$0.00 Budget

I think I will begin this exercise from the bottom up. Mainly because I realized that the basic goal of my site is to display the graffiti. The interactive map is more of a design element, which isn’t necessary for the successful dissemination of the artwork. Thus if I really had no money at all, I could create a Flickr group to display my photos. I would still be able to have a message board, where artists could discuss ideas or events. I could also set up a newsletter sent to any user that subscribes to my group. This platform would continue to allow me to recruit new artists, by requesting new pieces on the front page of my group. The amount of metadata accompanying a photo doesn’t necessarily need to be limited either. However, I would probably need to use the “comments” section in flickr to display the data. This would limit the freedom of certain design elements I could use.

The overall design of my site is a major concern with no budget. Basically I must use the Flickr forum and design scheme. This could pose a major problem in recruiting visitors. To be denied the ability to even have my own website address makes my site less memorable to potential regular users. While Flickr is now an extremely popular site, my group would just be one of the millions of other groups. Also the fact that my content would be part of a group rather than a autonomous site will cause my site to lose credibility among artists and scholars. I hope to post scholarly essays along with the artwork, however those scholars would be less likely to allow me to post their work if their work was only a part of a group. They may view my sit as a mere hobby rather than a genuine academic venture.

The loss of the map function is a difficult feature for me to give up. Especially since this feature is what makes my site unique. I have searched all the major free map sites (googlemaps, yahoo!maps), and have yet to find a detailed one of Yogyakarta. As one zooms in on the city (generally around the third from the closest view), the map simply reads that “No data exists at this view.” I’m sure there are some free map making programs out there I can use, but I do not know if I would have the capabilities to place icons on the map that link to the photos. I would not mind creating the individual pages for each photo myself using a free webpage creator (such as Mozilla’s NVU) since we currently only have about 500 photos in our archive. If I could create a template, I could simply switch the photos. Maybe I could even convince a friend to help me create a map to my liking. I believe if the map doesn’t look good, there is no point using it in the first place. Nothing would deter a first-time visitor more than a crappy-looking map.

$50,000 Budget

I must confess that I am not sure how much everything will cost. I assume that for a relatively small project such as the one I have, $50,000 would be more than enough money to make the site I have envisioned. In an emergency such as nearing the end of my funds, I could once again create the photo pages myself. Then hire a designer to add some HTML “touch-ups” to certain design elements I don’t like.

The majority of my money would go towards the creation of a nice-looking map. I would definitely hire someone else to do this. As I have mentioned in previous posts, my map will not look like your typical street map. I want the map to have similar design elements to graffiti. It should be a highly contrasting & colorful map. I also want the map to be three-dimensional and cartoonish in appearance. I don’t think this will be a long task for a designer but I may be wrong. But I would be willing to use 4/5 of my budget on this single element if it was needed.

The rest of the site I feel confidant in my own ability to create what is a basically simple archive. I will probably need to take a couple computer science courses for in order to increase my practical knowledge of web design ($500-$3000). The main issue I face at this level is the technique for creating icons on the map that will link to a specific pages. Also how can I add or subtract icons on my map once the site is up & running.

I have decided to create an additional section on my website that will function as a repository for old or retired pieces. Accompanied with metadata such as artist and especially location, I will have a basic archive of murals that have been either written over or erased. So this site will serve as an ongoing history of the art that decorates the city. But I need to know how to remove a specific link from the map and place it in this retired section. Which probably involves a simple cut and paste form one page to another.

$500,000 Budget

I think this amount of money would be almost too much for my project. I’m uncertain how I will spend it all. For the most part, the site as I want it can be created for $50,000. But with this increased budget, it will simply look much nicer. Unfortunately most of my audience will own technologically deficient computers and/or speed. The majority of Indonesians that will view my site have dial-speed modems. So if I spend a lot of money on software and large graphics, I will essentially eliminate a core audience. Many of my visitors will not have the patience or capacity to use my site.

One definite advantage of the larger budget is the ability to have my site in both English & Indonesian. This it not a necessity, but rather a luxury. Most Indonesians know at least a small amount of English. Even if they don’t my site is not text heavy. I believe most visitors, regardless of the language they speak, would be able to intuitively use my site. Another luxury would be to hire on professional photographers either in Indonesia or somewhere else to not only re-take my photos, but take new photos that have been approved for posting. The majority of my photos were taken by a basic $200 camera, and while most are good quality, the resolution is not very high. Besides improving the presentation quality of the photos, a higher resolution will also improve the preservation. On top of improved appearance, I can market my site in other forums. Possibly taking out a couple of electronic and physical billboard ads in Yogyakarta. With the higher resolution photos, I could possible post a couple photos on billboards without a major loss of quality.

My problem when performing this exercise is determining how much money I will need in the long run. I have no idea how popular my site will become. In the early stages, my archive will be extremely small, not requiring a lot of money to create. But say within the first year, my collection is expanded 10 fold. At that point I may need to rethink my overall structure. Would I want to create pages for 3000 photos? Probably not. I would rather hire a couple of designers to do it for me, so that the photos can be added quicker. Basically, the more money I have the less work I personally would need to do on the site. Instead I would become more of a manager or site coordinator.