LaVertis Newsome - CMS3710
Website Analysis
Theme
Themes have the power to communicate effectively to the user, deeper than a literal message (Curtis 21). Themes set the overall style, look, and feel of a website. Determining the theme of a product, company, or brand is one of the most important steps in designing a website. Themes should reflect the purpose of a site and the design should reflect that of the theme. Just as movies have theme songs to reflect the movie, website's should have themes that flow throughout the site. They also help convey the message of a site and the style should be consistent throughout. “Every product has a theme, every company, every brand” (Curtis 41). I am Second uses color, videos, and graphics to communicate its theme of love, unity, harmony, and unselfishness. The color communicates the themes of love, friendship, truth, goodwill, emotional healing, peace and hope. The videos in the site communicate directly the theme of love, unselfishness, emotional healing and life; this is achieved through the characters use of words. Every detail of the site including visuals, and motion is linked to the theme; “without communicating a theme, designs will simply be pretty pictures… a bouquet of roses with no note attached” (Curtis 41).
Audience
Knowing exactly who you are communicating to is the first step in website design. Analyzing the audience is important when designing a website; you must know who you are communicating to. The more you know and understand about the audience, the better you can effectively communicate your message or theme. “Before anything else, we have to know who our audience is and what they want” (Curtis 76). I am Second targets religious organizations to communicate their message of strength to the world. This site promotes God as the source of life and strength. This faith based organization share stories of loneliness, eating disorders, and drug abuse to encourage those suffering and to educate those not affected. I am Second targets a diverse group of people from all walks of life to communicate their message of hope to the world, they use actors, musicians, football players, business leaders and everyday people testimonials to provide insight on the struggles of life.
LaVertis Newsome
Clayton State University - CMS 3710
Updated: 29 April 2010