Westlife were an Irish pop band
signed by Simon Cowell and managed by Louis Walsh. After almost 15 years of
creating music together the band decided to go their own ways in 2012 and for
many Westlife fans their official web page is a reminder of the pop groups hard
work and great music.
The use of Photographs
There is only one dominant photograph
on this site of the band ‘Westlife’. The photograph takes up most of the space
on top of the site and really catches your attention when the site is opened.
Then on the right hand side of the site going down is three photographs of the
bands latest album and upcoming album. People often take photos of real events
to capture a moment to remember forever but the composers of this site have
constructed a photo of the group looking away from the camera where it brings a
somewhat ‘seriousness’ to the site. According to Wysocki “[p]hotographs are
often used to bring an sense of immediacy and “reality” to a layout…” (Wysocki
2004, pg 133). The three album photographs on the right hand side is not that
all eye catching, it does not jump out and tell a story because the size is
smaller than the dominant photograph. Not only is it smaller in size but there
is not much happening in the photograph for the reader to be interested in or
being invited to enjoy the site, it is like the composers have just put up the
photographs in a rush as long as there is something on the site for the readers
to see. “People rarely read Web pages word by word; instead they scan the
page…”
The use of Color
The first color that catches your
attention is the sky blue at the very top of the site that fades into what you
would think, is black but if looked at very closely is a darker tone of a deep
blue color. The fonts for the links are also a sky blue color and the main
heading ‘Westlife’ is in the color white. Also, when the mouse icon hovers over
the fonts for the links it changes from the color sky blue to the color white
indicating the reader to let them know they are about to click that link.
Immediately after scanning the main homepage of this site, you realize that the
composers “…want to give the appearance of being serious [due] to [the] use of
muted colors and a limited number.” (Wysocki 2004, pg 132). The composers have
also used these colors to somewhat tell the audience about ‘Westlife’ and their
attitude towards their music. For example, the use of the color blue is a color
of trust and peace, as well as honesty and loyalty
Links to other areas of Website
Underneath the heading ‘Westlife’
and the photograph of the band, there is 10 links (not including the ‘Home’
link) that the composers have created for the readers. One link is a biography
of the group, where the group members talk about how they became ‘Westlife’ and
what it meant for them. They deeply express how the journey as a band has
molded them into the artists they are today. This is a good link because I
think it gives the reader a better understanding about the band, they are able
to read about their journey and probably most readers will relate to them in a
way because of a “…life experience they have encountered and can say “Yes, I
know that feeling”” (Seekers, 2002) .
Another link
is a link to the ‘Gallery’, a page all about the band but this time there is no
words, just photographs. When you click on this link the page loads to the
official photos of the band, and there are thumbnails of the photographs, on
the right hand side is a box with a heading that reads ‘Image Galleries’ and
underneath it has 8 links to 8 different photograph galleries where the
composers have given the fans opportunity to upload their favourite photos of
the band. There is also at the bottom of the page a comment box that the reader
can write comments about a album and/or photo that they like or disliked, this
is good because the composers “…create a sense of…invitation…and comfortable
confidence.” (Wysocki 2004, pg 155) for the reader to participate together with
other fans/readers of this website. There is also a link that is all about
Westlife and their music videos. On this page it has many of the songs and
music videos the band has created throughout their journey as a group, on the
right hand side is a scroll bar of all the music videos thumbnails and on the
left hand side is the large version of the video ready to play. Again, this is
a good way to invite the reader and give them “…more, larger and smoother video
to watch and analyze on screen…” (Wysocki 2004, pg 136), they can sing-a-long
with the video or simply just admire the song and its meaning
Another link
is a link to the ‘Gallery’, a page all about the band but this time there is no
words, just photographs. When you click on this link the page loads to the
official photos of the band, and there are thumbnails of the photographs, on
the right hand side is a box with a heading that reads ‘Image Galleries’ and
underneath it has 8 links to 8 different photograph galleries where the
composers have given the fans opportunity to upload their favourite photos of
the band. There is also at the bottom of the page a comment box that the reader
can write comments about a album and/or photo that they like or disliked, this
is good because the composers “…create a sense of…invitation…and comfortable
confidence.” (Wysocki 2004, pg 155) for the reader to participate together with
other fans/readers of this website. There is also a link that is all about
Westlife and their music videos. On this page it has many of the songs and
music videos the band has created throughout their journey as a group, on the
right hand side is a scroll bar of all the music videos thumbnails and on the
left hand side is the large version of the video ready to play. Again, this is
a good way to invite the reader and give them “…more, larger and smoother video
to watch and analyze on screen…” (Wysocki 2004, pg 136), they can sing-a-long
with the video or simply just admire the song and its meaning
The Overall Effect
Overall the site is simple. The
colors used do not “…look playful…” (Wysocki 2004, pg 132) but come across somewhat
serious and portrays the maturity of the band. The “…visual presentation of
[the] page…gives you an immediate sense of its genre.” (Wysocki 2004, pg 123) which
creates the intention that this site is for a mature audience rather than for
children. But in saying that, the site does fail to catch the readers’
attention, the home page does not use many colors or different kinds of images
that is eye catching and draws the reader in. However, the name ‘Westlife’ is
what matters for most readers of this site, because of their music and legacy
many would see pass the creativeness of the site and would just want to know
about the next Westlife concert and/or tour.
Bibliography
Nielson, J.
(2007). Research on how users read on the web and how authors should write
their web pages. Retrieved October 15, 2012, from Writing for the Web:
http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/
Seekers, D. (2002). The Color Of Communication. How We
See, Read And Understand Colors , 132-134.
Wysocki, A. F. (2004). The Multiple Media of Texts: How
Onscreen and Paper Texts Incorporate Words, Images, and Other Media. In P. P.
Charles Bazerman (Ed.), What Writing Does and How It Does It (pp.
122-151). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates , Inc.
Wysocki, A. F. (2004). The Multiple Media of Texts: How
Onscreen and Paper Texts Incorporate Wors, Images and Other Media. In P. P.
Charles Bazerman (Ed.), What Writing Does And How It Does It (pp.
153-162). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
