Unit 4 Reading Response

Unit 4 – Reading Response

There is an undeniable theme in this book that the author is desperately trying to convey: Simplicity is the key to a successful website. In this day of digital wonders, the majority of people have attention spans that can be measured in blinks, and despite fireworks and special effects capturing attention, it doesn’t mean that a user will stay at a website if there is no content. What is most important is to convey the main message in a way that is easily noticeable and read.

I especially love the four questions that need to be asked when looking at a webpage, and have found that over the years, I have chiseled my homepage dramatically from the ostentatious to the simplistic, as I should be letting my content do the proverbial “shock and awe.” The Homepage should be drawing people in, no doubt, but it has be easy to understand and legible. Plus, there has to be a purpose to the site for the alleged product or service. Too much glamour can easily confuse people and is often used as a smokescreen for things that are shallow.

The dissection of many Homepages is very important, as it allows us to see what works and what doesn’t. It also allows us to be able to learn from others’ mistakes. The idea of utilizing taglines for different media is also enlightening. It never occurred to me that a tagline that works for media will not necessarily work for the web or for radio. I always assumed the opposite. However, it stands to reason that since a TV ad is essentially reading the content to the viewer, it is an entirely different situation when the viewer has to read it for themselves.

The section on Pull-Down Menus is very interesting. It has some good points as to why a designer should choose to use them sparingly, as they have very noticeable “cons” associated with them. The idea that they are twitchy and hard to scan is very valuable to know, and proves the earlier point that even though it looks advanced, the message can get lost in the prestige.

In summary, the author wishes to maintain his stance that a clear and concise message is the best way to go. Special effects and glitter can capture attention, but if there is nothing behind it, or if the message and intent of the page can’t be seen, than it’s all smoke in mirrors.



Reference sources:

https://www.hchoo.com/

 This is voted as one of the best home page designs, yet, I wonder why. First, it comes off as a search engine (that part is pretty clear), but then, it also has several different links to different kinds of social media. As social media is ubiquitous, why do we need a third party to get us to the sites? Seems to be a superfluous use of a website, that has too much going on.

http://besthomepageever.com/

 Another example of a search engine, but the tagline is very clear on what the page intends to do. It is a simple service that acts like an address book to the most popular sites. This eludes to the importance of a tagline, especially one that is clear and concise.

http://coolhomepages.com/

 As the name suggests, this is a site that is used as a source of inspiration for budding designers. And, like the above-captioned site, the tagline is simple and concise: “Design Inspiration.” Simple and to the point.

https://www.pinterest.com/

 I may anger a few people with this one, but the concept of Pinterest is beautiful, but the explanation as to the reason for it’s existence is no where to be found. You pin inspiration…a concept that was explained to me by my wife, as I couldn’t figure it out. Like many social media engines, pinterest assumes that people “should just know what their about”, leaving those of us not in-the-know feeling old and in the dark.