Laurel/Kostelnick 2.0 Q's

1. How does Laurel's suggestion that computer users are not passive observers when interacting with a computer (instead, they are actors) relate to the social-constructionist's perspective of language?

2. What are some ways that humans have taken ation in representational worlds since the Laurel article was written? (I'm thinking specifically representational worlds on the web.)

3. Out of the six visual rhetorical strategies that Kostelnick and Roberts list, it seems like ethos is overlooked/mishandled more often than arrangement, emphasis, clarity, conciseness, and tone. Why do think we have a natural tendency to neglect ethos in visuals, or does that tendency actually exist?

More Questions

1. Would there be any benefit to trying to make the M & G study generalizable?
2. Even though we most definately can be more aware of cultural differences, do you think that differing cultural perceptions can be taught?
3. Were you surpised by the results of the M & G study?

Questions for readings

These articles, particularly the kostelnick article, talk about drawings (e.g. flatman) that are meant to be universal so everyone can understand what they are trying to say. However, these drawings in many cases are coming from handbooks such as the John Deere handbook that was mentioned. Within these books, I'm sure there is typically a written description to go along with these illustrations. Even if these illustrations are not successful in conveying the information which they are intended to convey, the text will hopefully elaborate in their native language. Where would you look to find illustrations that are meant to cross language barriers without accompanying text, particularly more elaborate ones like the John Deere illustrations as opposed to the simple no smoking et cetera?

With the world becoming geographically smaller in the sense that travel times to and from locations are becoming shorter and shorter with new technologies, these articles seem to touch on some very interesting and extremely applicable topics. This is something that until now many of us may have taken for granted. Is this a topic that has been looked at more closely in recent years? I noticed that both of these papers were published in 1995.

Kostelnick and Maitra/Goswami

1. How do the differences in design models across the world affect international travel and tourism marketing?

2. Kostelnick briefly mentions schema theory as another approach to information processing. Has any substantial research been done to measure the effects of the global approach and the cultural-focused perspective with regards to cognitive development and schemata?

3. Do you think the idea of a global design language is necessary and do you think it's possible?

1. can you articulate a few possible explainations for why american/japanese culture prefers its method of message delivery?
2. is it possible to incorporate both the cognitive/universal approach and conventional/experimential approach in the design of a single document?
3. kostelnick states that the aesthetics of a design are derived from personnal preference due to cultural exposure, but maitra and goswami explain that it is the intended goal of the document that drives the design. can it not be both?

About Monday:

I was finally able to meet with Jeannie Davis (who is a very busy person) and what was decided is that she will meet with us this Monday, to explain what she's looking for in the brochure and the table-board, and then (and this is the exciting part) we'll spend the majority of class working on designing that board. Our plan is that after 2 hours of "down and dirty" designing, we'll end class with a workable design that will then be developed.

So, if you have pictures, logos, ideas, schemes, bring them all (or have them available) for the work session. I think this will not only be profitable (in terms of experience) but fun!



There is a good chance, too, that we will not have time to go over the assigned readings and if that happens, we will bump them to next week. I hope that isn't an inconvenience.

--T. F.

Kostelnick and Maitra/Goswami q's

1. Kostelnick discusses evidence that there is a positive correlation between preference and performance. Given that culturally bound visuals will usually be more appealing (and thus prefered), is there still an argument for global visuals?

2. Discuss some ways that visuals used in technological devices like computers and cellphones are either taking use toward a culture-bound system or a global system.

3. Given that there is a cultural difference between how we and other societies value visuals, how might we employ the scenario principle to overcome such cultural obstacles?

More questions

1. Do you think Tufte's views will cut down on usability?
2. Do you think that Tufte's ethos is reduced because of the archaic examples he uses?
3. Do you think that Tufte does not give enough consideration for the aesthetic?

article questions

Flowers question: So, the article is basically saying that every reader will create examples of what they're reading related to past knowledge and experiences that they are familiar with.. so, even if writing is created with making examples like this in mind, isn't the reader STILL going to use their own?

Tufte questions: #1 Is there room for style in every graphic possibility? Such as charts purely designed for a very small scientific audience that want as much of the details of the data as can be shown at one time. How much is it going to be ok to erase? #2 Can you really draw the style down to a numbered scale and judge graphics/charts based solely on that, or should you look at the larger picture and what the data is being referenced to?

I've tried over and over to post a pdf image file of our gantt chart to no avail. It's with me on my jump drive for class though.

Tufte Questions

It makes sense to me that there should not be any ink on the page that is not giving additional information. However, I think it would be easy to go a bit overboard in getting rid of excess ink. I there a happy medium?

What is the deal with the full and half faces? This seemed to be a bit odd to me.

Flower et al questions

The three people that Flower et al looked at it their study were all successful individuals. Wouldn't they benefit from having an individual that wasn't so successful in their sample?

Article questions

1. Are optical graphics always discouraged from quantitative data or are there times when these graphics can be used to liven up numbers?

2. What other areas of research have found the scenario principle to be a significant theoretical interest?

3. When looking at cognitive science and scenario principle, how beneficial would it be to sample your audience's current knowledge of a topic before composing the literature?

tufte questions

1. how would this apply to public relations??
2. can you provide a real example of poorly executed optical art?
3. is it really possible for a duck graph to be both artistic and user friendly?

Gantt Chart

I am having trouble uploading our Gantt Chart. I will have it with me on Monday.

Discussion Questions on Tufte and Flower, et al

My questions are as follows:

1. How do Tufte's concepts of data-ink ratio and chart junk factor in with Barton and Barton's denaturalized maps? How do we find a happy medium between the two?

2. What role can the scenario principle play in the development of visual documents (both visual elements and overall layout and design)?

3. In revisions of visual documents, how might visual representations be used to help users? How might these representations work with - or against - the principles Tuftes lays out?

*Jen

Our Group's Gantt Chart

Tufte Questions

Tufte says that every bit of ink on a graphic requires a reason. Is this true only of data graphic design, or of all design?

Why do you think people aren't aware/don't acknowledge the importance of editing and revision in graphic design?

How do we prevent people from using computer generated "ducks" just because they can?

Tufte Questions

1.) Can you provide an understandable summary of what Tufte was trying to communicate with this article? What what his goal in writing it?

2.) How can the design of charts and graphs affect the overall usefulness of the graph and the understanding of the readers.

3.) How can I apply this article to my studies and my eventual career?

Flower et al Questions

1.) Can you constrast the methods and outcomes of the two case studies that Flower uses in her article?

2.) Flower talks about top, local, and gramatical levels in regards to her revision strategies. Why are these helpful and/or important?

3.) What practical applications did she provide to her audience? What can we as a class take away from this article?

Two websites.

http://www.zappos.com/welcome.zhtml?0911

This site uses hierarchy, but not very well because there are so many things vying for attention. There is not a good use of white space and the nothing carries dominance (not even the subtitles) because the majority of the text is weighted the same.

In contrast this site.http://www.ninewest.com Uses space effectively. There are not a lot of things to disperse your attention. On the homepage toes of the shoes do a good job of continuation, leading the eye to the featured shoe style. The item pages also use white space effectively. The viewers senses are not overwhelmed by too many choices; therefore, the pictures of the shoes dominate.

Discussion questions

These questions are about the Schriver piece:

What does this article say about people who write anti-drug literature?

Would more graphic images, such as photos of people ravaged by drug abuse, as suggested by many of the teens, be an acceptable approach?

The author's discussion of one of the brochures referenced comic illustrator R. Crumb, who is actually recognized as a rather edgy figure, but the brochure was perceived as outdated and ineffective by the teens. Who might we reference from modern pop culture to help discourage drug use?

two websites

For my website assignment I looked at two software websites, Microsoft and Tucows.

http://www.microsoft.com/
First, let’s look at Microsoft.
C- This website uses a few cool colors such as green and blue, which are easy on the eyes. The title is white with a contrasting blue background. One complaint I have is that when the options on the left side of the page are highlighted, they turn a light grey. This light grey color could be easily confused with white.
R- The site repeats the same font over and over again. The same font found on the left-hand side of the website is also used in the text on the lower part of the page. The same colors are used throughout the site as well. This makes the site look very uniform.
A- Alignment looks pretty good as well. All of the left-hand options are aligned well and the lower part of the page is in distinct columns.
P- Proximity was well laid out here as well. All of the software groups were in close proximity to one another.

http://www.tucows.com/
Next, we will look at another similar site.
C- This site has lots of contrasting colors. Again, the title is in white with a blue background. The menus are highlighted in contrasting colors so there is no mistake whether or not they are highlighted.
R- Again, the text fonts were repeated over and over. Also, the boxes at the bottom of the page are repeated.
A- The Tucows site did a really good job of alignment. All menu options are aligned as well as the boxes at the bottom of the page.P- This site used proximity very well as well. All related options were grouped together. This site was very easy to use even though I initially thought that it wouldn’t be.

two websites

As a person with an avid interest in food, I chose to do my two websites on the thing i love most in the world... CANDY!

http://www.bad-candy.com/
This website, which offers sarcastic reviews of today's candy, keeps its color scheme to warm tones such as yellow and reds. These bring in the eye of the reader and make the website seem closer than to the viewer. Also, like Williams wrote in his book, using creative fonts can really make a page. While candy can be fun, this website means serious business when it comes to reviewing it, but still keeps the tone of the website light by using a decorative font. This font isnt western but it works well to suggest that it is. Also the variation in font sizes brings focus and wimsy to the heading on the page. I think that using an oldstyle font for the text of the page would have gone against the purpose of the website by making it seem older and more formal.

http://us.mms.com/us/
This website shows off a different area that was discussed in our reading, and that was the use of color. On this website, while there isnt alot of variation in text style, mainly a sans sarif font is used, there is alot of variation in color. This is because they substituted the difference in font style with variation in color. The various colors bring attention to your eye to various areas on the webpage. None of the colors used are very dark, and it was a conscious choice to make the titles of the links and sections bright colors. In doing so they pop out at the audience its trying to read and keep their eyes moving across the page. "Register now" is the brightest of all the links because it is seemed to be the most important and assumes that the first need of the user is to want to learn how to register for news updates.

Barton & Barton Discussion Questions

Here are three questions that reflect issues I would like to understand in greater depth in regards to the Barton & Barton reading for this week.

1.) Can you further explain the concepts of "rules of inclusion" and "rules of exclusion" and how they relate to the mapping process.

2.) Can you contrast the "synchronic perspective" and the "diachronic perspective"?

3.) How can we practically apply Barton & Barton's ideas about mapping and its connection to idealogy to our studies of visual design in this class?

2 Websites

AllPosters.com
http://www.allposters.com/
While having very little contrast (largely it's just a white background with a red header) this site opened up it's catalog to the viewer's eye a bit faster with the menu on the left. While not as visually pleasing as it's focus is utility; I feel it accomplishes this job well.

BareWalls.com
http://www.barewalls.com/
The better of the two; this site contrasts it's menus and has a better appeal to the background design and header without losing any practical usability. The main page, instead of jumping right into products, links special products and links. The catalog menu is on the left side the same as allposters, but uses drop boxes for a cleaner look and feel.

Two barbecue sites

This post concerns two Web sites devoted to a subject dear to my heart: barbecue.

First we have regional contender Sticky Fingers (http://www.stickyfingersonline.com/). The site, like the restaurant’s menu, is simple. It contrasts rich colors such as evergreen, gold and a mahogany-brown color I like to call “barbecue sauce” with generous uses of black and dark-gray, while most of the text appears in white. The logo on the main page appears just twice, once on each side, to nice effect. A theme of “stickiness” emerges from the text. The alignment is pleasantly askew, giving much-deserved emphasis to the picture of the ribs (mmmmmm … r-i-i-i-i-i-ibs -- sorry, Dr. Fishman; I know you don't concur). The page utilizes space well by offering broad categories in an uncrowded format. It is immediately clear where the links will take you, and the more detailed information is subcategorized for ease of use.

Regional rival Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q (www.sonnysbbq.com) also keeps its color scheme to a minimum, but with much less contrast, utilizing mainly flat brown colors and a small splash of red against a primarily white background. The main site is much busier than Sticky Fingers’. Sonny’s site also sports the company logo twice, once on each side, but the color contrast detracts from a sense of unity there. The theme this site conveys is that Sonny’s is “feel-good” barbecue – a slogan that fails to pack a punch, in my book. Generally speaking, all barbecue is “feel-good”! The alignment of the copy on this site is also askew, but in a much busier way, such that too many varying column widths causes a cluttered look. The text on the site is also much closer to all the other text, adding to the crowded look. As a final note, the photographs of the food on the Sonny’s site look flat and dull, lacking the richness and shine of the sticky, fantastic Sticky Fingers food.

Comparison of Two More Zoo Sites

Well I think it’s pretty obvious where my interests lie. I continued to look at zoo websites and here is what I found.
Needs Work: http://www.potterparkzoo.org/
Again, smaller zoos typically have a smaller marketing budget and here it shows. Curious George dominates the page and then your attention is focused on the dancing couple. There is no hierarchy to the page at all. The page is concordant with san sarif being used for the majority of the type with the exception of the zoo name and Curious George. Although type size is ineffective, color is used to establish importance but lost in translation. The page is symmetrically balanced, but the white space was not used to the advantage of the layout.

Better: http://www.buffalozoo.org/
The Buffalo Zoo also uses a san sarif text but shows nice contrast with the smaller items on the right side of the page. The large zoo name uses size to determine dominance on the page. Color is used effectively and works well with each background. Asymmetrical balance draws your attention to the lion’s face first and then the special events to the right. The page feels fairly unified mainly due to proximity.

Comparison of 2 Bank/Credit Union Web Sites

I started this comparison with a clear winner in my head, but after applying Williams' design concepts and ignoring my personal preferences towards institutions, I realized that both sites are pretty bad, so consider that when viewing the site I called the "winner"

Winner: MacDill Federal Credit Union - http://www.macdill.org
This web site has some characteristics that make it the better of the two sites, but not related to text. I like that there is a blue background to the page and how the main content is centered within my browser window (I hate, with a passion, pages that are left aligned within the browser). Also, there is use of red accents that grab the viewers eye. Since this week's topic is more related to text, I tried to focus my analysis on this facet of the site and found that the only contrast anywhere on the page is within advertisements. The most obvious, of course, is the huge text used for the 6.49% HELOC displayed in white on a blue background; this contrast, I would say, is one of the best examples of contrast that I've found outside of our text books. Other contrasting fonts are seen in the ads on the side of the page (particularly in the decorative fonts used on the MacDill Perks ad and the Share Builder ad). Otherwise, the logo text is a bold sans serif (with what Williams' calls a "fake" italic) with another sans serif underneath (which contrasts in terms of weight and size, but isn't a huge difference). On the text of the main page, there is no contrast...All navigation and text is the same size and weight and the only contrast at all is in the subheadings which are just a bold version of the body text displayed in a slightly larger point size. Overall, this site employs a concordant relationship with its text; only one type family with little variation is used throughout the page. While the look is consistent, it is extremely dull.

Loser: Wachovia - http://www.wachovia.com
This site is a mess and it makes me sad that someone out there was paid to create it. Most of the reasons that I don't like it are related to overall layout more than text, but the text does play a role. I don't like the left alignment of the page in my browser window (it looks to me like half the page is missing), I don't like how there are 4 columns on the page (really, would 3 kill them?), and I don't like the overall boxy look of the page because it doesn't fit with their wavy logo. You can see at the bottom of the left column (the pewter color column) where they tried to continue the wave with the curve on the bottom of the box, but they don't carry it throughout the page. This was a big disappointment to me. Now, in terms of text, they use a small caps modern font on their wordmark with a smaller version of the same font repeated on the body of the page as subheadings. When used as subheadings, the small caps font is inconsistent (sometimes it is used as a link, sometimes it's not, sometimes links are underlined, sometimes they're not...). And, there are other subheadings that are a bold sans serif (ie: Arial)...the reader isn't really sure which sections are more important than others. Regular text, though, is consistently the same size sans serif.

*Jen

Week Two: Two websites

As an avid fan of the ballet, I chose two websites featuring this topic. In my opinion, both websites contain layout and font flaws, but one was noticeably superior.

The Atlanta Ballet Company (http://www.atlantaballet.com)
I think this website did a better job contrasting the style, structure, and form of its fonts. On this page, the main title ("Atlanta Ballet") is in a blue, sans serif font (all caps), coupled with a sub-heading ("Poetry in Motion") in a white, lower-case, oldstyle font. Also, above that, towards the top of the page, another "Atlanta Ballet" title can be seen in a light gray text; its large font size contrasts well with the small blue links that are placed directly above it. The site uses a very plain, italicized font lower in the page which isn't very appealing, but I really liked the varying sizes, colors, and fonts of the main text on the page.


The New York City Ballet (http://www.nycballet.com)
This site is obviously going for an elegant look, but I feel that more contrast could have been used to generate a greater response in the viewer. In two places on the main page, "New York City Ballet" is shown in the same font, but in slightly different sizes. It seems that this is an issue of just enough difference to break up the unity but not enough to really showcase the differences. These titles are in all-caps and an oldstyle font face is used. The other links are in a much smaller, sans serif font--but, again, there are miniscule size differences that go against the warnings in the text. In using this site, I felt that the proper font choices could have really enhanced the overall feel of the page.

Discussion Questions

Per our class discussion last Monday, here are some questions I came up with for presentation and discussion on Barton and Barton:

1. Discuss the meaning of the quote "the map is not the territory" and how that relates to some of the projects we will do throughout the semester.

2. Ideology is a *big* concept throughout many of our orals readings. Discuss Barton & Barton's presentation of ideology and how it relates to the projects we will do throughout the semester. Also, this same question could be applied to visuals we see everyday (billboards, commercials, magazines, etc)

3. Discuss the 2 maps Barton & Barton propose as a possible solution to the problems inherent in today's maps. What does map as collage and map as palimpsest look like? How can we apply this to the other projects we might work on?

I think these are all more class discussion questions than questions for the presenters to answer. Mostly, I think a discussion of these questions in terms of visual (versus the discussions some of us have had in rhetoric or 851) would be most helpful so we could see the piece from a different point of view.

See everyone Monday, happy reading!

*Jen

Comparison of Car Dealerships

For my second website critique, I chose two Toyota dealerships. You'll notice that both sites are quite busy and ineffective. The basic visual principles in The Elements of Graphic Design are well, basically absent. There is no general feeling of unity or gestalt but there are a few small differences, especially in type, that separate winner from loser.

The winner: Toyota of Greenville . Yeah, it's a horrible site, but that's all relative. The different frames of type are all concordant, and nothing sticks out. However, the running ticker at least makes an attempt at contrast by varying its size (you'll see what a difference this makes when you view the loser). They tried to have color going on for them (the red, white, and blue) but the off-yellow on the right skews with the execution of this principle.

The loser: Toyota of Easley . This is basically the same site. I think Toyota has a McDonald's-esque website manufacturing center. However, this one loses out because of the lack of variance in font and size of the streaming ticker. It also really weirds you out when the robot-like woman begins talking about a sale. This completely ruins any hope of unity (even a unity of errors) because, frankly, it's very disturbing. I hope that the animation is still there when everyone else views the site.

Two Web sites

This site (http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Growing%20Herbs.htm) is stark and unappealing. The DayGlo color scheme assaults the eye, and the corporate banner ad (for a harsh chemical, no less) does not reinforce the notion of herb growing. The size contrast of the type emphasizes simple titles rather than the names of herbs themselves. The style of the herb information is repeated throughout the list, and that does give a nice relief from the bright busyness of the top part. However, the alignment leads the eye toward the left pretty much permanently, and that feels a little "off." Also in the herb list, I find some of the second-column descriptions too close together. A table with cells might have been more effective.

In contrast, this site (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/grow_your_own/expertgrowers_herbs.shtml) goes a different way with the information, being more newsy and dynamic. Color is handled gently in verdant tones, which works except for the color-wheel-noncompliant contrast between the warm green shades and the cool sea foam -- ick. I doubt the need for the celedon, too. But the site is easily navigable and offers an option for returning to broader subjects (Gardening). Lots of information is available, but the small size and proper spacing of the links gives an important consistency. One would expect a well-produced site from the BBC.

Two Real Estate Sites

This site
http://webhosts.cisdata.net/bin/web/real_estate/AR27512/SKIPINTRO/1155615240.html

is a bad website because it does a poor job of directing the users. There is so much information on the home page that the users do not know where to look. Also contrast is lost because the font is bolded throughout. The items in the side menu are grouped recognizably but the rest of the text does not use alignment or proximity effectively. As a user, I had a hard time picking out what was important or even navigating through the text. Furthermore, upon clicking on one of the links, the onslaught of stuff is overwhelming, demonstrating the need for better use of white space.

In contrast, this site
http://www.louisianadreamhome.com/new_devts.php

is comparably better. There is an effective use of white space that allows the users to not feel overwhelmed by too many options on a page. The site uses repitition well: the colors and fonts are consistent so as not to cause confusion. The alignment is not distracting. Groups are easily understood because of the good use of proximity and color. Though the text to background contrast could be better, this website is just a more pleasant experience.

Two Zoo Websites

Being a PRTM student, my interests lie in the natural world. I was compelled to search different zoo websites to see which ones were effectively reaching their visitors. Here’s what I found:

Losing site:http://www.greenvillezoo.com/menu.htm
It’s true that many NPOs may not have the resources to fund effective advertising. The Greenville Zoo definitely needs a little help with its website.
- Proximity – There is none. Each element is individually listed. The links should be grouped together instead of spread out on the page. The links trap the available white space on the page making it look empty.
-Alignment – The entire page uses centered text. There are no strong lines visible. The hours and prices need to be listed instead of lost in a sentence.
-Repetition – The links are the only repetition on the page.
-Contrast – The pages uses primary colors and weight to contrast the information. The title draws my attention, but it competes with the “Baby Orangutan” in the center of the page.
Overall, this page is lacking.

Better site:http://www.zooatlanta.org/home.htm
Since Zoo Atlanta is a larger, more successful zoo, their budget probably allows for some professional advertising help.
-Proximity – Important information is grouped together to easily find what you are looking for. Each link also has subheadings available when you click on them.
-Alignment – The info links are left aligned creating a strong line on the left side with the Zoo Atlanta logo and the Zoo News underneath. The pictures on the right side of the page also create a strong line with the main picture in the middle.
-Repetition – The search uses the same triangle accent as the links on the left side. The large block font and san sarif are also repeated throughout the page.
-Contrast – Again, primary colors are used but with more efficiency. The contrast between the yellow background, orange accents and green type really makes the page colorful, fun and easy to read. Differences in font, size and weight are also well utilized.
This page is easy to navigate and eye-catching.

Comparison of 2 Web Sites - Home Builders

As usual, I've used something else that relates to my MAPC project. I've decided to look at 2 web sites for home building companies. Both of these companies build homes for similar demographics, yet their web sites are drastically different.

The losing site: David Weekley Homes http://www.davidweekleyhomes.com/
One of the things I noticed prior to this project (and the reading assignment) was that this site does not - at all - reflect the homes this company builds or the clients they serve. Its use of bright, almost primary colors, and overall layout immediately struck me as novice and poorly designed. After the readings, I noticed even more problems:

• The entire front page is centered, yet it doesn't follow the symmetry guidelines noted in the White reading. White notes that the "widest line should be at or near the top and the shortest line should be at or near the bottom." On this site, the 2 shortest lines are in the middle (Home Club, Financing line) and at the top (logo line) which makes the page look chopped up.
• The use of white space, as described by both White and Williams, should make a publication look wealthy, luxurious, and classy. Yet, this page doesn't achieve that, probably due to the centered content, which pushes the white space to the proximity of the page.
• The use of proximity on this page could be improved by splitting the content on the center of the page up - the introductory paragraph, links, and footer material are all sort of muddled together.
• The alignment, though I've been saying centered, is not consistently centered. The home club/financing line looks more justified than anything else to me and the captions under the left and right line of photos are not centered on the photo.
• Lastly, there is not a lot of repetition or contrast on this site. The closest to either is the use of a similar font throughout (though the sizes are not high contrast so it looks more like a mistake than a design choice).

The winning site: Kyle Hunt and Partners, http://kylehuntpartners.com
One of the first things that I noticed about this site (again, prior to this class and assignment) was how classy and rich the site looked. The most obvious different between this site and the David Weekley site is the use of color schemes. This site uses a light sage green with a darker mauve (a drastic difference from the bright blues, reds, and yellows on the David Weekley site and logo). This site is clearly the winner of the two because of the following reasons:

• White notes that "its common to use space as a kind of luxury, projecting generosity or classic simplicity...a formula for class" (pg 27) and this site exemplifies this concept. The top mauve bar is blank other than a photo and links (on 2nd level pages). Further, the content of the page has space throughout.
• The asymmetry of the background image suggests motion and activity. In addition, this background image adds something to the site in a subtle way and it reflects architecture.
• The concept of proximity on this page is followed correctly; all headers are grouped accordingly with text and links are together in their own area of the site.
• Repetition is used throughout the site with the same mauve top bar and green background on every page. The fonts are also consistent and the company name is always in the same place on every page.
• The top mauve bar helps with contrast, though I think that there could be more punch to the rest of the page(s).
• alignment is one of the big problems for me on this site. Overall the body text is always left aligned, which is great. The problem, however, is in the link line (on 2nd level pages) where the links are centered on the line and the company name where the "incorporated" is centered under the "Kyle Hunt and Partners" and the whole thing is sort of suspended in space - it's not lined up with any element on the epage. It might have been more effective to line up the K with the mauve line on the left of the page.

*Jen

Comparison of Satellite TV Providers

I chose two satellite television providers' websites for my comparison/contrast. I went with these websites because I thought both were somewhat successful, but that one "kicked it up a notch" over the other. (note: I viewed these sites in Mozilla Firefox at 1920X1200 pixels)

First, the loser: www.dishnetwork.com
This site fulfilled the basic concepts of CRAP, but could have used a bit more thought in order to reach its maximum potential. Here are some items from the site that could use some work:
1. The alignment of text on the page made it somewhat difficult to navigate. For example, to log in as a user you must read through a lot of centered, blocked text in the middle of the page.
2. The top right-aligned toolbar doesn't make proper use of contrast and repetition. The white letters turn a yellow that makes them hard to read against the red background. The designer should have used the same contrast principles on the toolbar that s/he uses on the drop-down menus where text was either presented with a white or red background.
3. The proximity of the first toolbar to the drop-down menus is good in theory, but in this case it is done at the expense of clarity. The results options of links are cluttered and overbearing. It might have been more successful to group the links not only by function but also by the type of viewer (i.e. first time customer or regular user).

And now for the winner: directtv.com
This site is very similar to the Dish Network, however, the CRAP concepts are executed with greater clarity and consistency. Here are some items from the website that makes it a success:
1. The alignment of the text makes it easy to navigate for the returning user or first-time viewer. The log-in bar is at the top, center and uses reverse type for additional contrast and visibility.
2. Contrast in the toolbar is used effectively. The blue color scheme logo is incorporated into the text on the sidebar, and selecting an option reverses the type, surrounding it in the trademark blue.
3. The options are intelligently grouped, and proximity is clearly defined. Returning customers are rewarded at the top of the website, and potential customers are rewarded with a separate, left side-bar for their use. A separate, handy quick-links box is also made available to users wanting to navigate around the layered system of toolbars.

TWO WEBSITES

I chose country club/golf course websites as my theme for this question.

The first website I would like to showcase is http://www.playrancho.com, for the Rancho Viejo Resort and Country Club in Rancho Viejo, Texas.
I think this site is poorly done and ineffective for several reasons.
1. Everything is centered. While there is ample white space included, there is a very unsophisticated feel to the page in general, due heavily to the fact that nothing is aligned creatively.
2. The focus of the page is a map of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by various images from the club. There is so much going on--too much layering and accessive use of color--that the end product is incredibly busy and cluttered. The text that labels each picture/link is also rather small and swallowed up by the array of images.
3. In The Non-Designer's Design Book, it was suggested that the main page of any website be sized in such a way that a visitor need not scroll down to find links. This homepage, however, is unneccesarily lengthly and does not employ this smart technique.

My second site of choice is that of the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina--http://www.pinehurst.com.
I feel that this website has been constructed in a much more aesthetically pleasing and interesting way (with an added feeling of sophistication). In my opinion, this is most specifically due to the following characteristics:
1. Good alignment. The homepage is very geometric in nature--some may say this is a lack of creativity--but everything is lined up neatly and articulately. I think this reflects the personality of the resort itself.
2. The logo is visible at the top left-hand corner of the page and remains in that spot no matter what link is visited.
3. The font size is not to big, and there is consistancy throughout in terms of font choice for different kinds of text.
4. This site, unlike that of Rancho Viejo's, fits in a clean box that does not require a user to scroll in order to view.