Assets

Assets can be used around a website to make it more fun and enjoyable for the user. Different assets that can be used are:

Sound: Sounds can be used in different areas and for different purposes. You could have sounds automatically playing in the background when the user opens the websites or even certain sound effects when the user clicks on a button for example. This is up to your preference and doesn’t always have to be used. Personally, I don’t like too much sound when browsing on a website as it can sometimes become irritating but in some circumstances it can make the website more fun and interactive with the user.

Text: More or less, the majority of all websites include some text. Text is an important asset as it is one of the easiest ways to interact and give information to the user. However, I believe there is a limit to how much text should be used. For example, I wouldn’t use pages of text as the user may be put off the large amount of text and may not read it, therefore I would make sure that a correct amount of text is used.

Video: Videos are a very good alternative to text or to even include as well as text as this gives the user a different method to take in information. Users may find videos more appealing and enjoyable to lots of text as they can watch and listen to the video rather than reading through lots of text, which may become boring. Personally, I like to see websites that use a good balance between text and videos as this gives the user a choice and can also make it more enjoyable.

Vector Graphics: A good example of a vector graphic that can be used on a website is the logo. Usually vector graphics are created using certain software such as Adobe Photoshop. Vector graphics are made up of using points, lines, curves and shapes. One of the main advantages of using vector graphics is that that are scalable without pixelating. This is very important, as you don’t want to insert graphics that are pixelated as this comes across as un-professional and may put off the user.

Animations: Animations can be included in a lot of places around the website such as an animated logo or banner or even a short animation when first opening the page. Animations can be created using software such as Adobe Flash and then easily put onto the website as a plugin. Having some animation on a webpage will add excitement and make it livelier for the audience.

Images: Lastly, images are important to include in a webpage in order to make it more interesting. Especially if you intent to include some text in the webpage, it is nice to refer to an image that is related to the text. It is also important to have a good optical balance (equal balance between text and images) on your website as it looks professional and also separates the text.