Research: Appeal to Teens

I am not sure whether visiting sites targeting at teenagers was the best idea, since usually such styles are based on personal preferences and likings therefore it may not always be very accurate. As a teenager myself I still basically am attracted to cartoons. :| Bahaha.

TEENHEALTH

Contradicting (fuzzymonster)Yun Yu's post, in fact I found this site to be rather pastel coloured, more soothing to view, and with less rollovers. But this is an interactivity design project afterall....

VIWAWA.COM
I am assuming this site was built to target at teenagers, and honestly so far I think they have been rather successful because my friends are actually psycho-ing me to get an account there too.
Allows user to create their avatar and dress up, vote & compete for the best looking, graphic wise, errr... if that's supposed to appeal then I guess so... but props to them because they have animated banners.
Killing two birds with one stone~ Using this as a reference/research for frontpages, they have signin, Top gamers, announcements (can use to boast), and further links to the games, community which will require login on click.

Research on sites targeted at teenagers:

-Lotsa random things, and things made to look like stickers pasted on the website.

-Bold bright colours are often used

-A combination of funky fonts

-Cute lil borders

-Words with stroke

-Most graphics used are usually silhoutted

-Opaque graphics used together with the background works well too !

Social networking websites.

Flickr

This is flickr's login page.
i've listed out the basic features, like login is at the side, showing what they offer and also, flickr's login page has an introduction to user, "Take a Tour". It shows user how the whole thing works and what it offers.
I think its a good point!



Friendster

I think this login page is very well organised.



Playahead

This is a social networking site for Swedish teenagers.
I liked its design, the way they organise their information.
It makes browsing easier, however i felt that the font size could be bigger.
=D



Also take a look at
-Profileheaven, which is targeted at British teens.
-Woophy, travel & photography, photo sharing website.
I loved the site, its simplicity in design and the way information is sorted and shown. Cool~

Research: Frontpage

WALLOP.COM

Then it came to my mind, it would be good to allow user have a peek of what to expect, like how inside might look like.

Oh actually diaryland has it. See it.
DIARYLAND.COM

I find it fair enough, the way the info displayed(except for the repetition), and that I would have preferred the login page to be on the site itself without having to navigate further into another page.
Why sign up? Take sneak peek! Sweet. :)

TAMATOWN.COM
In case you can't be bothered to click in, here's the screenshot of the site where you choose what login.


So here is the perfect example of what I've been trying to show!


Background can be seen so user know what they will log in into, have a rough idea at least.
Username, password. And a HELP button. Honestly, all that talk about design being intuitional...
we have to think of it technically too, don't we?

Research: Shopping Sites

Okay so after much painful research for online shopping.

THREADLESS.COM

Here are what I feel are the mandatory features of online shopping sites.
Title of product, Navigation to other categories, username/cart/logout, about the design. A previous/next in catalog would be good, although I feel it's fine without it, usually I'd just rather get back to the main one to click on the ones I'm interested in.

Nothing much here. AUCTIONS.YAHOO.COM

Perhaps ending bids. but oh, I don't need it for mine.

EBAY.COM (oops I forgot to attach my worthless watermark :/ )

It's very complex database and I'd most likely become suicidal trying to come up with such a wordy auction site like that, but what I found useful were the breadcrumbs, number of bids, last bid, price(haha), related searches.

Ok, still at ebay: This is what you get when you decide on what you want to buy.

This page is cool. I think picture enlarge/more pictures, credibility, FAQ (top right of page) are not bad, though not the most important.
I don't think end time is necessary for my project.

So to summarize the features that might be useful to apply, the most important ones are the ones that prove their point like, saying skyscrapers are actually tall buildings. For example, the title, about product, sign in, cart, manage trade, previous offer/bids, navigation, categories, and a search engine would aid efficiency when browsing for items. Adding HELP is a good thing, because imbeciles never run out of stock.

I -heartbreak- Scripting

I need a login and register page, cannot find tutorial to teach me, I am so lost. :(

Here's what I gathered so far. Combine them and that will be what I need.
Login & Register <- Very nice, but I want password Username & Password
But what is this site/password combi?

I need to be able to register on the site itself, not already made then just login.

Now I'm looking at this tutorial by this parker guy, hope he saves me.
Random quotes
Captions
This is the background panning I use currently, but I want the one from this.

And this avatar making is not bad.

Nice login

guestbook PHP

sound control

To reinforce our ideas, here are some research.

1.Human Brain Loves Surprises
Most people love surprises. Scientists at Emory University and Baylor College of Medicine may have discovered why some people actually crave the unexpected.

The brain finds unexpected pleasures more rewarding than expected ones, and it may have little to do with what people say they like. It responds more to unexpectedness.
Therefore, its like our "Gachapon" idea, people get to turn the knob for an unexpected gachapon. This gives them a surprise, and proberbly they would want to play more with it. Making it addictive!
Surprises makes people feel happy in a way too.



2. Happiness Comes Cheap
A bar of chocolate, a long soak in the bath, a snooze in the middle of the afternoon, a leisurely stroll in the park. These are the things that make us the most happy, according to new research from The University of Nottingham.

Its the simple things in life that truely makes people feel happy. Modern-day pressures take their toll on everyday happiness. As a result we try to make ourselves feel better and happier through personal rewards and treats. We’ve all heard the saying ‘a little bit of what you fancy does you good’, and treating yourself is the ideal way to keep spirits lifted when you’re down in the dumps.(acording to Dr Tunney )
It appears that spending time relaxing is the secret to a happy life.
Our main concepts targets on this.

Content -From the Book

In a house:
Bedroom:

The cool underside of a pillow

Paper aeroplane flying

Sharp pencils

Good hair day

Funny mirrors

Breakfast in bed

Unexpected phone call

Cookie Monster on Sesame Street (TV)

Watching the washing machine as it goes into spin cycle

Watching your weight go down

Listening to your favourite music on radio

Old class photos

Hugging a teddy

Sunlight streaming through the window

Unexpectingly finding some money in your pocket

Foody stuff (Kitchen):

Munching on marshmallows

Making words with alphabet macaroni

Bendy straws

Sunny side up eggs

Sugar cones

Late night cookies

Hot soup

In a park:

Frolicking in the fountain

Morning dew

Flying a kite

Butterflies

Lollipops

the smell of rain

Swinging on the swing

Bunch of ducks swimming in water

Watching stars

Bunnies wunnies

Bright cheery colours

Blooming flowers

Fat free ice cream

Old loving couple

Tree house

Beach:

Walk on the beach

Sunsets

Water balloons

Sales rack

Riding around town on roller skates

Beach ball

Sandcastles

Dolphins

Striped canvas chair

Sugary lemonade

Good weather

Picking seashells

Watching children have fun

Uhh, how?

When you're in love

Someone who says you're beautiful :)

Receiving gifts from someone you love

Consoling a friend

The thought of something positive

Good children on a plane

Passing a test

Echoes in a underpass

Christmas music

Watching the night lights come on

Lockets

Painting a dream

Research

Ooh nice sites!

Here you can choose your own character and name it.
It even has the map zooming thing, and pans as a transition.

http://www.minuit.co.nz/

AND THIS!!!!!:D:D:D yep yep this is very similar to what I talked about!:D the clickable icons in the house!:D

http://www.farmrio.com.br/

Research

I find this site very cool -> Good Things Should Never End
There was alot of effort made in the scripting, there are many mini-games.
- Chat with bot
- Guess word
- Draw graffiti
- Message board
- Create music
- Multiplying monsters on click
- Random character animations

I am amused by the guessing word game, familar game yet different interface.
1. Hint
2. Score
3. Can only type alphabets given
4. Can see upcoming question

The scripts were all very original (I think), users are unable to scroll to the bottom, because according to their tagline, good things should never end. However it's very annoying that the scrollbar is so long and users can never get to the bottom because it scrolls so slowly.