Having undertaken research in to professional webpages of current bands it is clear that a lot of it is minimalistic. I understand that famous musicians have developed and are perceived to be a product these days as opposed to a group. As a result fans no longer visit their websites to watch music videos but to be able to interact with them via social networking and blogging. Considering the prevalence of YouTube, iTunes and the inception of Twitter and Facebook, less interest is being given to official band websites and the functions it possesses. Gone are the in-depth interviews and biographies that used to frequent a musician's page. Fans can obtain the same information about a given band or song in 140 characters on Twitter and needn't switch from their mobile phone to a laptop, so there is little point in today's market to give the website much of an identity. Those tasked with maintaining a band's website probably appreciate the mass use of social media and spend less time designing specialised pages for the band as it simply wouldn't be worth it. Of course, they do retain some coherent themes still but they are generally simple, photo-based websites. The main criteria for a website nowadays is their compatibility across computers, mobile phones and tablets, so ensuring they are easy to navigate takes precedent over content.
Having considered what I had found I still felt that the accessibility of a band lies within their online content and want the Rough Cuts website to be used as a first port of call for interested fans. I will still utilise social networking and YouTube, but use them predominantly for our music and to provide snippets of information. As I want an emphasis on content, I developed a multi-page site that divided attention across 5 key areas: The band itself (home page), our latest song ('Hey Ya! vs Roses), a blog page, a photo gallery and tour dates. They are separated by links at the top of the home page taking you through to the other relevant pages, as you can see below:
The home page is a combination of fun photos of the band and easy to read text that explains who Rough Cuts are encourages users to 'explore' the rest of the website. The comic-style theme is clear with the colourful, cartoonised graphics that advertise 'Hey Ya! vs Roses!' and that continues throughout the ancillary products I've created. I recognised the importance of coherency throughout the project and have implemented this creative theme wherever possible.
The tour page is the next link following on from the home page and is deliberately basic. With this being a page that is likely to attract our band's main stream of revenue, I didn't want to overcomplicate it or make it difficult to read. The date banners are luminous as they are what the reader is supposed to note and I've designed the location strip to be black and white as it's efficient and effective. I didn't have the tools in order to create an actual page/link where fans could purchase tickets so I was unable to discuss sales in any way. As a result I just specifically highlighted the key information with colour and patterns.
The next page is laid out with three main text boxes. The two small boxes that flank the main section in the middle of the page talk about the two songs we're 'mashing up' for our video. They compliment the main body of text which explains why we've chosen the two songs and maintains the informal and humorous tone I've used throughout. I situated a speech bubble quote to strengthen the comic theme and I feel it serves to add more interest to the page. The bright colour scheme has been constructed to stand out and I've used a range of red, blue, green, yellow and black to epitomise this. A combination of shapes also appear to add a further dimension to the website and it, simplistically, it makes the page more aesthetic.
This is a standout lyrics page that allows interested fans to know the official words to the song. Some of the words are extended to imply emphasis when sung and the ones written in capital letters are to be sung louder than the others. I felt it was important to include this page because a problem that I have experienced in recent years is not knowing the official lyrics to songs that I like. There are many popular lyric websites online but they each contain different versions so I know as a fan that I'd like a definitive guide that I could refer to. Obviously the overwhelmingly popular way of buying music is downloading it from iTunes and because it's done digitally there is no accompanying lyric sheet - like there would be in a CD or digipak. With this in mind I have included a lyrics page inside my digipak.
My understanding and appreciation of web 2.0 dictated the need for a personal blog on the website. It is designed to initiate a greater relationship between ourselves and our fans by giving them a further insight in to 'the good, the bad and the funny' things that go on behind-the-scenes in the band. In the blog posts I submit, like the Radio Podcast entry above, I set out to create a friendly atmosphere and give the impression that a relationship exists between me and those who are reading it. The basis of similar relationships in reality is that the fan lives vicariously through the things the musicians do and with this in mind I dedicate a lot of time to explain what we do off-camera. A lot of what we did when creating the video and radio podcast was laugh as we really enjoyed it, so that was something I wanted to translate. The illusion we have created as a band is one of good humour so I reflect that with a banter-like style of writing and I think it helps to leave the fans wanting to read more.
The continued theme of humour prevails with the tags underneath each photo on this gallery page and it ties in perfectly with the blog page. It's a visual aid as it puts images to the words I've written in regards to what goes on behind-the-scenes. The structure to this page presents each photo with good clarity but the option is available at the top for users to view the shots in a slideshow form - which may be ideal for smaller screens like mobiles.
The comic-strip theme is successful in portraying the band as adventurous but relatable modern day musicians and although it is childish in style I believe our demographic will appreciate the irony of it. It's bold, bright and eye-catching, without appearing complex and difficult to read. Navigation is basic but effective to help its compatibility across all platforms and there are no obvious flaws in its layout. There isn't masses of written text because I don't wish to put any users off from exploring the website but where there is it's laid out spaciously to deceive everyone in to thinking there is very little of it.
I will obtain feedback from our demographic very shortly in order to present their views on it. I'll be intrigued to discover if they think it is as user-friendly and versatile as I believe it to be.
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