wodtake overview!
This book was sort of an easy aid and shortcut to doing and discovering the right path as a designer for any type of medium. Some of the most basic concepts are touched and given maximum importance in this book. Wodtke creates relevance and gives significance to the work of a designer, because just as we are designers we are teachers. We learn by each step we take, then we use what we have learned to make something creative and unique, other designers see what we have accomplished and thrive off of our success and what they see we have accomplished.
I have come to contact with the fact that being a designer does not make me any less of a user or audience member. With that in mind I must keep into realization that anything that goes into the website must be something that I, as a user, would like to see or experience! If I am not impressed or willing to take the time to figure it out, then the probability that my audience is willing will compare. People want to read what they are interested in, and not everyone in an audience is going to have the same values, beliefs or interest. As the producer of a site we must realize this and take into account how much information is too much. For each aspect on the website I should take into account who my audience is, why should I make this part of the site, and what materials do I have to complete it to the best of my abilities. Each of these questions should have fully developed answers because if otherwise presented the relevance and/or need of it can be questioned. Starting your website off right is the key to being successful. Some of the problems that come may derive from the fact that a person did or did not start off with the production of the site, first stating their purpose and goals. This is when the usefulness of a plan comes into play. You should make it all up and write it all down. You can get all of your information out about the site such as, who the users will be, possible architecture, ideas conceived, etc. The final stages of this should result in some type of a sitemap linking each idea/page together before you get started with the actual construction.
To help out with the ability for any user or producer to have problems with a site, all aspects should be in a way dummy proof. Wodtke teaches us to make the site as easily viewed and navigated as possible, meaning do not put our users to work! Navigation should come second nature to the user. It should be as simple as one click away to go somewhere they have never been or to go back. Audiences rely on what they recognize rather then what they know to really be at the moment. Recognition does not really take much effort in the thinking and seeing process. This is where we as designers learn to draw the line between being creative and original, and being difficult. We do this by creating word association, color association, and through consistency. A guaranteed more attentive and regular attendance type of audience will be if this is accomplished.
The three reasons why people look at any website are to look for something, to accomplish a goal, or to kill time before an engagement. People look for what they want to find within the first second in looking at the site. That is why the first impression can change the sway of an audience immediately, especially when someone is just browsing a site to kill time.
response
Principles
1. To design for “way finding” – how men and women navigate, to have the user always know where they are, what they’re looking for, how to get what they are looking for dealing with the Logos appeal. This also includes the design and architectural cues such as menu options and the overall navigation bar and in our case the sub-categories in the menu bar.
2. Set expectations and provide feedback. We have a feedback option for the user to fill out a form (as much or little as they want) and submit it online. Overall our site is simple and we don’t have many processes. Because Dr. King doesn’t really use computers or go online much everything involving the center the user ends up calling or mailing someone.
3. Ergonomic design regarding the hands, eyes and ears: We don’t have any video or music clips, most of our pages do not scroll and are simple with large enough text, our pictures and color scheme do not dictate the overall separation and designation of the links or where things are on a page.
4. Consistency and considering the standards: the center didn’t have a page to begin with so we are lucky there, other websites such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America provided inspiration but our site doesn’t come close to theirs. Standards of other sites are colorful presentations, interactive materials, artwork, pictures and easy to use. Overall style guidelines were important and I thought the advice to break these style conventions with caution was good.
5. The error support is a key aspect to keep the attention of the user. We have a feedback tool and overall clear language. Our mapquest directions make it easier for the user because the LCc address is already pluged in.
6. Recognition over recall is another important concept to keep the audience at the site. Having the mapquest directions imbedded in the site rather than in a new window is one way we did this
7. Our site provides information for, and is targeted to people with varying levels of computer literacy. There is also a small level of accomplishment when people successfully print something out such as an activity. If it worked the first time maybe they will come back to the site to get more activities or ideas.
8. Integrated meaningful and contextual help imbedded in the site is also important to keep the user from leaving the site. I think our site is too simple to have actual help icons or pop-ups but we do provide different ways to get in contact with someone at the center, we think this is a rare opportunity with some larger or other corporation sites.
Balance - user, technology and business aspects of the site
Various goals for each category are needed to work together and create a successful site. Our business goals were to increase the donations from individuals in the community and to integrate other businesses into various annual events at the center. Our user goals were to increase awareness of the center and its purpose in the community, to get more people to volunteer and contact the center. Our technology goals are to integrate downloadable forms to donate or host events or activities to do at home.
While creating the site we did many things as a group… we “thought first and designed second” like the book advised. We thought of all our options for each aspect and what they would look like then tested some and put one up. We eventually had to change a few things towards the end but we were all happy with the decisions and each member of the group was happy. Planning in workshops in class and out of class was always (almost) done as a whole group. We divided up some work and communicated constantly so we knew what everyone was doing.
We knew defining the space was important… the site is for Littlejohn Community Center, were making it because they don’t have one and need one more medium to reach more people, this will make things easier for Dr. King because she travels from Atlanta to Clemson all the time. Our materials are the center itself, all the volunteers and workers there (who have been very helpful) the kids for their artwork and pictures. We didn’t have much money and if we had to buy something we bought it. (only thing was lollypops for only a few dollars) we were very, very resourceful and used things on campus like the Blotter to make our poster that we had never used before.
Other steps in the book regarding “Those People” also helped us. They are to figure out who the site is for, talk to the contact people there, design and test for them, modify based on the tests and test the site once more. There were a few things Dr. king told us that we would never of known otherwise… her name was spelled wrong on the Clemson website for the center and other material we had. Dr. King also had some of her friends and other workers in the center look at the site, which was great.
I liked this book and it helped me put everything into perspective. It was also very well organized so I could refer back to it when we were working on our site.
Ethics in Cyberspace
“Proper Distance: Toward and Ethics in Cyberspace” is a a great chapter in Digital Media Revisited. Silverstone begins by mentioning that this topic is neither easy nor fashionable. The internet has all different kinds of aspects which are all leading to a moral or immoral life. It is a fine line to draw and many question where it is going. Too many things are available on the internet right now. Naval bases can be looked at on a satellite image, people can work together globally to plan meetings for education, or terrorist activity. I think Silverstone is calling for an ethical approach to the intenet and wants others to see the moral value in this. The proper distance side of things is to keep people from going to far. Media reporting on the internet gets too involved in the lives of others. Silverstone wants to see some ethics applied to cyberspace.
Digital Learning Enviroments
“The Challenge of Digital Learning Enviorments in Higher Eduation: The Need for a Merging of Perspectives on Standardization,” is possibly my favorite chapter in Digital Media Revisted. The title of this chapter is self explanatory, but absolutely needed in Higher Education. Every major university has worked together over the years to create similar programs and different majors to give the best learning experience possible to students. If other universities have that program then they can work together and create standardized curriculums and students will be receiving relevant educations. Standardization is a very scary word in education these days. Teacher are blown away with state standards and federal standards that are sometime ridiculous. This chapter is calling for standardization in a different way. Jon Lanestadt is calling for colleges and experts to get involved and create some nationwide (worldwide) standards to fix digital media. If universities could get on the same page we could all work together in a digital media setting which would open up plenty of doors in other subjects. I think its neat to see Blackboard sweeping across the nation. It has already standardized our grading/online teaching system. It will be neat to see if we can connect to other universities soon.
From Oracy to Electracies
The chapter “From Oracy to Electracies: Hypernarritive, Place, and Mulitmodal Discourses in Learning” from Digital Media Revisited, has been one of the better chapters in this book so far. It might not be better, it just interests me more. The main purpose of this chapter is to discuss the different types of learning that can take place in literacy all the way to digital media. This chapter focuses on showing how English classes as well as all subjects in education are gradually changing from “the page to the screen”. One thing that struck me ass being different is a push towards creativity. I think one thing teachers are missing out on today is the possibility of being even more creative with digital media. This chapter is calling for people in higher education to work together.
Wotke Response
This Wotke book has helped me this most as far as the web design aspect goes in this class. I felt like this book was well put together and definitely brought some things to my attention that I really never thought about before. I will go over a few main points that really changed my thinking and that I kept in mind throughout the design phase of our CSF group website.
One thing that really changed the way I design is the 7 link rule. You can tell that most websites don’t abide by this rule. Every time you go to as site like amazon.com or even bestbuy.com there are so many places to click that you really have to sit down and deside where you like to go, so that you don’t end up clicking advertisements. I think this rule definitely serves its purpose. & main links really change the way I navigate sites. The tab bar design was a great choice for my group because it always gives you those main 6 pages to come back to and doesn’t provide too many options.
Another rule that I learned a lot from was the ergonomics of a website rule. When designing a site it is important not to make people stretch and move their eyes all over a page. It is also important to not make people scroll very much, especially if you are viewing on an internet kiosk. When designing for a certain audience it is critical to keep this rules in mind.
Wotke’s rule of too much text is bad and users don’t like to read, is a little hard to live with. I can understand on a main page of a website that a lot of text is not needed. To get a point across on a lot of pages, long lines of text may be needed. One of the most annoying things to go to is a website where you are reading a story and the designer followed this rule. Every time you click next you get closer and closer to just ditching the website all together. I think that rule has it’s place but not on every page of a site. Just think, one of the most popular things on the internet today are web blogs…. And what are they? A whole bunch of text on one page.
Overall Wotke had some simple and efficient rules to follow in web design and she was definitely on target. I will be using this book and her rules to design with from now on. This will be a book that I don’t sell back to Hendrix.
Littlejohn Critique
I am actually pretty late on this assignment and I apologize for not giving you feedback to work with earlier. I absolutely love the design of your site. The colors and feel of the side really promotes learning and safety. All of the art and extra tricks fit in well with your site. The mouseover menu is great and it really works well. One thing that I especially think is cool are the stick figures on the top left. The art really gives it a kid friendly design and should make parents feel safe.
There are a few things that stuck out to me throughout the site. In the programs it feels like the fonts are changing between pages. You could have meant to do this but I definitely noticed a font change, and you aren’t supposed to really notice that. One problem we are having with our pages which may be kind of the same for yours, is what to put on the bottom of the pages. It feels like you have left way to much open space at the bottom (especially on the main page). Keep in mind that you can put a copywritten information link that can go on every page. The feedback link when clicking directly on the contact page comes up as an error. The content to each page is a little small per link, but there isn't much you can add to. If the refridgerator could be something genreated different per page, it was amamazing.
Overall when you finish this site the organization should be very happy. This site is inviting and absolutely perfect for the Littlejohn Community Center. With a main image on the top of the main page it will bring the site in to a focus, This site deserves a great grade!
Now You See It, Now You Don't...
Witty title, eh? I find transparency to be a particularly intriguing concept. As I mentioned in my previous discussion on immediacy, eliminating the medium itself is necessary in order to bring the viewer into the reality of the content they are experiencing. Therefore, the medium must become transparent.
This is a very interesting idea when you consider developers spend so much time creating technology that is not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing. Apple now makes a white iPod and a black iPod. Companies are making money by selling “skins” and cases for mp3 players and cell phones so that you can “make them your own.” Computers and stereo systems are increasingly more pleasing to look at. Televisions can now be hung on the wall in place of a picture. In some ways, for consumers, physical appearance is as important as the technology itself.
However, in order for such technology to truly be effective, the experience must transcend the leopard print cell phone and the imitation carbon fiber laptop. Our “picture perfect” televisions do not matter if the writer of the programming is able to construct a state of being in which the viewer does not consider the idea that they are in fact watching a shiny silver rectangle, but instead are immersed, without any consideration at all, in a new reality; the reality of the moment in which the medium is completely transparent.
Applied to our website, we will spend hours attempting to come up with the perfect layout, color scheme and font group with the expectation that one will not even notice the individually thought out parts, but that they will be experiencing the community center itself and all that it has to offer.
Wodtke
Web design allows for lots of creativity, but there are guidelines that help make websites more efficient. Certain things help make the website as usable and effective as possible. There are plenty of rules that try to simplify these suggestions too much and they lose their value. A myth like, “Users of the website don’t read, so use as little writing as possible” is taken from the idea that people won’t sit down and read 20 page articles on a bright computer screen. The truth is that people will read content if it is about what they are looking for. Other ideas like avoiding pages that scroll don’t apply to all situations. Scrolling can prevent users from having to link through too many pages. Small font is difficult to read for content but helps to hide legal disclaimers that would take up space and draw unnecessary attention. While there is freedom in these guidelines, there are general things that users expect from any website. The design can be innovative and creative, but it should be logical enough and follow patterns enough that users can navigate the website with ease. It is expected to have a navigation bar at the top or the left and to have links in blue. These common knowledge ideas help give the users have a feeling for your website before they ever reach your home page. It is important to be consistent and consider standards, this will help users navigate pages they have not been to before and remember how to get back to those pages. While some users will remember how to use the site, it is important to rely on recognition rather than recall. Not only will this help first time users, it is also more reliable for returning users. Most people forget things within five minutes anyways, especially a website they may only spend five minutes looking at. If the user has to remember how to get somewhere chances are they won’t, but if they can logically find what they want then they are more likely to stay on the site and come back to it.
Some major pitfalls of web design are beginning to start the design before things are mapped out and some basic questions are asked. It is important to realize who the website is for so that the design can be focused to as specific of an audience as possible. This will make the site more useful and appealing to the people who need to visit the site. It is impossible to lay out a site and choose design features without knowing what the site is promoting and who it is promoting it to. Another problem is that most web users will never get past the point of being intermediate users of the site, but designers spend so much time and energy working on aspects of the site that only effect the small percentage of expert users. It is more important to get all of the basics worked out and to have the most efficient site for the most number of users rather than catering to a few users. Simple things that help the average user are logos and breadcrumbs to help people know where they are, where they have been and where they can go. Labels can help with the iceberg effect of showing just a taste of what the site has to offer. A smaller number of labels on the main page can help lead users to what they need without make them sort through everything unrelated. Trouble can come when designers try to market the website to too large of an audience. One idea to is take the Shirley Maclaine Method, or in other words, determine your most important and specific target audience and then create a sample person from this demographic. Then design the website with this one person in mind. It becomes much easier to speak to one person than hundreds or thousands.
An important idea is that the software is important for creating the website, but it isn’t the only thing. It is best to stay away from a computer until there is a good general concept of what the website will be. Sitting down with a pen and paper can help keep you from getting stuck in a design flaw or going down a wrong direction.
Web design is a long and complex process that requires collaboration with different designers and feedback required along the way. Development takes testing and alterations based on users and potential audience. One of the main themes is to keep the target audience a top priority in all of the planning and design steps along the way.
CSF critique
Overall, I liked the layout and it worked on my small screen... sometimes I have to scroll side to side. The picture on the front caught my eye and also lets people know you are helping out. The uniformity was good, everything aligned left and easy to read fonts that are simple yet also have some variation with size and shadowing. On the home page... I loved the CSF logo. I would advise you to add something more at the bottom. (im sure you just havent gotten around to it.) I liked the picture and the way the orange in their t-shirts matches the colors of the site. I think the picture behind the title/logo fades too much - mabye you could put another one there or make it come out further, I dont like the white space on the other side. The about us page is good. The descriptions were great but their was no info about Dr. Willis. The bottom submenu buttons dont really do anything.
The snapshots page was also good. Good variety of pictures (i hope we have that many!!). The snapshots menu slice came up blank, mabye thats just not finished yet too? I also think you should either take away the captions or make new ones. I also think the "NOW SERVING ATL" box could be seperated out more because it doesnt flow with the rest of the site - considering its an outside link its ok it doesnt match but just make it more distinct. The video idea is great but you dont have any yet. The connect page was also good. I really liked the calendar and the different options. The news submenu link doesnt work. I like how the "connect" and "contact" pages were not next to each other so no one gets confused. I would swich the news and menu buttons if the news one is the overall connect page too. The contact page was also useful and informative. It has really good organization. I like how the blog opens in the same window, not a new window. A really picky thing... does the "how i get there" text have more of a shadow than the "lets talk about it" text. Very clever wording overall, i like the menu names. GOOD JOB !
feedback
Dr. King is so excited about our site and did not give any negative feedback. She did want us to include some other community programs (ex: utility bill assistance, food stamps, Clemson Community Care). She also wants to see more pictures and artwork up. Some of the more detailed feedback from class will help us more than hers. Overall, I think we are on the right track.
LCC to do list...
1. finish PR stuff
2. post photos
3. home page
4. get contract from LCC about hosting events
5. calendar
6. link everything
7. links /PDF files for other city programs
CSF to do List
1. Mapquest Directions page insert
2. Contact info updated
3. update main page story
4. email Dr. Willis for quotes and thoughts for front page
5. make a video page and photo front page
6. create Find Us page include mapquest
7. clean up about us page
8. work on purple bar info for the main page
9. create Tim Willis page
10. link First Baptist Church Clemson
11. fix calendar glitch
12. fix pixels on tigerapaw logo
OK we have some work to do.... :)
ClemsonCSF Web Page
Clemson Cooperative Student Fellowship Web Page...
To start off, the navigation bar at the top of the page is great. There are a good number of divisions with accurate headings that give an idea of what to find under each tab. The colors work really well to identify the group with Clemson and the overall look is very professional. The banner across the homepage is awesome. The fading picture puts more faces on the page, which is important for a group that wants to focus on connection. I would recommend a little bit more content on the homepage. The picture of the students and the caption about helping on the Gulf Coast is good, but there is a lot of white space below that could be filled with something more (perhaps another picture and caption) just to show that there is a lot going on. Someone may see only one thing on the homepage and think that the group is small and just starting and doesn't really have a lot to offer. I imagine that the purple bar running down the side will be used for some sort of announcements or something, that would also help this. The about us page does a great job of getting the information out without being too wordy. There is just enough info without having to scroll and there is still room for pictures, which are very important for this group. Both the link to the "rabbi" and the Clemson First Baptist link were not coming up on my computer, perhaps these are just not finished. Once I opened the Calendar page I was unable to navigate back out using the links on the page. I had to use my back arrow on my web browser bar. The links on the navigation bar changed as if I would have a new page open in the frame, but the calendar stayed up. The calendar itself is great though. The connect main page is great because it shows a lot of ways to get involved, but some pictures on the left under the "Get Involved" heading would add something to the page. The snapshots main page came up empty, but I'm sure you know this already. The pictures are great and show a lot of different faces and aspects of the group. Personally, I would find a way to take the title of the pictures off or rename the pictures so they don't have the bland file names showing. The videos page also did not work for me. I like how the contacts page has an explanation of the blog and how the page is balanced with pictures and text. Overall I think you guys did a great job on the site and I am really impressed. I think you did a good job creating a site that will appeal to your target audience. There are a few more navigation kinks to work out and a few more pictures would never hurt, but all in all it is very impressive.
Just in case you didn't check your email yet--for today
I may be just a bit late today. If so, please come up with a prioritized list of things you will be working on between now and next week based on the input you got from your client last Thursday and the 1-page web critique from your classmates. (Those should be up by now.)
Please post that list (5-10 things) to the blog, and beging working. I shouldn't be more than 20 minutes late max.
Little John Community website!
One thing that I really learned to grasp a hold of this semester is what I think of something right off hand, from the first time I see it. So I am going to start off with my first impression of the website. First of all, I thought wow, “what color use and scheme idea”. I really felt like this group took into account the full effectiveness of the use of color and its importance. When I saw the sight I automatically assumed this was a site that was either for or about children. It was sweet and simple, not too much going on. A few things I noticed were that the blue colors on the side and on the top are different and I would suggest that you see what it looks like as the same color because to me it seemed like it would present itself more informally. It would also compliment the three little men in the yellow box because you already kind of went out on a limb with that box because it is yellow, so that is just a suggestion. The alignment of everything almost seems to flow but there are a few questionable aspects. For one, there are spaces in some places and then there are places that lack similar spaces, so that may be a problem with uniformity. And also, there is a lot of green space unused on the left side where the links are located! I don’t know if that is purposed for something but it might look better and flow more if you cut it, or even spread the links out a bit more.
Now for the more technical aspects of the website, I did no find a whole lot, but I did see some things that could be fixed or improved. Firstly, I think that the slicing on each link is a little unclear, because it seems to link to more then one word or phrase. For, example, when I scroll over the programs link, I see the options available, but I also notice that it takes a while for the options to disappear or go away when I move on to the next link. That may be a little confusing for someone trying to navigate your site.
Another thing that I noticed was that when you click on a link the spacing changes quit a bit. It goes from small to big as you go down each link. I think it might be a technical malfunction or something that works differently in each of the different servers. Also the font changes from page to page. It appears bold on some pages, larger on others, and sometimes as an all together different font.
Some of the links can not find the URL so there would be no way of going back to the site for someone who is not computer or internet literate. I guess other then the things that I have already mentioned there is not really anything that pops out past the first impression of the website (which it good). But I am assuming this is because the website is not finished and there is much more information to be put in it. Without assuming that there are going to be pictures, I am going to suggest that you provide many pictures for your audience because I think that is a big attention for your particular audience, they want to feel like they are invited and want to help! I would also assume that for each link there is going to be an introductory page, and I would say for that to make sure that you keep it simple and to the point because I can see there is going to be a lot involved and offered through your website, so be careful not to overwhelm your audience with millions of words.
Overall I think that this will be a very appealing website for the community. Keep up the good work ya’ll!!!
LCC site changes
we are taking out the learning portal and putting various activities and health tips on the home page with PDF's so they can print things out at home. we are also adding a feedback tool on the site for overall feedback of the site and the center. we will be able to do everything else.
LCC PR
We are going to make a new door tag. We are going to put this on homes in the community.
- plain pictures on the front
- phone # / website on front
- "host your next event / party here..."
- a few programs
- address on back
mabye send an email to clemson greek orginizations (service ones!!) about volunteering, with a list of items to donate.
make a poster for the center with the URL talking about the website
flyer for BILO promo
flyer to post in the judicial office
promotion ideas
*promotional mint tins (this will be used later in the year and will not be presented for the final project)
*personal promotion in freshman orientation, newsletter and brochure
*email/direct mailings of information card and website(this will be used later in the year and will not be presented for the final project)
*weekly church bulletin (this will be used later in the year and will not be presented for the final project)
*business card format of a flier to hand out at CSF
LCC update 04/11/06
After meeting with Dr. King Becca and I got a much better idea of the direction the rest of the site will take. I am going to continue to take pictures for the next two weeks. We have more information to add to the program descriptions and the volunteer page (actual STUFF needed, not money). We will meet with Dr. King again towards the end of this week, it is hard to meet with her because she is in Atlanta during the week. We also need to link everything together on the site. Becca and I decided to make a few design changes to the navigation bar, the logo and the header. Those need to be changed on a few more pages. We also need to link up the outside online donation.
We decided to omit the learning portal aspect of the page and will replace it with an activity section. We have documents to turn into PDF's and post for the user to do activities at home. We are going to have this linked to the home page. We are also going to have a fitness or nutrition tip on the home page (blurb on the right hand side of the page and will change frequently). We have a meeting with their event planner to get the contract for the "hosting events" section on the contact page (PDF format for the user to print and mail in). The event planner will also help us plan our calendar. Our calendar is going to be the last thing we are going to "create" before we test and edit the whole site.
I think that's it!
5 Points CSF
1. Fix the kinks in the navigation bar concerning the photo album and calendar.
2. Work on the photo album/video page needs to be finished
3. Contacts page needs to have a mapquest direction function.
4. Contact designer for Logo flash page
5. Design the main newsletter page – with pictures and stories from the missions trip
These will be the next 5 things our group will work on.
john and jacqua
LCC
1. searching within site
2. expand programs page
3. "make checks payable to..."
4. time delay (if we can fix it)
5. donation set up by next class
