A stakeholder is someone with influence over your website or product. They can impact or be impacted by your website (Fernando, 2023). It is important to identify who they are before producing your website as it will help you to cater to their needs, making your site more suited to them.
Usually, they can be your boss, client, or target audience. It is important that your website is in the interest of all different stakeholder groups, and it is your job to make sure the website appeals to a variety of stakeholders with different needs and wants.
To understand my stakeholders, I will first refer to the brief for my project:
“You will produce a long scrolling web page (initially you may wish to prototype this in XD) but finally realised in Elementor on your University of Hull WordPress site containing 10 pairs of images (10 found images, plus 10 original images you have created from scratch using any technique or software of your choice)
All images must be expandable with a click.
Each found image (fully referenced) will be accompanied by an original visual (that you create) emulating the style but decontextualising it from its history and representing it for a modern audience in a contemporary web page design style. For example a famous example might be Van Gogh’s sunflowers in which bold bright colours together with vigorous brush strokes create an energetic lively effect – how can that style be used in the design of a web site for a florist? (for example). You can chose the subject of each website and you may use Lorem Ipsum in your visual if you wish. The history must be roughly chronological down the page from the latest to the earliest but you can start from any point in time and include any artists or designers you like. You could start at cave paintings or you could start at Tesla Car designs or anywhere in between.
The audience for this web app is anyone interested in the relationship between the subject of design. Students of design in higher education could be a specific target audience.
Each pair of images must include a description in approximately 100 words explaining how you have translated the original design into a contemporary web page.
You design as a whole must clearly reflect you understanding of the principles of UX.”
From this, I understand that:
These points will act as my main goals, which I will keep in mind at all times throughout the design process.
Following from that last point, I can now think of different people interested in the subject of design – this will help define my stakeholders.
Students who are studying design may be interested in my website. Students is a broad term and can range from secondary education to higher education, so I will have to keep this in mind when designing my website – so that people of all learning abilities can learn and understand the information shown.
Similar to students, teachers may range from secondary to higher education. Teachers may want to use my website as a resource when teaching, and as a way to provide a visual demonstration to students. My website will need to be informative and professional, so that it may be used as a way to educate and inform.
Art historians may be interested in researching design history, and may find it interesting to find out how it impacts website design. I will need to make my website interesting and informative, so that people feel like they have learnt something whilst also enjoying using my site.
Other designers may also want to use my website. It may help them to find inspiration, or to identify and discover new styles. My website will have to be inspiring and visually appealing.
References:
Fernando, Jason (2023) What Are Stakeholders: Definition, Types, and Examples [article] Available online: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stakeholder.asp [Accessed: 28.03.2023]