critical discourse ba hons graphic design, southampton institute, 1999 initial report

This is the preliminary report I wrote to summarise the form my Dissertation (or Critical Discourse as it is now known) will take. It is my basic ideas and plan of how I will carry out this project but it may, and probably will, be altered before the final piece is finished.

1. introduction

For my Critical Discourse I have chosen to look at web design. I chose this area because it is an subject of great interest to me for a future career. Although the internet has become a huge part of modern life I feel that because it is still developing and becoming more accessible to everyone it will be an extremely interesting subject to investigate. From personal experience I have had to take into consideration how to design and a present a web page and discover some of the necessary features to be able to communicate to a large, global audience and I am interested in studying this in much greater detail and on a professional level.

To present the Critical Discourse I have the option of writing a dissertation, a case study, a report, a catalogue raisonné or a combined theory / practice project. I feel that a dissertation is the most appropriate option for me, which is submitted in an essay format and structured into chapters each dealing with a different aspect of the topic, because I will be looking at different areas within the same topic to draw a conclusion and continuing my research along the same theme throughout.

2. question

A study into the design of business web sites and the advantages and disadvantages for businesses being on the Internet specifically looking at online supermarkets.

To be able to investigate such a large issue as web design I have chosen several similar businesses to look at in more detail. I decided to choose one particular area of business and as online shopping is such a growing trend I have chosen to study the large supermarket chain Sainsbury's and also some smaller grocery businesses that have adopted this approach to promote their business such as Putney food Co-Op in Vermont, USA.

Sainsbury's scheme involves participants visiting the store with a shopping consultant who helps them develop a personal shopping catalogue of all the things they are ever likely to buy. With that catalogue, which is created by scanning in the products bar codes, customers then send their orders via the internet along with any special instructions. A Sainsbury's 'surrogate shopper' picks and packs the goods for storage and the customer then visits the store at a pre-arranged time to collect the goods.

The smaller 'grocery stores' are generally operating in a different way. Rather than using the internet to let customers order, they are using a web site as another form of advertising to increase peoples awareness of their business and informing the customers and potential customers of what the store has to offer.

3. rationale

What I'm hoping to find from this Critical Discourse is an understanding of how a company such as these goes about obtaining and maintaining a web site and what design and features such as typography and imagery can enhance it and make it profitable. I want to find out from a designers point of view what kind of specifications are used and how these are applied for the purposes required. I want to investigate from a businesses perspective, what the advantages are of having a web site and also from a customers point of view what does 'online shopping' offer?

4. summary of chapters

4.1 Contents
4.2 List of Illustrations
4.3 List of Tables

4.4 Chapter 1 - Introduction

This will be a brief look into the short history of the internet discussing how web design came about and how it affects the world today. I will then be introducing the general area of my Critical Discourse and why I want to investigate this. I will also talk about what methodologies I will be undertaking in order to reach a conclusion.

4.5 Chapter 2 - The Companies

In this chapter I will be introducing the companies that I will be investigating. I will be looking at Sainsbury's as a business and then looking at how and why they have decided to go online.

I will go on to study the smaller Co-op web sites, contacting the designers and contacting the owners to gain an insight into the success of their web presence.

4.6 Chapter 3 - Features and design etiquette for a business web site

In this chapter I will be discussing the features and techniques of designing a web site and finding out how these are used in relation to the specific area of business. These will include:

4.6.1 - Graphics
4.6.2 - Forms - for sales, transactions and feedback on the site
4.6.3 - Language - for a global audience
4.6.4 - Counters/stats - for keeping track of traffic to the site
4.6.5 - Security

4.7 Chapter 4 - The Potential Customer

As with all businesses the customers and clients are the reason for the company's survival and so the web sites are another way of trying to attract further custom. In this chapter I will be looking at the sites from the customers point of view to discover what they want and how they respond to the idea of online shopping.

4.7.1 - What does Online Shopping Offer?

Here I will be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet for shopping.

4.7.2 - What do Users and Potential Users think?

4.8 Chapter 5 - Comparisons in order to draw conclusions

This chapter will be where I can use the information I have found to compare the sites and strategies of the companies I have been studying in previous chapters.

4.8.1 - Sales Figures

Here I will hopefully be able to compare the sales figures of each company from before and after they went online. Although other factors will have to be taken into account, this will be able to give me an idea of how much having a web site has affected those sales.

4.8.2 - Size of Companies

I'll also be able to look at the differences and similarities between small and large companies on the 'net.

4.9 Conclusion

4.10 References

4.11 Appendices

5. research plan

Most of my information will be found from secondary research in the form of:

  • Books
  • Newspapers
  • Videos
  • Internet sites
  • Internet magazines
  • CD-ROM
  • Inter-library loans
  • Bibliographies

I will do some primary research by talking to people at the supermarkets, getting in touch via the web sites and also by talking to users and potential users of this kind of site to get their opinions. The best way to do this will be in the form of questionnaires sent to members of the public via postal and e-mail methods to find out what their preferences would be and what aspects would entice them to use that site. I'm going to try and get in touch with each site designer via the acknowledgements and links on each site to find out what specifications were used to create a site that would appeal to all potential customers and persuade them to use that site.

I will begin my primary research at the beginning of the summer in order to allow time for responses and replies and my secondary research will continue throughout.

So far I have found quite a few articles on the CD-ROM from the newspapers online, although they are now quite out of date. Most of them were reporting on how major supermarkets, mainly Sainsbury's and Tesco had and were planning to expand their internet shopping resources. Without access to these over the summer I will be continually searching media sites on the Internet to follow any current news and articles on the topic.

I will also try to find and compare sales figures for the stores before and after they went online to see if there is any indication as to how having a web site has or has not benefited them.

Because of the nature of the internet there are always going to be drawbacks to having a web site such as security issues and technical implications. From a design point of view I will investigate methods of reducing these problems.

From the research I have done so far I've found several books in the Southampton Institute library and the Southampton City library, some of which are about how a company can successfully use the internet to their advantage not only by producing a site but also about how to maintain it and secure the information. The others are more about the actual design of the web page with information on all the aspects of designing a web site.

A quote from Internet business magazine states that 'A lot of web pages forget that they are in the business of communication. A fancy logo, stunning graphics and the address and telephone number of the company sales office does not make a web presence. All that it does is irritate any potential customer, and all net surfers who have come to the site are potential customers. Not many surfers will return to a site that has forced them to wait while large graphics files download and then rewards them with a dead end.'

There is no general formula for all sites though. Different web characteristics have different design implications. Having a web site means you're not only targeting your current customers but also the millions of people on the 'net who have never been to your shop in 'reality'. This gives more scope for different cultures but web designers must be aware that this will change the approach they have to take in terms of language, icons and graphics.

This preliminary research touches on the issues that I want to investigate more thoroughly in my Critical Discourse and hopefully the conclusions I arrive at will be of use to me in the future.

6. problems

I think the main problems I'm going to face are that because the 'net is relatively new, there aren't going to be as many books on the subject as there would be for something more established but the books I have found so far have been full of useful information and I think that it is growing rapidly because the internet itself is growing so rapidly. One advantage of the topic I am undertaking is that there are a lot of 'book' sites on the 'net which will help me locate sources of information available. I've also been looking into public library web sites and have found that there are quite a few so along with inter-library loans I think I will be able to find the books I need.

The other main problems are that while there is a lot of information on the 'net itself, it isn't always a reliable source. Because it is so freely available, anyone can put information on the 'net and it's going to be very much based on opinion rather than fact.

Also I think that because the web is constantly evolving, what I find now may not necessarily still stand in 6 months time, and also by the time I've reached certain conclusions further information will no doubt have become available that may alter my opinions. I'll have to take all of this into account during the project and look at any such information objectively.




 
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