Website analysis

Website Research

As part of our research into making our website, we decided it would be a good idea to have a look at existing websites and see what they offer as ways of promoting the artist, and furthering his/her image.

This is the website for Swedish artists Royksopp, who fit in with the genre of our artist Fever Ray.

The band is represented by a signature logo, which is quite creative, placed cleverly in the top left corner of the page, where it is bound to gain the viewers immediate attention. This is placed alongside an image of the band in a forest dressed in an unexpected fashion. This blends in with the genre of the artist, which is electronic and uses a variety of strange beats and synths in the music, as it is unpredictable and quirky. The colours on the site are surprisingly quite bland, which challenges the conventions of the genre, maybe to show the artists focus on the music rather than on having a "celebrity" image. The fonts and layou used is rather bland, and doesnt seem to appeal to the eye too much, which further emphasises the previous point.

There is clear indication of music technology on the website, as it offers to stream the music from the bands latest album directly from the site, which will help to allow people who come on the site to test the music before they buy the album. The style of the written work on the site is in a blog format similar to this, and is quite chatty and conversational, creating a personal link with the artists which is rare. The audience is targeted by showing them various interactive parts on the website (streaming music and hyperlinks) which make them feel involved with the artist. The advertisements fit in well, as they are advertising the bands own products, which is never a bad thing. 

Robyn

(In the short period between writing the evaluation of the site, and the publishing of the blog, the site went under construction. When this period ends, an updated image will be uploaded.)

Immediately after seeing the homepage of this site, you can tell it will be highly interactive for the user, and this grabs interest straight away. There is a large picture of the artist being used as the sites background, and also a Signature title in the top left corner which has a strange curvature to it, which fits in with the conventions of the electronic genre. The general feel of the site itself is one which looks quite mysterious and also quite quirky. There are some quite predominant basic black and white colours throughout, but this is also intertwined with flashes of colour on her clothing etc.

There is definate evidence of technology on the site, links to streaming music, and the use of widget like applications showing social networking feeds. Furthermore, this links in with the genres conventions as there is a significant amount of technology in the music which the artist produces. The written content is in the form of a blog, in which the artist also tries to create a semi-personal bond with her consumers by allowing them a window into her life.

Basshunter

The next artists website we looked at was Swedish dance artist Basshunter. His page is much more colourful and vibrant compared to the two previous ones, yet it seems to not have been updated for quite some time. There is a blue/purple background which appears to be shooting out at the viewer, and gains interest immediately. The website does seem to have a more amateurish look to it, and less effort has been put into the fonts and the composition. We would have to watch out for making similar mistakes in our own website.

The actual content of the website contains less technological integration than both previous sites, and just seems to be videos from Youtube, rather than actual full videos.  The content appears to not have been updated for several months, and this doesn't seem to connect as much with the audience as previous websites did. It continues the theme of blog style aspects on the site, and looks incredibly similar to the Google Blogger site we are using for our blog.

The Knife

 

The Knife are a separate band from our artist, but also feature her in their ranks. Their website contains the conventional bold colours we have seen throughout, this time a solid, blood red colour. There is a conceptual pattern to the background. The logo for the site is very basic and maybe hints that, similar to royksopp, that the artists are mainly focused on the musical side of their work. This website is generally only in a single colour, which does lack the sort of appeal that previous sites had.

Again, the site is in a variant of the blog format, and the layout of the page seems to be a little lopsided, which is quite an eyesore. The written content on the site is quite informative, and tries to advertise the band, and also to persuade the viewer to buy tickets/merchandise.

Calvin Harris

The final artist that we decided to look at was Calvin Harris, as he has a similar style to our artist. He is more of a mainstream artist than Fever Ray, and his website shows this. There are bold colours throughout, and the entire thing has a polished look about it. There is Calvins signature Jazzy glasses picture at the top of the page, which immediatly allows you to recognise the artist. The fonts are clear and pronounced which fits well into the genre.

The content on the site is in a blog format, and there is some technological integration with the video player, and also there is the standard link to all of Calvins social networking sites. There is minimal advertisemant on the site, only the promotion of the artists most recent album.

Dean Thomas