INCREASE ASSOCIATION WEB DESIGN PROPOSAL BY MADSQUARED
Objectives
To design a new website for Increase Association, one that is informative and intuitive. The new design should allow for good user experience and allow people to know more about Increase Association, what they stand for, what they do and the impact of their projects. The new website will retain most of the current content in a more organized and easily accessible manner.
Concept: Once Upon a Time
Stories are how we connect and understand each other. They’re how we remember information and build meaning. Stories are also engaging. As people, we seem to be hardwired to love stories. We pay attention and get involved and share them with others. This means that stories are a very powerful way to get a message across. And if you can tell a story with words, or pictures or sounds.....
Why can’t MADSquared tell one with your website?
There are a few components that almost every good story has. By incorporating these things into web design, we can build very compelling websites
To start with, every good story has….
01
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A Beginning
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Stories set the scene. What kind of world is this? What sort of story will it be? On a website, this comes down to communicating your brand. First impressions count and visitors need to know upfront what kind of company or individual you are.
02
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Chronology
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Time is the organizing principle which is most familiar to us. First this happened. Then that. And finally, this. Its the way (most) stories are told — and it turns out to be the easiest way to get information across and have it be remembered.
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Conflict
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Every story has a conflict — a problem or question that needs to be resolved. This serves the same function on a website that it does in a story: a hook that draws your audience in. Conflict creates anticipation and uncertainty and we automatically become engaged in the act of problem-solving.
04
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Indirect Characterization
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The best stories use indirect characterization. Basically, this means showing instead of telling.
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A stunning picture, quote, or statement helps audiences feel like a conclusion that we’ve arrived at ourselves, not something others have told us. It’s become an emotion. Something we just know to be true.
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Resolution
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To some extent, every story provides resolution. An answer to the question that was initially raised. The moment of resolution is what gives focus and clarity to story. Everything is leading towards a single goal — the resolution of this conflict. On a website, building towards a resolution gives you a strong, consistent theme. And it provides a very satisfying moment for your audience — like scratching an itch, or getting the answer to a really good riddle.
Website Storytelling Principle
Design 1
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Clean design focuses on the precise positioning of the importance of the elements throughout the layout. Every detail and graphic has its place – a place for everything and everything in its place. Cleanliness in design comes in many forms: crisp typography, uncluttered layout, unified color choices, strong imagery, visual hierarchy, and the careful use of white/open space.
