AERIE WEBSITE
This is a great example of a beautiful, clear navigation bar. There are obvious categories to choose from and when you scroll over one, a corresponding drop down menu will open up. This specific nav bar is even better than usual because it has such a unique design. The top navigation on the site follows suit. It works the same way, but considering the hierarchy, it is significantly smaller than the main nav bar.
There is also a search bar at the top of the page so that if the user does not know (or knows exactly) what they are looking for, they can simply type in a keyword or style #.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Minor Project 18 & 19: NHMA Brief & Web Site Redesign
Purpose & Objectives
The purpose of their website is to have a functional and easy to use site for their members and employees. They want to use the site as a way to draw in new members and make it easy for existing members to get information. They also want to take advantage of today's technology, while keeping in mind simplicity. Another important aspect is they want to have a lot ofbacklinks to other sites throughout their own.
Look & Feel
NHMA's current site is a little dull and the look is boring. We do like that they have their "logo" constantly at the top of the page, and that's something we would keep, although we would definitely redesign their logo.
We want to use brown as our main color with blue accents. We will incorporate the live feed that will be updated to keep the viewers informed with all the information. We hope to have a sense of grid structure to have it more organized. We also want to have a video displayed on the main page to show the viewers what manufacturing is all about.
Type Choices & Type Setting
We want to use a bold Sans Serif typeface for the logo and headline and body text. After research, we saw that many of the manufacturing companies used sans serif for their sites.
Visual Hierarchy
NHMA's current website has a lot of text and not enough pictures. We would like the website to lead the viewer in, so the Header at the top will sport a brand new logo design, along with pictures relating to the association. We hope to keep their website simple. We will put the very important information at the top of the page when necessary. Attaching pdf files for certain pages will help to prevent too much text on the page. We will also add social media links to bring the viewer to the other pages (facebook, twitter, etc.)
Use of White Space
The NHMA does not need to have an overload of pictures on its page. Because we want the page to show simplicity as well, there will not be a background color for the site. There will be a sufficient amount of white space so it is clean and easy to read the text.
Description of Color Choices
We want to use a charcoal blue and shades of brown to showcase the strength of the company. The text will either be in white or a brown depending on the background color.
Navigation, Ease of Use, Usability, Accessibility
As stated by the clients, they want a simple and easy to navigate website. This is very
important for building the website. They stressed that the site must have backlinks, so the website will have more value for a Google search. The website will be extremely easy to
navigate, especially for older users who may have trouble with computers. The typefaces
will be easy to read, and the menus will be easy to find and navigate. The clients also
mentioned that they would like to have current information updated on the site regularly.
Target Audience & Demographic
The targeted audience consists of existing and future members of NHMA, students and people interested in manufacturing who want to know more about it.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Minor Project 17: Omit Needless Words
Original: In our rapidly changing world, technology and science can become outdated rapidly. In science class, we seek to equip students with the skill to become scientists of tomorrow. We encourage students to actually become scientists and to develop solid observation skills though regular experimentation and hands-on activities. Students learn basic concepts but are not made to simply memorize a large quantity of facts. They are encouraged to develop thinking skills and analyze information and then to draw reasonable conclusions.
Roadside students also have weekly classes in music, art and physical education.
Classroom activities are also enhanced with a variety of field trips throughout the academic year. Occasionally a class will do a special activity based on their classroom studies and then share with the other Roadside classes. After the kindergarten class studied the painter Monet, they transformed their classroom into Monet's garden and invited parents and other classes to participate. After studying Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", 7th/8th grade students decided to put on a production of an excerpt from the play. After learning about the Wright Brothers' flying machine, 3rd/4th graders built a model of the craft and gave a presentation to the rest of the school. After reading Homer's Odyssey, 5th/6th graders hosted a Greek festival.
Roadside students also have weekly classes in music, art and physical education.
Classroom activities are also enhanced with a variety of field trips throughout the academic year. Occasionally a class will do a special activity based on their classroom studies and then share with the other Roadside classes. After the kindergarten class studied the painter Monet, they transformed their classroom into Monet's garden and invited parents and other classes to participate. After studying Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", 7th/8th grade students decided to put on a production of an excerpt from the play. After learning about the Wright Brothers' flying machine, 3rd/4th graders built a model of the craft and gave a presentation to the rest of the school. After reading Homer's Odyssey, 5th/6th graders hosted a Greek festival.
New: In the changing world, technology and science can become rapidly outdated. We encourage students to actually become scientists and to make solid observation skills through regular experience and hands-on activities. Students are not given a lot of things to simply memorize; they are taught well and uniquely between plays, performances, and presentations. There is always a sharing of knowledge going on, and it's obvious the students love it!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Minor Project 15: "Don't Make Me Think"- Chapter 4
It's pretty self-explanatory why users love mindless choices--they don't like to think! Surfing the web can often be a mindless activity and the user probably won't like having to think when navigating your web site. They want to spend as little time as possible searching for what they need.
A simple, mindless choice that is often implicated in many user oriented sites, is putting log in boxes at the top of the page. A user isn't going to scroll & sift through the page to try and find where to log in, they just assume it will be there; and if it's not, say bye-bye to your user.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Minor Project 13: "Don't Make Me Think"- Chapter 3
When designing for a web page, we've noted that it's best to design for "scanning", since this is what the viewer will tend to do and after all, we are designing for the viewer. To do this, we could do a few things. One way to design that will help a lot of people out, is to design using familiar elements and traditions. For example, most websites will take you home if you click on the main banner atop the page. If you add this element to your site, and someone is visiting it for the first time, they will probably recognize the technique without even second-guessing the "click" in that area. Another option, is to make your design obvious! If you want to show someone that they should click on the last word of your blog, make it OBVIOUS..links are usually bold or another color from the rest of the text on the page. Viewers recognize this & will expect this.
Minor Project 12: Schematic/Site Map- New Haven Manufacturer's Association
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