PHOTOGRAPHY: WEBSITE RESEARCH

https://oliviaarthur.com/

The layout of this website is very simplistic as it uses a black font on a white
background which makes the text easy to read. The text is also in a sans-serif
font which looks very modern and is featured on the left side of the website as
part of the navigation bar. Although the font is small, the white background
helps identify where the font is therefore making this website easy to navigate
and to explore all of Olivia Arthur’s work. Her photographs are displayed as
soon as we go on to the website which at first, looks like there is not many to
display however the further we scroll down, the more photographs are revealed
to us with the use of a reveal transition which makes the website look very
professional. Furthermore, the different pages in the navigation bar allow us to
look at more photographs by Olivia Arthur as they are sectioned into the series’
she has completed implying her website is extremely organised.

On the bottom left side of the website, in a light grey font, there is a section
titled “Information” which leads us to a small description about Olivia Arthur.
The description includes where she is from, what her work focuses on, national
and international successes she has achieved within her career and photography
communities she is part of. This gives people an understanding of her
photography background which could act as context behind some of her images.
The fact the section “Information” is placed lower than many of the other pages
in the navigation bar suggests that her work outweighs the importance of her
photography background. This notion is further emphasised as the titles of her
previous work is in black whereas “Information” and “Instagram” is in a grey
font, showcasing importance and the pride she takes in her work.

One thing I like about the website is when you click on a page that is a part of
the navigation bar, for example “Otay”, you view the photographs as a
slideshow which you can use the arrows to navigate if you want to go forwards
or backwards which is not only very simple and easy to navigate but it also
makes an audience feel that they are watching a story unfold. Moreover, you
can also zoom in on the photographs as when you move your cursor on to the
images, it changes into a magnifying glass which allows you to take a closer
look at the images if you are particularly impressed with them. However, to
improve I feel that a small description of each image could be included and act
as a caption, especially if it is hard to identify what is being shown in the image.
Also, the year the images was taken could be included as this acts as a crucial
way to identify what context may have influenced the image. Another thing that
could improve the website is if it was clear who is writing the information for
the website. For example, when you click “Fishbar” it states that it is a
“publisher and space for photography in East London founded by Philipp
Ebeling and myself” which demonstrates that Olivia has wrote this herself due
to the pronoun “myself” however, when exploring the “Information” page it is
wrote in third person through the use of “she” pronouns therefore, this is very
confusing for the audience as they don’t understand if this website is personal or
not therefore restricting synthetic personalisation.

From looking at Olivia Arthur’s website, I like the idea of showcasing my

photographs in a slideshow format as I think it looks very modern and acts as if
the audience are watching events/a story unfold, creating audience interaction. I
also like the simplicity of the website, through the use of black text on a white
background as it is not too distracting for the audience due to the fact you want
their focus to be drawn on your images. Lastly, the layout of the navigation bar,
I believe is very successful as she has prioritised her work over information
about her as she understands that her audience reach out to her website for her
photographs.

Olivia Arthur promotes herself through the “Information” page as is states that
not only that she is a successful photographer as her work has been exhibited
internationally but also, she is the co-founder of Fishbar, a publisher and space
for photography in London. By including some of her successful achievements
within her career, this attracts clients as they feel she is trustworthy and is good
at her job. On the same page, she includes different ways to contact her through
promoting her email address and telephone number for clients to reach out,
further connoting her professionalism. Her work is promoted on the homepage
as the further you scroll down, the more work you see from her and you are able
to click on a photograph and discover which series it is a part of. You can also
identify her many different works in the navigation bar as the titles of her series’
have their own individual page.