During Simon's session about web design we were presented will 3 questions. One of these questions was 'Who are my target audience?' After some primary research into the industry I have found that it is the most important step to understand who the target audience is.
To get a better idea of who my target audience are I created a mind map of possible options.
The first I thought about were London Commuters. The current Transport for London website is quite boring and dull but it does the job perfectly. If I were to propose a re-design of this site I am not sure how much I would be able to alter to make it as easy to use as the current version. London Underground has so many passengers everyday and they all use the TFL website to check on the lines and buy tickets so I would have to be very careful that I stuck to the original template and did not change much. As the TFL website acts as an eccomerse website it would be difficult for me to produce as I do not have the skills to do so.
A second option I had was Tourists. As London is the capital city of England and also boasts some of the most famous landmarks and attractions tourists are always visiting. With this in mind I thought about creating a site which gave the tourists a more simplified look at the tube and routes to get to the big attractions which everyone wants to see. I love the tube map but I do not think it works for tourists. If attractions were marked on the map I think it would make the experience of the tube so much easier for people who maybe do not speak the language. Though the tube map is primarily used by commuters it might not get a good reception because they do not necessarily want to have the map overcrowded with information about sites. This is a tricky option because it would lend itself to being a printed document as it would be easier to keep handy by tourists but it would also be very good as a web based document which is available in other countries.
Another option would be historians or researchers, due to the sheer amount of history behind the tube it would be really great to design an archive with all the information in one place. I know that when I was researching the tube I had to look on many different websites to find all of the information. I am all about making it easy for the user to get information because that is how I want to get information, having all of the information on one site, clearly labelled and organised would be appreciated very much I think. There is the problem that it is quite a niche market and would maybe not be received by many people.
Another option which I could explore would be people who have an interest in information graphics and maps. There are many people who appreciate maps and information graphics who, I'm sure would like to find out more about who the map was designed by and the evolution/development which has taken place over the 150 years of the tube. A problem with this idea would be that it would be nicer to have a site full of different information graphics rather than simply being about the one map. I could design a site based on all of the metro systems in the world (or a few) and this could be very interesting for users.
People who admire London from afar because they might not be able to afford to visit might appreciate a site about London but focussing on the tube map specifically. People in other countries may be set a project based on the tube and could find it very helpful to have the information all in one place. The problem with this is I don't feel it is a strong enough target audience. I want to create something which wows the audience and I don't think this will.
I have thought about creating a website which will not be used. The Olympic games were held in London last year and I think a website about the tube and routes to the stadium would have been really helpful. Though I think the idea would be great I have to think about what the website will achieve now? There is no point creating a website based on a past event as it is not needed.
The tube map is one of the best pieces of graphic design ever created and I think graphic designers would love to learn more about it and maybe take some influence from it. I could create a site specifically for graphic designers. With this I could use specialist jargon and really analyse the map from a designers perspective. I think this would help me and my personal practice whilst also helping out other people.
After looking at all of the possible audiences I could have for my site I think it comes down to two options; People interested in information graphics or Graphic Designers. I weighed up the pro's and con's of each target audience and here are my findings.
Graphic Designers
Pro's & Con's
Information Graphics
Pro's & Con's
I also drew out a quick mind map of my thoughts about both audiences.
I think that the Graphic Designers audience would be best suited for me. This would help me with my personal practice as well as helping other designers to learn about the design and aspects which went together to create it.
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