Unit 2 Reading Reponse

Unit 2 Reading Response

It is safe to say that the most prominent message in these collections of chapters is to Keep Things Simple. When I was first designing webpages, I was using Netscape Composer…that’s how long it’s been since I have been designing sites. I was always under the presumption that people will want to read absolutely everything that I had to put in my website. I could not have been more mistaken. It’s true: we scan, we don’t read. I am guilty of it myself and will come by it honestly. When I go to a website, I navigate the way I shop: I know what I want and don’t need anything else.

I enjoy the fact that the author also points out many times that a fast-loading web site is the best way to go. This was a subject matter that I addressed when I first got into game asset design. I always thought that if we can make something look gorgeous with as much detail as possible, we should. Then I was taught what a data ceiling is and what “low-poly” count is. This applies to web design as well. Making something look beautiful does not necessisarily mean to make it filled with data. Simplicity can be beautiful, as well.

Keeping things simple continues to be a prominent theme in the following chapters that discuss hierarchy and search-architecture. We don’t want to have to think too hard to get the message. Web designers should always keep this in mind, for we are scanners, and if it is hard to scan or there are obstacles that keep us from doing easy reads, we are more than likely to simply exit the site and never come back. This also applies to actual design. It someone is going to be avant garde and try to make something new, they have to get to know the giants before climbing on their shoulders. People are subject to routine…we are slave to it. We will tend to like a NAV more if it is familiar than if it is new and strange. There has to be a seen transition that makes the move from tried and true to new and exciting a smooth move.

The final chapter of this particular unit continues to go down the theme of simplicity. Do not use needless words. This will create the abovementioned obstacles and will disallow people to read easily. Also, instructions on how to use a website are needless, as well. If it needs instructions, it’s not simple.

http://www.racket.net.au/
>A great example of avant garde navigation that keeps things simple. This is a company that does web design and production. Simple scroll that goes to a few different scrolling frames.

http://casestudies.labforculture.org/flash/main.php
>This site is a fascinating site, where the NAV for the homepage is in the center, but when you click anything, it goes to a fixed position on the left-upper side. This is one that I truly find to be intriguing, is because it creates a sense of direction. You don’t feel lost, which is easy to do for this kind of a subject matter.

http://www.cathybeck.com/
>Another beautiful use of navigation in a unique fashion. It is very easy to identify, as the menu items are very recognizable and have terrific animations for the hover effects.

http://www.ign.com/
>with such easy navigation for so much data, IGN has been one of my favorite sites to go to for my entertainment fix. With so much data, one would think their site would always crash, but the designers have done a magnificent job in keeping IGN going strong.