Week 4 - My Business

Okay, I choose a business I would like to create - paper modeling or papercraft.  I have created many models that I have poured hours and hours, some over 100, into to get them to be what I want.  There are better modelers than me and worse.  Yet, I add many extra touches to mine that many do not.  I like to add depth and dimension to them that the original plans did not include.  

So, this will be a serious niche market.   Like hand crafted jewelry but smaller, maybe.   I  have been modeling for about 4 years now and there is a huge following.  I would say hundreds of thousands at least.  However, they tend to be nerdish, loners, intelligent, young, perfectionists, male and lower incomes.  This presents a problem in that to make it profitable - probably not.  This will probably be extra income, but that is ok with me.  Reason?  I plan to ask from 100 to 300 for each piece, which will be outrageous to most, but for the one that really wants it.  I believe they are out there!  The only other problem is letting go of my treasures, but, I can build it again and again and improve each time!

There are hundreds of blogs and sites with model plans each with forums that I can get into.  The forums are a niche of social media in my opinion.  And I can reach them through searches and popular social media sites.

For your reference, this is a site with some fair to good models so you get the idea.  I have my own on Facebook, but lest you have an account there you cannot see them...

Here is one of my own...

Week 3 - Part 2 - My Two Favorite Sites Examined

Blog Post: Add the url of two websites you use or visit frequently.

Discuss: 

1. Why are they effective? 
2. What specific principles of good design do they include and why?
3. What makes you come back again?
4. What could be improved?

My first choice and enjoyed the most is Amazon.com

First, they are effective mostly due to their service and prices.  That is why I go there.  As far as the site development, it is a little cluttered, but just on the brink.  I like that it opens with a larger central graphic/offer.  It is easy to find information from the top and left listings.  Along the bottom are more offers, but they are not cut off at the bottom, you don’t have to scroll to see more, but it is like, it makes you want to scroll to see what’s there.  The only improvement I would like to see is a bit more color, I have a thing for too much white, perhaps just slightly different hues to highlight different menus/sections of the pages.

Next would be Ebay

Ebay has moved to a kind of pinterest look.  Like post it notes all down the page.  They have some different menu sections down the left side of page that I really didn’t notice till I looked around the page.  These I think need the same thing Amazon does for their various menus; borders of some kind or slightly different hues but the all-white, kind of looks cluttered.  I would also put a divider bar between where the post it notes starts and the two graphical sections above them.  A problem I see is that I like compartments.  Easily identifiable sections of the page I can go to for what I know I want.  The page has a flow to it granted, but it only works for me slightly…

Site Reviews

I thought it might be fun to compare two car sites,

See what they do differently…

M

y first site: http://www.toyota.com/

The first problem is my first impression – boring.  I think it needs some background.  Not just the strip of scenery with the vehicle, but a bordering background of stunning outdoor places the vehicle can get you to.

Next is minor but could be and actually is annoying to me, the location is incorrect, the zip code at the top.  I know they can trace your location, why is it wrong?  I want them to cater to me…

Next, the “What’s Happening at Toyota” line is not very visible, it looks out of place.  If it were me I would spice up that text and make it a link and delete everything below. Why? The columns and the media below it looks like long dangling tentacles = not very appealing.  Breaks the rule of too long…

It is also very white.   Really needs some color!  It’s blinding! Must turn away, it hurts us!

 

N

ext site was the ford site http://www.ford.com/

Much better, but not enough...  Again, there is a lot of white bordering, but there is a larger graphic in the center.  And, the only scrolling is to the fine print.

Next, there is something on this site that I see/don’t see on others.  “Contact Us” The ford site has it the bottom in fine print.  Some sites you have to really search for it!  I think it should be big and bold and on the first page easily identifiable.  That says, ‘Hey! We really want to talk to you!’

The only other thing I see is that the Ford logo is really not very big.  Translate to shyness for me.  Get it up there large and strong!

 Okay, after viewing all of them, looks like apple is the winner. I like it.  The logo is big and the first thing you see.  That says pride to me.  It is simple, yet you can find much information in a few clicks.

They have a bar along the top and they have their main item just below and larger… 

I really like that they have a bar on the far right or the bottom that has little circles that tell you where you are on the page and you can click a circle and go right to the spot you want.  I would probably make the screen tip permanent text. 

Some pages are vertical in scrolling some horizontal.  I like that too, make it interesting.

Still, the “contact us”' issue…  But overall, love the site.

Branding.  Doesn’t do much for me.  I have had brand name products fail just as often as generic ones.  Okay, well, maybe the really cheap generic are not in the same category but many “name” brands are the ones that make the generics and sell them to the stores as such…  It’s true!   So, nope, I prefer to check out everything and get the best deal as I see it…

Gotta say in closing that the first three sites were way too busy, way too much stuff on them, overwhelming! Yikes!

The chicken site was looooooong…  Whew!  However, if I were going to use it for instructions on doing something, as it looks like they attempted, it might work.  A bit of text mods, increasing size and format, move some graphics around, provide links to things that don’t pertain directly to the immediate content…  Might work…