mp3 store' is something that I had not seen on other websites and though it was a very good idea on first view. However, looking into it more this is powered by Sony Music and not a well known online music store such as iTunes, which could make people apprehensive to buy from it. Also, I feel all this promotion on the page really weighs it down and out of all 3 websites I have looked at this has been the most difficult to look around as it is so slow to load. This shows me that although all the clean page set up, matching colours and logos, videos and pictures may look really good, but the way it slows the page down can be annoying to visitors and may make them want to go on a different website.

Looking around this website I feel like it was the best looking of them all. It gave Usher a really good image and the slick design was really pleasing to the eye. However, the amount of promotion and graphics that they have used really slows the page down and this is a real let down. This is something I really need to think about if I create a website for the artist I choose to use because as I have learnt through research: If you can't catch the visitors attention in 2 seconds, you've lost them. I would not stay on a website that was really slow to load and I doubt others would too.

Summary

Whilst researching these websites I have learnt a few things. I think if i decide to make a website for my artist I would want to tie it in with the CD cover I would make, so everything links in with the artist brand. I would like to make the website look really clean and have everything matching like Usher's was with professional looking graphics, however I realise I would need to be careful as this could slow the page down. I liked how Staind's website was very representative of their genre of music, which is something I would definitely try to do with my website. I also liked the simplicity of Miley Cyrus' website, and would try to keep my website as simple as possible to combat the problem of slow loading.

Websites Part 1

I will be researching websites in order to decide whether or not to make one for one of my 2 ancillary tasks. During my research, I have found that there are 6 points to creating an effective website:

1. Plan it out first: I must have a clear idea of what I am doing before I start, this can be done by drawing a site map. A site map includes what I will be including on each page and how I want the pages to look. This will reduce any changes that might need to be made, as any changes will create a knock on effect.

2. Think about your audience: I must decide what the purpose of the site is (e.g. to inform or entertain) and how I can attract a wide audience to it.

3. Test it out: I will enlist some friends to test my website out by asking them to do a task using the site and see if it works.

4. Navigation - clear and simple: All the links I create need to labelled properly and separate from the main body of the text so visitors know it is a link. This can be achieved by using a link bar at the top or side of the page.

5. Fonts (typefaces) and pictures: Most websites use familiar fonts as anything over than a basic font needs to be inserted as an image. I need to consider how many images compared to text I have on the page so I do not overload it with images, as this will affect how quickly the page loads.

6. Homepage: This is like the 'shop face' of the website and if I haven't got my audiences attention within 2 seconds they will not want to look at the rest of the website and click onto another site. I have to consider what the most important bits of information and put them on the homepage. I should also consider the amount of white space compared to visual clutter.

Web 2.0 - The next generation of the internet.

Web 2.0 is the World Wide Web being used as a platform for cheap and easy ways to share images, files, videos and experiences. The tools haven't changed, but there has been a shift in the way people use the web. For example, businesses are using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to advertise products and services. It is predicted that in the future design will be done by teams rather than individuals.

The new age of online blogging enables everyday people to spread the news by weblogs, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This has proven to be a powerful propaganda tool and shows how the way we seek and receive news is now changing because of the online revolution.

The way websites are made is rapidly changing as people are getting bored of seeing the same old thing. Websites that have been designed in light of this are Nike's website and Ebay. Nike have innovatively blurred the lines between a website and a TV commercial on their site, claiming they want the audience to 'experience' as well as purchasing the product. Ebay allows the user to customize their homepage according to what they want to fast access to.

Website Terms

- Cookies - These allow websites to remember your details so you don't have to re-enter them when you return.

- Tabs - These are the links as the top of the webpage.

-Really Simple Syndication (RSS) - If you are interested in a particular article this feature allows any related articles to be sent straight to you.

- Citizen Journalism - This refers to everyday people who are creating blogs, MySpace pages and Twitter updates and YouTube videos to spread the news. This is the future of the internet.

- Transferability - This means creating a corporate identity so that a website links to a CD cover and a magazine advert promoting the band and a music video.

- Roll-overs - These are pictures that change when your curser moves over them.

- Interactivity - This is when you allow users to actively participate in your webpage.

- Scrolling Marquee - This is text that moves across the page.

Branding

For an artist, creating a brand for themselves is very important. This is usually done by creating a logo or image that is associated with the artist and placing that image on their merchandise, becoming an instantly recognisable image for the artist.

However, this is not the only the only thing that makes up a brand. A brand can be a logo, an attitude or a look. A band who understood this very well was The Beatles with their unusual haircuts, Nairu jackets, Beatle boots and humor.

Nowadays, artists and bands tend to use all these aspects to create a band for themselves, from merchandise to their image. I will be researching how bands brand themselves through merchandise, where these products are sold, for what purpose are they designed, how do they work to establish a brand identity and how successful is the merchandise.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are a band that have a band logo which they put on most of their merchandise, including CD's, posters, badges and apparel. These are some of the items I found on the 'store' section of their website:

Red Hot Chili Peppers Merchandise

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These pieces of merchandise are designed with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' logo not only for fans to show their love for the band, but to also promote the band themselves. If a member of the public sees another person wearing one of these pieces of merchandise, they will remember the logo and possibly look up the band name, which could perhaps lead to gaining new fans.

The logo itself helps to establish a brand identity for the band because it becomes an instantly recognisable image for the band. Whenever a person sees the image, they will instantly know that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are associated with whatever the image is used on. This could be used to not only help the band gain new fans, but also gain any institution they are affiliated with more popularity, as a fan of the band would want to be a part of anything they are a part of.

I would say this merchandise is successful as the logo is recognisable, fans would want to buy this merchandise as it clearly shows people they are a fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers and it is recognisable as the bands logo, instead of just a random image or pattern.

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Another band's merchandise I will be researching is 30 Seconds To Mars. This band is slightly different in their approach to branding, as they do not have one set logo like Red Hot Chili Peppers. After touring the 'store' section on their website I found that they used many logos for their merchandise:

30 Seconds To Mars Merchandise

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Again, much like Red Hot Chili Peppers these pieces of merchandise are made not only for the fans, but also to help promote the band. However, I do not think that this bands use of branding is as effective. This is because they have so many different logos instead of just one main one which everyone can link the band with. This could lead to confusion among not only the fans but people who keep seeing these logos and think they are for different bands.

This could also be a plus for the band however, as their range of logos and images gives variety to the fans, seeing as they seem to change their logo each time a new album is released. This shows that the band is not just one set brand, but a brand that is forever changing and revamping their style and sound, keeping up with their growing fan base.

In my opinion, 30 Seconds To Mars' merchandise does give the buyer a range of merchandise to choose from with each piece being different from the next, however I do not believe this is successful for their brand. I think it would be better for a band to have a set logo that can be printed onto many different pieces of merchandise so that it is instantly recognisable as the bands logo, like Red Hot Chili Peppers. This is something that I will carefully consider when trying to make a brand for my artist, possibly by choosing a specific symbol to represent the band or choosing key house colours to use across all my promotional material.

CD Cover Designs

I will be researching 5 different CD cover designs in order to find out more about how an arist/band promotes themselves and their CD using the cover. This will also help me research how to put a CD cover together in case I choose to do that for one of my ancillary tasks.

As the album is the main thing that an artist is promoting it has follow certain conventions, such as creating a brand for the artist. This usually consists of relating the album cover to all different forms of promotion for that artist, such as using the same colours on the album that are used on the artist's website, posters, adverts, etc. The typography used should also be the same as what is used on those other forms of promotion, in order to create a brand for the artist. As the cover is the forefront of what the artist is selling, this (in theory) should tell the audience a bit about the artist, sometimes showing the artist's face, however this is not always the case.

I have chosen to analyse album covers for different genres of music, I believe this will give me broader knowledge of what CD covers are like across genres.

Adult Pop Music: Britney Spears - Circus





Teen Pop Music: Selena Gomez and the Scene - Kiss & Tell






Rap Music: Eminem - Recovery





Rock Music: The Used - In Love and Death




Pop Rock Music: 3OH!3 - Want

I noticed whilst analysing these that although aesthetically they may look different because of their different genres, most of these album covers hold the same conventions. They all seem to share the same typography and colours as they do with their other forms of promotion (websites, posters, TV adverts), so that is something I will think about when designing my CD cover. Two of the album covers I analysed do not have the artists on the front, so this again is something I will have to consider (whether or not to put my artist on the front cover).

Goodwin's theory - Close ups of artist/the notion of looking

• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work

• There is frequent reference to the notion of looking, and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

A good example of an artist who uses lots of close ups and has developed a motif that reoccurs across their work is Lady Gaga. In her video for 'Bad Romance' there are frequent close ups of her because she is a well known artist and her image sells. Motifs she has also developed are her unusual dance routines and (most notably) her unique style of clothing. Throughout the video there are frequent shots of choreographed dance routines in her usual style and numerous outfit changes, with each garment being very individual and different from the last. These motifs have made her videos instantly recognisable, and they have made her recognisable as an artist creating the Lady Gaga brand. In this video we also see evidence of 'the notion of looking' as she is directly looking into the camera as she lip syncs. This engages her with her audience and makes the video more personal, making the audience feel like she is directly looking at them.

Another artist who uses both these theories is Miley Cyrus. In her video for "Can't Be Tamed" there are extremely frequent close ups of her lip syncing to the song. This, again, is due to her being a brand, and close ups of her sell the video and the song. We also see 'the notion of looking' put into play, as she is constantly looking into the camera throughout the video which again engages with the audience and makes them feel like she is directly singing to them. Another interesting use of 'the notion of looking' is the fact that in the beginning she is seen as a rare bird in a cage with the audience staring at her, also some audience members are using binoculars to look at her which is another reference to 'the notion of looking'. The shots of her as a rare bird in a cage are a metaphor for how she is constantly watched upon by the media and the public eye, and her breaking away from the cage is a metaphor for her wanting to break free from the media spotlight.

Goodwin's theory - Relationship between lyrics/music and visuals

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

In class we were given a task to do to explore Goodwin's theory that there would be a relationship between lyrics and visuals. We were given a story boarding sheet and asked to listen to the song 'Here Goes The Fear' by Doves. We were then given the lyrics to the song and asked to storyboard what we thought the video would look like if we matched the lyrics to visuals. This is what I came up with in the short time we had:

We were then shown the actual video for the song and saw that although the video did not literally interpret the lyrics of the song (aka it did not amplify the lyrics), it subtley illustrated them using metaphorical imagery.

Doves - There Goes The Fear
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We see this when the man opens the door at 0:58 this represents the releasing of the fear, this also shows a relationship between music and visuals in this shot because just as the music gets loud the door springs open. This has shown me that lyrics do not have to literally be interpreted in the music video, and that there can just be subtle hints at them, making a music video that much more interesting.

Goodwin's Theories

Andrew Goodwin published a book in 1992 called "Dancing In The Distraction Factory" which explained his theories on music videos. In the book, he made 6 points which he thought every video encompassed:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. rock music videos are usually performance based, etc).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting).
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work.
5. There is frequent reference to the notion of looking, and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. There is often intertextual reference between films, TV programmes, and other music videos.

I have already researched Goodwin's 6th point in my previous post but will continue to research these points in order to help plan for my music video.