Initially with this brief, due to companies sharp awareness of impressions made from designs of interfaces, main websites and apps work very well and are easy to navigate and direct. Finding issues with any was hard at first, and was based off aesthetics and style rather than actually being hard to use.
Then inspiration struck when hearing friends complaining about Discogs marketplace, the biggest international online vinyl marketplace. After exploring myself its issues, it was realized quickly that its searching was not as efficient as it should be with searches not being consistently best matched and there is that much text and clunk on the interface, it is daunting for first time users to get their heads round. Furthermore when delving in to asking vinyl buyers about if they use Discogs in class and outside a local music venue, I realised that people thought the interface was offputting and some preferred the novelty of going in to a record store due to the excitement and anticipation of finding a hidden gem.
Therefore, my research went in to combining the excitement and experience of a record store with a more direct, clear, enlarged interface which cuts out the too much 'diluted' information. The problem was that their is a very large vinyl community internationally, and many would be offput by the dull clunky interface of Discogs. I wanted to recreate the marketplace in to its own, celebrating the universal vibrant exciting clutter of record stores making it the focus of the new interface, simplifying the existing interface and also the record store. My second idea of a vinyl shuffler was also incorporated however to please both audiences.
Finding inspiration was not too hard for this interface, as programs such as Spotify and Itunes are clearly succesful using the tiling of album artworks which is an attractive feature. On my interface, being able to personalise with purchase history what comes up as recommended, reflects the users personality and taste, like a vinyl collection does according to a record store worker I spoke to for research.
I took the strengths of the timeless record store that is coming back massively, enlarged artwork recognizable without a title for passionate music lovers, the thick sharpie written type, and the ability to shuffle and not know which record is behind. In combination, following guidelines of web design that is most universal, which justifies my use of Helvetica and the simple interface design, with the focus of the artwork which will always be universally loved by the audience. This is why the artwork is the focus. To minimize clutter, the artwork titles only come up on hover.
Problems I had with this project were knowing what to incorporate, also considering my target audience is so vast with no particular age group. I had to consider all the persona's I created, and the best way to do this was base features off legibility and record store features. As vinyl buyers of Discogs, I have discovered, are a very high trust tight knit community, I feel having a clearer understanding and navigation of the website would be extremely beneficial and would push Discogs marketplace further with this type of interface. My final interface of a sidebar was chosen opposed to standard sandwich layout, as it is an alternative way which shows more of the tiled artworks off which are the main draw of attention. A constant search bar also allows quick efficiency for businesses, as does the notifications pop up for wishlists.
A limitation of being a screen interface as a website is that web connectivity could be limited for some people, and also the shuffler is only partially the same experience as choosing a vinyl in a record store.
An issue with my presentation of my website interface is the fact I have not animated, as I felt very underconfident with After Effects workshops and XD can't be downloaded on to a Windows PC which I have created my interface on over the holidays. This kind of presenting,I would need a lot of my own time to practice as it doesn't come to me naturally. Ideally, this would be done, but however, I feel the way I have ordered and added hover cursors, it is easy to follow and understand the use and navigation of the website which is one of my aims, for an initial problem being the overload of text on the original site!
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