IDD 410- Ch 8

Site Seeing
1. Many people learned the hard way that it is not that easy to make money on the web.
2. “Lets face it, the web is a medium fraught with variables. We have seen how the differences in browsers, their settings, monitors, and operating systems can alter carefully constructed layouts, much to the frustration of the designer.” (297)
3. “Careful initial thought to how and where content can be applied within your site should always precede any dynamic publishing development efforts.” (298)
4. When accommodating for the browser variability, the designer should really only devote time to those with Netscape and Microsoft pre 4.0 and then the differences between Navigator and Explorer.
5. Even though different web applications incorporate complex forms of interaction, it’s the visual communication standard that allows them to communicate with the audience and remain the same.
6. When creating a popup within their own page, it’s useful to create one without all of the toolbars and menus which may congest the area and detract the viewer.
7. It is useful to avoid at all costs using a nonstandard form of interaction.
8. Many people believe the information they find on the web should be provided to them free of cost.
9. Early on, it became apparent that basic HTML websites were only effective to a certain point.
10. While there are many different web applications, they are all still in their infancy and are being created without consideration as to how they visually communicate.

What Makes a Homepage?

:Introduction-Entrance-Announcement:

Introduction: A portfolio site for all my work.

Entrance: Links to direct the viewer to different parts of the portfolio.

Announcement: Links of different sizes show hierarchy.

Updated Mission Statement

Hurricane Katrina Mission Statement
My site for Hurricane Katrina will be dedicated to the victims of the hurricane. The site will provide information for the survivors. There will be a message board of sorts where they can tell their stories. The goal is to provide a website for the people affected by the tragedy. The purpose is to have a website for those of the Gulf Coast if they need help. It will be organized simply, not too flashy and with solid somber colors.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

1. Homepage has three responsibilities, the introduction, entrance and announcement. If something does not fit into those categories, it does not belong.
2. “Visual organization allows your audience to make sense of the large amounts of content needed on today’s home pages.” (260)
3. The homepage to a site is frequently the most visited page of the website.
4. Waiting for images to download may deter the visitor from returning in the future.
5. You don’t have to put a ton of links on the homepage to let the audience know what is on the website.
6. A little bit of contrast can go a long way. Use the least amount of contrast necessary to get the point across.
7. If elements work together instead of competing on a webpage they are most likely to be recognized by the audience.
8. Visual hierarchy is affected on a homepage when the visual weight of any other element is increased.
9. A few well placed elements or announcements on a homepage are often more effective that many randomly placed ones.
10. The audience’s needs should help determine the visual weight that each element should have.

IDD 410 - Ch. 6

Ch. 6
1. All web pages have at least something in common. Most often they are the basic elements of websites, text, images, sound and so on.
2. “By managing the amount of visual contrast within navigation systems, you can successfully reduce the visual noise that might otherwise interfere with your audience’s understanding.” (221)
3. Bands of color are used to unify footer content completes the web page by reintroducing visual elements used though out the pages.
4. Forms can be used for text boxes, radio button, drop down menus and buttons. All can be used to collect the audience’s information.
5. Images have the most diverse set of uses. They are used in navigation systems, in forms, and as links.
6. “Incorporating images within Web page content not only provides content for your prose, it also creates visual interest by breaking up the text with rich sensory experiences.” (236)
7. The use of visual hierarchy will help the audience to better understand a form’s intent.
8. It is good to put last updated information on the site, most of the time at the bottom, to let the audience know how new the information is.
9. “Making use of a larger or visually complex image as the focal point of your page can create a center of interest to which your content can “cling.” (240)
10. Each element on the site is part of a hierarchy and can effect the entire look and feel of a site.

My New Site

My Portfolio

Site Critique

Site Critique of Kelly McWilliam

I really like the layout of her site, the color blue and the hierarchy flow well. The only thing I would do to improve it would be for on the inside pages. The links should have a better distinction of what page you are on possibly by color or a larger font.

IDD- 410 Ch 5

1. “You and how others react to your personality determines how you react and how others react to you. It is the part of you that makes you a unique individual and sets you apart from others’. As a result it is also how people remember and define you.” Pg 170
2. Creating your own look and feel to a site is a natural part of the design process.
3. The site’s personality provides emotional impact and a consistent view for our audience.
4. The website can be viewed as a product and interaction and presentation are needed to create a positive impression to the audience.
5. A contrast of colors can bring attention to parts of a layout.
6. A monochromatic color scheme keeps the interface unified and unobtrusive.
7. Colors that are near each other on the color wheel create a comfortable and visually appealing presentations.
8. The choice of typeface adds character and emotion to a site.
9. The use of abstract shapes such as boxes and spheres can communicate a lot of ideas through their visual characteristics.
10. Images can break up static text and create areas of visual interest in a layout.