CMS

Work to be done:

+ Allows new designs to be added to the site

+ New user playlist details sent here so they are ready to compile

+ Add new songs to the database

*Coded in PHP*

Mixtape Designer

Work to be done:

+ Adds design to playlist assigned to users account

+ 2 stages (custom) - tape colour and sleeve design

+ Pre-designed sleeves to be sorted into tape theme (ie love)

+ Details to be emailed or sent to CMS for me to compile

+ Visuals to be completed

+ Allow user to upload images from their computer or flickr

Components of the site

1. Mixtape designer (drag and drop)

2. Add words to the mixtape

3. Add gift voucher to the mixtape

5. Shopping cart

6. CMS back end to add new content to the site

Members Area

I do not want the user to be put off by the fact they have to sign up to the website to make their mixtape, so I plan to keep the information they need as simple as possible.

8tracks.com requires a user to sign up to use the website but they ask for only a username, email address and password to join. Once a user has entered their username, email and password they have direct access to their profile page and there is no need to confirm the account.

I plan to use something as simple as this login as I do not want this to be a barrier for the user. The reason behind creating an account is to store the playlist so that a user can come back and add/remove songs and take time over the order of their playlist.

Functional Requirements

After a discussion with lecturer James Field, a decision has been made on the functional requirements for the website.

The website will be mainly coded in HTML and PHP, however actionscript 2.0 will be used for the mixtape designer and the playlist maker. In order for this to work I will have to learn how to pass variables from actionscript to PHP.

When the user first enters the site they can choose one of two options:

1. Begin their mixtape
2. Sign up

If the user decides to make a mixtape before signing up to the website I will have to have some way of storing the information from the playlist they make and transferring it to their account once they have signed up.

If the user decides to sign up before making a playlist their account details will be stored within a database. When the user then makes a playlist and designs a sleeve the details will be saved to their account in the database.

As the playlist compiler and the mixtape designer will be coded in flash I will be using loadvars to send and load data between actionscript and PHP.

First illustrator sketches

Here are a few images on a boombox illustration I have been working on in adobe illustrator. I think there is too much detail in the image as I had orginally wanted so I will redraw this image again but with less detail.

Icon Sketches

Here are a few rough sketches for ideas of icons to be used within the site.

This sketch of a retro boombox is an idea for one of the icons for the hompage to represent compiling the playlist.

This was another idea for an icon to represent compiling the playlist. I felt this would be too detailed for the style of the website. I have chosen to go with the simple image of a boombox.

An idea for the homepage is to have a step-by-step visual of how to make your mixtape. The style of this will be sketchy and hand drawn with textures and patterns. This was a first inital idea for the icons.