WEEK 3: 3 SITES IN NEED

Three E-Commerce Sites That Could Use A Redesign

Daniel Smith
Local art supply site. Could benefit from clearer navigation, utilizing hierarchy. The ordering process could use clarification and reordering.

eBay
23rd most visited site in the world, but popularity does not necessarily translate to ease of use. Anyone who has ordered through eBay is aware of the steep learning curve involved.

Arngren
What... uh... What's going on here? I'm not entirely sure what this site is selling... Hovercrafts? Dummy cameras? Robots? There's virtually no negative space.

WEEK 3: Intermediate Home Page Design cont.

 

"And where does the newborn go from here? The net is vast and infinite...."  

Current site. I threw this in here as a case study...one I've been wanting to progress from recently. 

The basic design I still like. Though I always wanted more in the background, especially underneath (reveal) the moving bars. 

Best tips Ive got so far from colleagues as to what to change/add/remove:

• Focus more on client-based (published or volunteer) work rather than fine art, or at least put the former before the latter. 
• Add my resume. (Used to have it on there as a pdf, but it got outdated and I took some major turns and just didn't get back to it. I may throw it back up this week tho in lieu of needing PT work...)
• For the visual displays of work, use a slideshow (e.g., Lightbox) technique rather than all images on one long single strand, you want to focus on one image at a time, and not have to use a back button or find out where you've been taken (not to pop up a new window). New widgets provide for a pop-up/fade away over the current window that I really look forward to using. 

Where else to go from here? Wordpress, widgets, resume, try and turn my twirling tattoo into a logo (as it is my design).

WEEK 3: Intermediate Home Page Design

 

"Oh, Central America and whatnot....Hmm. But moving on: They're gonna cancel latin."

I created this and immediately had a revelation: Wow, I don't want to make another Flash-heavy site. Moving on!

Week 2 Reading

Okay, re-reading the syllabus…I’m going to give a response rather than a summary, as I did last week (in which 200 words was just inconceivable) –make it comprehensive and personal rather than regurgitative....

As guiding principles go (Chapters 1-5), I think Krug is spot-on. Our reading for this week summed up:

·      CHP. 3: Everything rests at a glance.

·      CHP. 4: “3 mindless, unambiguous clicks = 1 click that requires thought.”

·      CHP. 5: Clearcut the words like you should the content.

While I read I am reminded: as a designer, my two major weaknesses are a) prioritization and b) brevity. The former causes the latter. Choosing what to keep and what to throw away, when it is your own handmade material, is like choosing which child to drown in the bathtub. (you choose the scenario) But ultimately, it has to be done. Often, if it’s similar content, like multiple files of 1 kind of my work, I line up the ones that display the best work, most versatile, and wipe the rest. Then, as Krug says (“Get rid of half what’s left.”), I cut it down some more. This I do mostly arbitrarily, as again, I’m terrible at making these choices. They’re my babies.

But when it comes to prioritization in hierarchy, I feel intuitive enough to do this well. Once the stacking is in place, it’s a matter of managing visual cues, (e.g., “The more importantsomething is, the more prominent it is…”) maintaining a consistent and logical design, and editing while you go. As hard (yet swift in many cases) as it is, editing can be the most cathartic part of the process –when you realize and actualize simplicity in its most efficient form, you are left with elegance. And yet elegance –similar to how the trimmed characteristics of the shape of a jet can determine how maneuverable and thus powerful it can be– can make design more stunning, and functionally more effective. 

What I find most intriguing with this book so far, aside from its succinctness, is that it’s common sense that we perceive, but tend to forget to repeat to ourselves. It’s powerful information laid out in the most simple of terms, like a Daniel Pink or Malcom Gladwell book.

Week 2: 3 Sites Related to Reading

1. Clutter: Although I visit their site regularly, as they provide a spectacular amount of good environmentalist info, Grist’s website gives me a migraine. It looks like 2 or 3 sites dumped on top of each other, seemingly at least 2 headers, ads in between major content, inconspicuous lists, etc.

2. "Some sites even have design rules...": My brother's Zen Spider website is about as streamlined as you can get. No graphics, period. As he puts it:

'Content to Noise Ratio'
"I prefer content over noise. As such, I have a minimum of graphics in this site. There should be zero graphics on all regular pages. Those pages that do have graphics should have very very few. If you want, you can use my Cache Optimizer to load all of the images on this site in at once (less than 32Kb) to speed things up.
I have redesigned the entire site to have a good balance between raw content and navigability. I use HTML 3.2 compliant devices to create small fast navigation tools consistent across every page. As a result, my website can be viewed by any browser that I know is still in use (and most that aren't)."
 
Although it could be argued that any site which needs a sitemap is contradicting a sense of simplicity....you rarely see sitemaps these days, probably mostly in part due to the conventions Krug refered to in Chp. 3. I don't even know how old my brother's original site is. Old.

3.  Visual Noise: Although I hadn't visited any Myspace page in ages (until today, and it seems they have overhauled visually in a major way), I remember always being hesitant to go to any Myspace pages due to their colorful body copy and flashing avatars overlaying whatever eternally-tiled background image the host provided. A true source of many a seizure I'm sure. Maybe they cleaned up their act over injury lawsuits. 

Week 1 Moodboard FINAL

Week 1 Sketch

Random Quote 1

"More computing sins are committed in the name of efficiency (without necessarily achieving it) than for any other single reason—including blind stupidity." [W.A. Wulf]

Week 1: 3 Sites I Like

1. Don Pendleton has worked with Alien Workshop since its conception, and is its image. very grpahic, very stylistic, and very talented. Doesn't have his own site, so you have to go to the company:

http://www.alienworkshop.com/#

2. Local outfit, I check them out occasionally, they seem to do a lot:

http://www.wongdoody.com

3. One of my old (and contemporary) favorite artists, and Director of Design for another great skateboard company, Andy Jenkins:

http://www.bendpress.com/

Week 1 Reading

Chapter 1 touches on logistical theory (“Why?”) and explores the question, “what makes good usability –and is thus good for both the user (them) and the website creator/author (us)?" 

The goal, he says, is to minimize cognitive workload so that a user goal may be easily achieved. Workload can refer to any element on a page that requires thought: the worse being ambiguity, arbitrary words or images or placement, obscure wordage, etc.

Minimizing space (vs. risking over-minimalism) requires a balanced approach: a logic between the dictum that ‘the competition is one click away,’ (client leaves) and the fact that many-a-user will doubt their own intuition and persistently toil (client stays).

“If you can’t make a page self-evident, you at least need to make it self-explanatory.“ Ultimately, what this means is, eliminating question marks (e.g., 5 W’s attributed to potential site) should be the overarching practice. i.e., “Brevity is the soul of wit” but don’t outwit your viewer...or yourself.

This is theory.

Chapter 2 focuses on practice: actual use and design application. (“How?”)

Krug reminds us we have to keep in mind that people tend to scan or glance, rather than absorb. It’s quicker, easier, and taking in an entire site is unnecessary in terms of getting to the goal/s. People are also obstinate and habitual. Often we do things the hard way, because we don’t take the time to figure out how things work, or “get it.” This irony lends itself to a dangerous (for us and them) duality of sticking around on a non-intuitive site, and yet getting frustrated by having to do so.

Best to make sure, by designing simply and unassuming of the intuition or savvy of the client, they can easily “get it.” If this is achieved, they get what they were looking for and got what you had to offer. They’ll explore your site with more confidence and thus afford more time and attention, and chances are better they’ll return.

This is (good) practice.

Assignment 1 Cont. : Color Scheme Results

Here are the results, and this is a permalink to said results.

Assignment 1 Cont. : Color Palette

This will be the image I drop into Colorsuckr to get the color scheme for my moodboard and thus possibly new site. I'm curious about the results. (Next post) The typewriter I shot, the roving army I had found somewhere else, before they were armed. Probably a village fleeing Germans...

Note: I'm doing this process last...probably should've done it, uh, first. 

Assignment 1: Moodboard

Rough Draft (e.g., no color palette) moodboard. I still have no idea what a moodboard is. And that effects my mood.