Lauren Kopp's Design Document

Purpose:

The purpose of this website will be for people in the Columbia, MO community who have dogs that need to be boarded or groomed. My goal is to be able to provide a website for Kopper Kennels that is both informational and intriguing for my clients. By going to the website, my clients will be able to see many helpful points including what is offered at the facility, the pricing, and the location. There were many times when my family would take a vacation and not know what to do with the dogs. Thankfully, doggy daycare/boarding facilities are more popular than ever before. Because most people consider their pets to be a part of their family, they want to make sure that they are sending them to a proper facility. What better way to research the facility than to hop on the web and find the website? Having a website for Kopper Kennels will not only make running the facility a lot smoother, but it will also provide a detailed description of what Kopper Kennels has to offer for everyone's furry friend.

Audience:

The target audience for this website will be people who are in need of a facility that pampers their pooches from head to toe! The age range is between 20-60. More and more college-aged students are bringing their pup to school so my age range starts at 20 years of age. I have an equal auidence of male and female. Most people would live around the Columbia, MO area because of the location of the facility. The audience will range between a full-time student and a typical 40+ hours a week working adult.

Needs Assessment:

I interviewed two 50+ aged family members and two full-time college student friends who have dogs of their own. All four live in Columbia, MO. Both Jeanette and Joy live in their own family house whereas Kara and Stevie live in apartments. All four like to go to Mizzou games and travel on their free time. Jeanette, Joy, and Kara all have basic computer knowledge whereas Stevie has the most being a Graphic Design major.

Questions Asked To The Audience:

What information would be most helpful to include on the website?

  1. Jeanette: A section that lists what is offered at the facility.
  2. Joy: A breakdown of the prices for each activity that is offered including grooming prices.
  3. Kara: Photos of the animals inside the facility enjoying different activities provided.
  4. Stevie: Testimonials from previous customers.

What colors would you like/not like to see?

  1. Jeanette: Do not mix dark red and blue. This will collide with Petsmart and Petco. A light blue would be good because it feels inviting.
  2. Joy: A warm blue background tone with grey. Bright pinks/purples are a no go.
  3. Kara: Nature colors such as brown, red, blue and yellow. It will look as if the dogs are going to an actual campsite.
  4. Stevie: Blue and yellow. Bright and alive.

What do you not want to see on the website?

  1. Jeanette: Links to other sites to buy things from.
  2. Joy: A long "About Us" story - keep it short and to the point.
  3. Kara: A lot of tabs up top. Less than 5 would look best.
  4. Stevie: Multiple photos of the same dogs. Mix it up to show a lot of breeds.

How long should it take you to find out how much a puppy bath costs? Clicks and seconds?

  1. Jeanette: No more than 3 clicks and 20 seconds.
  2. Joy: No more than 2 clicks and 25 seconds.
  3. Kara: Less than 30 seconds and 3 clicks.
  4. Stevie: No more than 3 clicks and 30 seconds.

Should the contact information be on a tab and on the bottom of the homepage?

  1. Jeanette: I like the idea. Some people scroll to the bottom any way.
  2. Joy: If the contact information is clearly stated, there is no need for it on the bottom.
  3. Kara: No. The tab should have all the information that is just one click away.
  4. Stevie: No. People know what to click to find that information.

Five Reference Websites:

These five examples are of good and/or bad artifacts that I am considering for my final design. Each example helped me decide on content, color, navigation, and layout:

  1. The Watering Bowl how simple, flowing colors that I love! It doesn't crowd the website with bright colors that don't match. This is what I will use for the color scheme.
  2. Doggy Day Care Cornwall is easy to navigate for new clients. I like having the tabs up top for easy access. This is how I will prepare the navigation.
  3. Petco had my mind in a billion places. In my opinion, there are too many links to click on. Granted this website is for a very large well-known company. Because I'm looking for a clean, simple layout I am going to avoid this layout.
  4. No Leash Needed has the perfect amount of content. On the homepage the viewer is able to see everything they need without having to look around a million links. This is what I will use for my content style.
  5. Lastly, Dogtopia has a very clean look. I love the simplicity of the website. Not over done, but not under done. This is what I will use for a simple layout.

Content:

Based on the responses from my interviews and research on other websites, I have chosen to include the following content areas:

  1. Home - Press link for homepage.
  2. About Us - Including the Mission Statement, History, Testimonials, and Discover Columbia.
  3. Services - Including Daycare, Boarding, and Spa with prices in each section.
  4. Photo Gallery - Including pictures from various furry friends.
  5. Contact Us - Including Location, Hours, and Employment.

Presentation/Outline and Rationale of Website Organization:

The following shows the outline of the propsed pages and content of Kopper Kennels. Each of the main tabs will be located on the top below the logo. This organization provides my clients with a clean, simple look that is easy to navigate because of the table always located on the top of the pages with all of the main information. Each page will have the same layout, bold titles with information on bottom providing the same consistancy throughout the website. Again, I want everything to flow so I plan on keeping things simple yet to the point.

Media:

I will create a simple logo on the top of the page with Kopper running horizontal and Kennels directly under the K in Kopper running vertically. To the left of Kennels and bottom of Kopper will be a cartoon photo of a husky. This photo is taken from 123rf.com which credit will be givin. All of the other images used will be taken by myself to ensure there will be no copyright issues. These images will provide a glimps of what the facility and services are like for the clients. It is a good way to show the facility to people who are thinking of becoming new clients. I intend to include this statement below each image, "Photo courtesy of Lauren Kopp." I will also include a footer statement such as "All images used on this website are original. Any futher use of these images is prohibited without permission from the photographer."

Color Scheme And Rationale:

I had so much fun testing out the different HTML Color Codes!! (Pay no attention to the pink background. I needed another color to show the white I intend on using). I plan on using three main colors for my website - light blue, grey, black, and white. Most of the websites I looked at for examples had a lot of multiple colors that were too distracting. The background will be white, the border with links will be blue, and the tabs will be white with black letters. The logo will be in black text with a husky and two dog paws in black. All text will be black on every page. I believe this color scheme will be easy on the eyes and inviting. Examples of my colors that I plan to use for my website include:

Light Blue
Dark Blue
Grey
Black
White

Wireframe(.docx)

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