Multimedia blog

Multimedia websites are sites which use a combination of image, text, video, sound, animation and photos in order to communicate a brand and information to an audience. 

Multimedia websites are now very common. The availability of large bandwidth internet connections allow for varied streaming content. The internet has come so far since its early days, where connection speeds were so slow in the late 1990's and early 2000's when the promise of the web far outstripped what the web could do. Design for the web has altered dramatically during the years since then and bandwidth has increased as well as a revolutions in the functionality of mobile phones and the high data connections of 3/4/5G available in many places. Businesses can now use text, photos, video, sound, info graphics and long scrolling pages containing huge amounts of information. The company can be reasonably confident that the majority of users are able to access it. 

Not only has the experience of using websites altered on the computer but mobile phone use for accessing web based information has become the norm. Now it is a world where people view websites on a mobile first of all or even only there. Previously it was important to make a website compatible with a mobile but now it is vital as it is the predominant form of access. Contemporary web businesses have to embrace creating websites which will work across multiple platforms including mobile, tablet, TV and computers providing rich content experiences.

The Guardian

A website I frequently access is the Guardian website, which I look at it predominantly on my phone both at home on broadband and when away from home, using data connections. The website has very clear branding and distinctive use of typography. It is highly recognisable as a brand and it is consistently linked to the branding of the printed newspaper. 

The Guardian home page contains key current major headlines at the top with sub-headlines and links to articles from each thumbnail of news. Unusually for the web, the online newspaper uses a serif font for the body text, headings and logo. There are images and also videos with sound, as well as a live news feed that appears across most pages. The purpose is to convey the latest important news stories but also to draw you in to exploring the website and move between different stories. There is a strong political learning, especially in the call to arms text which appears at the end of each article seeking you to subscribe and pulling at our feelings and heart. It communicates that what you are passionate about is under threat and that newspaper will help to fight to keep things safe and hold politicians to account. It is a highly emotive message aimed at drawing you into subscribing and making us feel that we would help to preserve the news organisation that upholds our values, if we do. 

Each section on the home page is organised into topics which are colour coded as well, this helps to to inform people about which subject they are looking at and once moving away from the home page the colour coding continues to help connect visually where you are. The website has six headings with subheadings beneath as seen in the picture below.  

The powerful images chosen to grab people's attention are placed near the top of the home page as part of the topical headlines and trending news, using larger fonts for headlines and smaller headings as you scroll down the page for emphasis. On the home page stories are presented in bite sized chunks which lead onto full pages or articles. Once in a sub-page there are further links to related stories and reminders of the main news. The stories create an emotional impact and engagement with the website. It is clear and easy to navigate with high quality articles and this helps to lead to repeated visits. Ultimately the news organisation wants you to subscribe and potentially also have a subscription of their printed newspaper. At the end of each article there is a call to action is to get as many subscribed paid up readers as possible, they want you to keep coming back as mentioned above.

BBC

The BBC news website is organised visually in a geometric grid format with photos and headlines that link through to other pages to read more, like with the Guardian. The website has a far broader range of content though, including video, podcast/sound recordings and magazine style articles and links to BBC Sounds and BBC iplayer. Like the Guardian it uses colour coding for themed sections and also uses small icons related to each section for the top navigation. The text used throughout is a sans serif font and weights and sizes of titles go up in size to reflect the importance or priority of the article on the home page. 

There is consistency of branding across the BBC. There are far more videos and sound stories accessible here than the Guardian, to be expected from a multi media entertainment organisation. The videos range across many  different topics, from the topical hard news stories, to lighter highlights like the Lego Lake District depiction. 

There are also links out of the news website to the BBC player and BBC sounds as seen here so people can feed into other areas of the organisation to consume content.

The purpose of using such a wide range of media is to provide a service and to gain loyalty of users who will return again and again for further information from what is frequently seen as a trusted organisation. They are providing free information, entertainment and news which fulfils their organisational objective and gives a service to users for the license fee that people pay.

The Sussex Wildlife Trust

The Sussex Wildlife Trust predominantly uses text, images and videos in the website. There are  videos about animals and habitats, interactive quizzes, articles with photographs and campaigns to save habitats. The video section shows a selection of examples of video material but then leads you out of the website to YouTube to view more material made by the Trust.

The purpose of the site is to share information with potential visitors to the local nature reserves and also as a call to action about political issues that threaten nature. The website successfully celebrates the organisation's achievements, it engages with new members, works to retain old members and is seeking new members and funds for their work.  

The use of multimedia provides a wide range of information in different formats that is engaging and motivating for users. It can make people who are already engaged feel proud to be part of the Trust but also help entice people to join who are interested and motivated or shocked by the topics presented. There is a good balance of good news and bad news stories which will help keep people engaged and prevent them from being overwhelmed or loosing hope. There is a strong sense of hope and celebration of the successful work they do alongside the more distressing stories. There is a strong element of environmental education present as. It is aimed  adults and children and the videos about animals are especially engaging for children as are the in person events. The website also encourages people to engage with and visit the nature reserves by providing information about specific areas and enticing photography and text. 

In summary, the expectations of users now is to have a rich media experience when visiting a website, to be drawn back or to buy from the organisation a lot needs to be offered at a consistently high quality.