Research for Hill St. Belfast Brand Representation Project
Similar location brand representation sites
Looking at similar site designs to decipher what they proposed and in turn what I will propose
Cathedral Quarter Belfast
I created a general content audit (below) for the Cathedral Quarter Belfast site to give me an idea of the framework and content expected for my Hill St. brand site. I choose this site for the content audit as opposed to the Titanic Quarter or Visit Belfast site, as this was the least content-heavy to work through on a tight deadline. I liked that the site offered a lot of local business support like workshops and even things like graffiti removal. It shows that the brand has really done their research into the needs of the businesses that in turn look after the tourists/locals.
This will be important when writing the proposal as I need to convey that I am the best person for the job, and I understand the design problem that needs to be solved. I can do this via research and coming across solutions the client may not have thought of when it comes to serving their target audience.
History and heritage –
The site covers the history of the cathedral quarter as well as the staff on the trust, news blogs in the local area as well as upcoming events. There is a section of past and present which is a nice intro to the Cathedral quarter, however, I feel they could’ve gone a bit deeper with information especially if you have users like research coming to the site for historical information. The information they have provided is more general information for tourists. Perhaps a visual timeline could have been presented instead. The future section is a nice touch, keeping people informed of upcoming changes and challenges.
Culture –
Takes name from St. Anne’s Cathedral at the centre of the quarter and has an annual visual and performing arts festival. ‘ The idea of regenerating the oldest part of the city as a cultural quarter, with its significant history and unique architectural heritage, had been around for decades. The home of the Belfast School of Art from the 1960s, the 1970s onwards saw champions for the area from the arts, community, business, and government sectors formulate plans to help the area realise its potential. It was not until 1997, however, that the then Laganside Corporation formally established the Cathedral Quarter, with the magnificent St Anne’s Cathedral at its heart.In the intervening years, CQ has undergone enormous change and has been subject to the many shifting economic, societal, and political tides that have continued to shape Belfast, not least the announcement of Ulster University’s plans to relocate its Jordanstown campus to the area. The Cathedral Quarter of 2019 is a very different place from that of 1997 and is poised for even bigger changes in the next few years with the arrival of the new Ulster University campus, major capital developments, and the ever-increasing popularity of the area as a cultural, leisure and tourism destination.’
https://cathedralquarterbelfast.com/the-cathedral-quarter-past-and-present/
Businesses –
There is a directory of every business (209) within the cathedral quarter that links to their site, and a filter by category option which meets the needs of the users. There is equally as much information for business as tourists, satisfying the needs of two audiences at once. I will need to take this into consideration for my own proposal, to ensure the client is satisfied my proposal meets their needs.
Tourism-
Community-
As well as various social media presences outlined below, the CQ also has a newsletter subscription service. Features in visitbelfast.com which is a huge affiliate link
https://www.facebook.com/CQBelfast/community/ https://twitter.com/destinationcq
https://www.instagram.com/cqbelfast/ https://linktr.ee/cqbelfast
Titanic quarter
History and heritage-
Used to be a neglected wasteland part of the city and part of the Harland and Wolfe shipyard- pre-2012 and is now one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island. Over 90million to build and centred around the construction of one of the worlds most famous ship – the Titanic (launched in 1911). Also built various other ships in which fact files can be found on the website along with downloadable education resources.
Culture –
A former Harland and Wolfe shipyard and 75 acres of reclaimed land that has since been erected into one of Europe’s biggest waterfront developments. Based on the fact that it used to be a world centre for maritime trade.
https://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/titanic-quarter
https://titanicquarter.com/work/working/
Businesses-
Has film studio, apartments, education centre and film studio. Parts of Game of Thrones were filmed there. Science park, Catalyst Inc. affiliated with queens/ulster university. Hosts Public Records for N.I. (P.R.O.N.I), Belfast M.E.T College, Belfast Harbour Marina, Premier Inn as well as Titanic Hotel Belfast. Over 100 national and international companies within the quarter. There are a Spar, Subway, Dock ship Café, SSE Arena, Odyssey Pavilion, offices and ‘Europe’s fastest direct fibre optic link to North America’.
Community-
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Community of students/teachers that benefit from the downloadable educational resources, features prominently on visitbelfast.com which is a huge affiliate link
https://www.facebook.com/TitanicBelfast/ https://twitter.com/TitanicBelfast https://www.instagram.com/titanicbelfast/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xFeRGXbwPK2XX6nbprdpA
Tourism –
‘…visited by more than two million people from 145 countries, and the huge set of the world’s most successful television series, Game of Thrones, filmed in a former shipyard paint hall’
Hill St. Belfast
History and heritage –
Neighbours of the Cathedral Quarter both sites could cross-promote. A street that runs from Waring to Talbot street, it is one of the few remaining cobbled streets in Belfast. In a 1957 map, it was shown as an entry running off Waring street, named Pott House lane because of a pottery shop along the street. Now it’s bustling with businesses, galleries, shops, office space and bars. Home to the Black Box which is a listed building originally from the 185o’s and is now ‘one of the principal arts and entertainment venues in the city’. The building also is host to the iconic wall art ‘The Duel of Belfast’ which is black and white, painted for the Cathedral Quarter festival in 2012. Also, home to various street art in which can be viewed on a virtual street tour on the visit Belfast page. The street art alone offers massive content prospects for blog articles. The Dirty Onion is Belfast’s oldest building and dates back to the 1780s, a must-feature on the website and possibly the brand.
https://www.blackboxbelfast.com/history/
Culture/ Tourism –
Part of the heritage trails of Belfast. Centred around history, food, drink and live music and events. The black Box is also home to the annual Queer arts festival during Pride Belfast which is a huge attraction for Hill St. every year. The streets bars and restaurants feature heavily on VisitBelfast.com which is a huge affiliate link and have part of a walking trail of wall art through the city such as ‘The Duel of Belfast’. The Merchant Hotel is just off the end of the street and is a well-known luxury 5 start Hotel (should be featured on the site to attract tourists and will be a high-profile business relationship). Part of the music Heritage trail (led through cobbled streets by a musician through bars experiencing music types). St. Patricks Day festival/celebrations is a big tourist attraction for the street. Nominated for Google Street in 2011 award except there has been a mix up with Google maps that declared hill street as Henry street.
Businesses within Hill Street-
https://suite.endole.co.uk/explorer/postcode/bt1-2la
- 44 Hill Street (Restaurant named after the street)
- Hill Street Brassiere Restaurant ( one of the city’s best known restaurants)
- Northern Ireland School Of Modelling(Unit 4, 18 Hill Street)
- Merchant Hotel Limited
- 3 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LA
- Outburst ARTS Festival
- 18-22 1st Floor, 18-22 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LA
- Dreamlab Limited
- 8-22 Hill Street, Belfast, BT1 2LA
- Ba Soba Noodle Bar(Chinese restaurant at 38 Hill Street)
- Edwards & Co(Solicitor at 28 Hill Street)
- Crawford Sedgwick & Co(Accountant at 38 Hill Street)
- M T F(Accountant at 38-42 Hill Street)
- Caffe Italia(Cafe at 36 Hill Street)
- Northern Ireland Federation Of Housing Associations(Housing association at 38-42 Hill Street)
- Living Space(52 Hill Street)
- Workshop (NI) Ltd(52 Hill Street)
- The Pott House Bar & Grill(Bar at 1 Hill Street)
- Environment and heritage service Hill Street, Belfast, BT1.
- Jones & Co Solicitors, Belfast
- The Potthouse, 1 Hill Street
- A V Browne Ltd 41-43 Hill St
- Edwards & Co. Solicitors 28 Hill St
- Crawford Sedgwick & Co 38 Hill St
- IN2 Engineering 5-23 Hill St
- Keoghs
- County, 18 Hill Street Belfast
- Lacey Solicitors
- 3rd Floor, 18-22, Hill St
- Cathedral Quarter Law
- Potthouse, 4 Potthouse, Hill St
- Murgitroyd
- Potthouse, The, 1 Hill St
Community –
Has or has the potential to be linked to every business website and social media within the street. Featured on Visit Belfast. Should have a Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, possibly a TikTok because of the music/bar scene and the younger audience it attracts.
It was announced last May that Hill Street was to be pedestrianised, meaning fewer vehicles also a climate change initiative (hasn’t really been implemented ), newsworthy article/blog. Still being trialled.
https://www.facebook.com/blackboxbelfast?fref=ts&rf=445225375535738
Resources
A complete list of UX deliverables to consider for a proposal
How to create a customer journey map- https://youtu.be/mSxpVRo3BLg
Wireframing – https://youtu.be/8-vTd7GRk-w
Conclusion –
This may seem like a lot of research but if you can understand the problem better than your competitors this will give you an edge within your proposal. It may allow you to propose your own additions to the project that the client may not have thought of and result in you showcasing that you are indeed the best person for the job. My research has allowed me to see that the website can also be a stream of revenue for the client, so I will outline this in my proposal as a unique selling point. This will affect the cost and timescale for the project which will need to be justified within the document.
Talk by Ronan Mc Kinless
During this week we had the pleasure of a talk by Ronan, who had many years in the industry. I found this talk really insightful and I think one of the first speakers, apart from our lecturers, to go through the difference in UI/UX. This was noteworthy because as a speaker he didn’t assume that everyone was on the same page or had the same career path goals. This opening piece of information meant that going forward, we as the audience were informed as there is quite often contradicting information on what is/isn’t UI/UX. He described the difference between the two as UI being aesthetics of interface and problem for designers. User Interface is concerned with brand guidelines, colour palette and typography. However, the grey area arises for example when a UI is changed from light to dark (easier t see), this has changed how the user interacts with it (UX). The two often overlap. UX entails wireframing and positioning of UI’s to ensure the best experience for the user based on research. It is concerned with the WHY of why components look like they do – their purpose. This led to the famous quote ‘form follows function’ which was originally associated with architecture and how the shape of a building should primarily be related to its purpose. Ronan stated form is function and regardless of being in UI/UX, developers will be the people that make function happen, so we need to be able to communicate/understand people in all sectors of the industry.
Being able to articulate thoughts to a client and maintain relationships are skills that will be at the core of our future in the industry. For example, if I were to get a job through a contact, especially freelance, if that person were to leave it is essential to maintain the relationship with the company or person that replaces them. simply put, networking and maintaining that network leads to work, if people don’t know who you are how can they give you the job. Ronan talked over the advantages and disadvantages of progressing to a large or small company. He advised if you have a niche a small agency might be suitable. Here there will be an opportunity to learn more with tight-knit relationships and gain more experience in one area. Large companies will offer a variety of designers around you to learn from. A larger brand means turnaround will be a lot quicker and in turn, more experience in a variety of areas will arise.
As a designer, Ronan stated we will need the ability to sell design and pitch to the client ( during placement if you can, ask to come along to pitches). Whether we were in the house or not, full or part-time, he offered the advice to have interests away from design to spark ideas. I thought this was great advice because often my best ideas have come when away from my laptop – on walks or travelling or talking with a friend. He left with the quote ‘ perfect is the enemy of the good’ – meaning that always striving for perfection can set you up to reach impossible goals. This is one thing I struggle with as a designer, nothing is ever ‘perfect’ or finished to me, and with a lot of creative people, this is an issue. The point of the quote was to not let this stop us from submitting work or applying for a job or opportunity, if we waited until everything was ‘perfect’ nothing would ever get done.