Category: Reading Response

Interaction design, as defined by the text, states that it is “a human-centered field and the creation of a framework in which to experience [designs] (pp. 6-7). The text states that design is influenced by “the individual designer’s world view” (Kolko & Connors, 2010, p. 100). However, I believe this can go both ways. Design can be influenced by others, but can also have an impact and influence on others. Either way, interaction is used in all parts of a design, whether just explaining a concept to another person, finding out a client’s needs, or making the product appeal to the consumer. 

The text mentions that art and design are very much a part of communication, especially in terms of technology (p. 100). In my life, I’ve realized that communication can have many outcomes, but cannot always convey our message accurately. Therefore, messages are often misinterpreted. Messaging through a text message or social media can pose a challenge. A message can easily be misinterpreted because tone cannot be read or seen through body language when communicating through words. 

I feel this will be a challenge in my career path in graphic design and advertising. Not all graphics include a picture or other visual aid. It is essential to design for others to have an understanding of the design, but the message must be understood through only colors, words, and shapes. As designers, it is important to remember that we influence the way people view and think about their experiences throughout life. Semiotics, the study of signs (both physical and conceptual) can help with recognizing these needs (p. 103). However, these needs can also relate to aesthetics and hooking the senses, as senses heighten your awareness (p.104). 

It is important to remember that once the product is released to the consumer, it is out of your control how they experience and think of it. This can be scary for a designer because interaction design has a start and an end and therefore ignores interaction with the consumer afterward (pp. 108-109). This makes it especially important to be mindful of the time you have with the client and also the amount of time you have to work on a project. Also, I feel interaction design is about taking our understanding of both our current and future environment and creating something that will still be needed in the future. 

Reference

Kolko, J., & Connors, C. (2010). Thoughts on interaction design: a collection of reflections. Burlington (MA): Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, an imprint of Elsevier.

• What makes up interaction design and what are some of the industry’s challenges?

Interaction design is made up from a designer, technology, and communication between a consumer and designer. Some industry challenges would be tight budgets and lack of creative freedom from companies.

• What is interaction design, how its evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from?

Interaction design is the creation of communication between a person and a product or system. It changes as the communication changes. It changes when consumer and clientele needs change. It draws from cognitive psychology.

One of the most important concepts, which I read about in chapter 6 of “Thoughts on Interaction Design”, is that interaction designers must be able to “advocate for humanity at all levels” (p. 94). This advocating involves educating people about various skills, apart from that of analog skills, in order to understand the digital culture of today. Since design is largely focused on technology, it’s important for designers to be able to take a step outside of it in order to create. Interaction design is about so much more than just technology. It’s about understanding the culture we’re in and the changes that go along with it, in order to be able to meet the needs of various users. By acknowledging the presence of norms in our society, designers can help to change, contribute to, move, and even shape these norms, which are responsible for cultural change, in a positive way. This is just one way that design can be used to help the everyday man, It helps to reshape the way people view, react, and respond the experiences going on around them.

Cultural norms seems to factor into the creation of products. Products are created and produced for the society they live in. That may not end so well because it can sacrifice the real need for functionality of a device. Even though a decision may seems small it can have a big impact on public and the device in the future. It was very interesting to see all the different things people have created within this chapter like One Laptop Per Child.

Interaction design plays an important role in the lives of the common consumer. While it has only been well recognized within the last two decades or so, interaction design has been around for much longer. Most people do not understand what interaction design is and do not realize that interaction design is implemented into almost everything. However, it can be recognized through the senses, whether through visual stimulation, touch, or sound.

 The benefits and value in interaction design are so important that it is defined as the very first sentence of the book itself “Interaction design is the creation of a dialogue between a person and a product, service, or system” (Kolko, Connors, 2010, p. 11). Some things to consider when reflecting on interaction design is that it “shapes human behavior” in a never-ending cycle. Much of the influence for designs comes from behavior and then is redesigned based on that behavior. An interaction designer combines the artistic thoughts of an artist with the form and technicality of designers.

Interaction design draws from many industries. Many people aren’t even sure which it belongs to because defining where the field belongs gets a little bit cloudy. It is often recognized in art, engineering, and business strategy, but is a part of so many more. Interaction design also pulls from the thought processes through psychology so it makes sense that it also gets confused with this field as well. 

Some other difficulties and challenges that the interaction design industry faces is with coming up with something new and fast. The competition for technological advances is hard, as you always want to be the first. This can cause it not to be the best ergonomically or functionally. Convergent product design is also a major problem. As interactive design in engineering and psychology start to merge with new technology, the job of the designer becomes more difficult. Other countries such as China and India are becoming especially good at the technology and form it takes to have a well-developed outcome, so the United States is left with figuring out the best ways to fuse the two (Kolko, Connors, 2010, p. 23).

The benefits of new innovations in technology and an increased need for interaction designers heavily outweigh the disadvantages of the industry. With the growing exposure to these interactions, I believe people will become more familiar with the industry and will gain an interest in it as well. 

Reference:

Kolko, J., & Connors, C. (2010). Thoughts on interaction design: a collection of reflections. Burlington (MA): Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, an imprint of Elsevier.

What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website? (pp. 48-54)

Ethnographic tools can help people to see what is working in a design and what isn’t. Sometimes journey mapping can be a great tool to help plan how a user could use the product in “real life” scenarios. An example of how an online banking website could use ethnographic tools is through analytics. Through analytics of a website, you can find the number of page views and view time, and compare this to other times. This can help to identify what was the most successful and least successful parts of the site and how people navigate through the site itself. This can be important when thinking about redesign and updates for the site in the future. 

At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose? (pp. 54-62)

A design is almost never finished. It can only be “finished” when it satisfies all of the client’s needs or when it has to be completed by a certain deadline. Even when a piece is “done,” there can always be updates or improvements to be made. As technology is always changing and evolving, designs and trends follow. A successful design is one that is functional in relation to its purpose and is easy for the user to comprehend. The purpose of a good design is to leave the user with a design that will do a task for the user or better their life. 

Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding effected your use, relationship and experience with the product? (pp. 78-84)

My family is mixed between technology brands, but personally, I am an avid Apple user. I got my first Apple iPhone about three years ago because my Motorola one was old and I wanted to “fit in.” It seemed everyone in school had an iPhone at the time, so I decided to try it out. After that initial purchase, I realized how much I liked the interface and brand experience and never turned back. Even when I was inexperienced with Apple devices, the familiarity I got from both the website and friends helped me gain familiarity and grow confidence in the brand. Since then, I have bought the iMac to use in college because I realized that many people in the creative industry use them. I noticed this through the recommendations from professors, friends, and through social media. Last winter, I also bought an iPad Pro in place of a laptop so I could have the drawing aspect as well as most of the functions of a basic computer. I feel these products are really useful for graphic designers and to use in daily life. Apple did well in marketing that they are meant to allow you to express yourself. Also, the branding really helped to convince me that I was buying the right product. It is advertised that it is easy to sync all devices with each other, which was a big selling point for me. They also are known for their great customer service and have a lot of information on the products on their website that help you to solve many problems yourself. This takes the inconvenience of waiting out of the picture. These views helped me establish a positive feeling towards the brand and their products. 

1) What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website? (pp. 48-54)

According to “Thoughts on Interaction Design” (p. 48), an ecosystem diagram is “a visual representation of a system or brand, commonly used to describe a set of user engagement points.”  The tools that an ethnographic system can give in helping to improve an online banking service are important to keep in mind.  These tools may include providing the customer with a roadmap that visually shows them how each function on the site works together, provides insight on how to interact with each banking feature, highlights the most important functions on the website, and helps the user to understand how each feature comes together to make online banking easier.  Another tool that they might use is a journey map.  A journey map “describes the sequence users go through, over time, as they encounter the various facets of the ecosystem diagram” (“Thoughts on Interaction Design” p. 50).  Similar to the ecosystem diagram, a journey map might provide the user with information on how to use the website through various visual representations.  For example, it might show the user how to connect their bank account to the online banking website, how they can set up their online banking, and so much more. I think it’s important to understand that these tools exist and how they work together because banking is an important job that needs to be done right.  Without these tools, to help the banking website run smoothly, the user may have a hard time understanding how to use the site, and therefore, they might mess up their banking account or make a mistake that could cost them later on. 

2) At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose? (pp. 54-62)

Designs are never fully finished.  There’s always room to improve and expand on them.  Since technology is always growing and the wants of users are always changing, a design is never fully complete.  However, I do believe that there’s a certain point where there’s no room left for improvement.  In that case, a design might be done when it has met the wants and needs of the consumer and/or has reached a point where re-working it would overcomplicate it or distract it from its purpose.  A successful design is a design that meets the wants and needs of the consumer.  It responds well to change, and it only gets better with time.  In order for a design to stay a success, it must be able to meet the consumer where they are, give them what they want, and show them what they need.  The purpose of design is to enhance the lives of the consumer by providing them with tools and experiences that’ll help them to improve their daily lives.    

3) Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding effected your use, relationship and experience with the product? (pp. 78-84)

One product family that I use on a regular basis are Apple devices.  I really like their products because Apple systems are very easy to use. Their branding really has effected the way that I use their products.  The first Apple product that I ever got was an iPod.  I remember that I was so excited to get it because I saw how much Apple promoted it and how cool it looked.  I mean who doesn’t want a music player with a screen that allows you to scroll through music or shows?!  Ever since then, I’ve been hooked on Apple products.  I think what makes apple such a success is the experience that it provides for the user.   Take the iPhone, which I use on a daily basis, for example.  Not only does it function as a cell phone, allowing me to call and text people, but it also acts as my own personal music device and search engine as well.  The app store, on Apple devices, is a great tool for helping to sell the brand.  With so many different apps to choose from, it enhances the user experience by giving them a network for engaging with different services.  I love the fact that I can easily connect with my family and friends through apps like Instagram or Facebook.  The app store also provides me with various design tools as well, such photo editing or video making apps.  These apps really help to enhance and build my relationship with the brand.  They do this by giving me a place to stay in touch with the social world and also encouraging me to use my creative skills. Additionally, Apple is also very good at making information readily available for their users.  On their website, for example, they provide a support page for each Apple product to help the user navigate through the different features of their device.  This is a great branding technique which sets Apple apart from other brands. When it comes to Apple, the needs and wants of the users always come first.  This is what makes my experience and relationship with their products so positive. 

• What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website? (pp. 48-54)

By researching and developing both an ecosystem diagram and a journey map, an online banking website could better understand the process by which their site interacts with other products and their users throughout its “life”. An ecosystem map may be able to identify how the website performs on a desktop or laptop versus a tablet or mobile phone. It may also show how the website itself interacts with the physical bank and the bank’s accounting system. The journey map is better suited to illustrating how users of the website will be able to find information they want (how much they have in savings, checking, etc) and how to handle to potential issues (canceling a debit card, changing a PIN number, etc). The journey map can highlight the major points of each user’s interaction of the website from start to finish, including any system errors that may occur.

• At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose? (pp. 54-62)

A design is finished when its users desire no more improvement, which is almost never. The aesthetic part of design constantly changes with time regardless, as fashion trends grow and recede with time. A successful design allows each user to have “an experience” in which said user is able to track the narrative of their interaction with the design and have the agency afterwards to explain its effects on them. Good design’s purpose is to leave the user with a positive narrative that they can easily communicate to themselves and others so that they develop a connection with the design as well as a familiarity with it.

• Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding effected your use, relationship and experience with the product? (pp. 78-84)

I consistently use Fender products whenever I go to make music. It is a long established and well-respected brand in the music industry that to this day still strives to create interesting and new products while at the same time providing classic devices that long-time customers will be familiar with. From guitars, amplifiers, pedals, and other accessories, I feel I can trust Fender produced items to be of the highest quality and best value. When fellow musicians see that I play with Fender products, they recognize that they are professional grade instruments and devices that command a certain reverence, and in turn treat me with more respect. To many others and I, Fender is associated with longevity, pride, and musical excellence.

What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website? 

It can provide insight to see if the website is easy to use and the common issues among the users when using the website. Also how the users navigate through the website and what they commonly gravitate towards on the site. 

At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose?

The design is finished when it satisfied the clients needs or when a deadline is approaching. A design is also finished when it is put into production to be created and mass produced. The purpose is to create something for people to use. A finished design is able to be manufactured and then it becomes useful in everyday life depending on what the item is. 

Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding affect your use, relationship and experience with the product? 

A product family I would use regularly would be Apple products but more specifically the Ipod generations. The way a brand presents itself can really affect if someone buys it or not. I got it just because it worked well and of course for the name. Everyone has an Apple product which means I should have one to if everyone else has it. There must be something so great about this product that everyone has it. I have become more dependent on it for entertainment rather than just music. Since I can get access to so many apps now I use those rather than just regular ITunes. I still use ITunes but only when I do not have an internet connection. My experience so far has been good. Since Apple has a good reputation with its products I expect something great and reliable. 

Madisyn Kovach

Reading Thoughts on Interaction Design: Chapters 3, 4 & 5

• What information can ethnographic tools give you to improve the interactivity of an online banking website? (pp. 48-54)
• Ethnographic tools used by Interaction Designers attempt to understand what people do and why they do it. Most ethnographic tools are generally poor methods of determining if someone would buy a certain product, identifying how much someone would pay for a certain product, and understanding what color, texture, material, size, or shape to make a certain product. While tools like surveys or interviews can certainly ask questions relating to these details, people have a difficult time in estimating or remembering details related to this type of preference. Instead, ethnography helps designers identify problems.  So, if I was looking on PNC’s Bank website, I would be looking for the design of the site. I would also be questioning if I can use this easily or if I struggle while I am using it. In my opinion, when looking through PNC’s website, I feel like it is a great website. For example, the layout is understanding, nothing is out of place, there are colors that make my eyes pop, and there are different size of text used.  
• At what point is a design finished? What makes it a success? What is its purpose? (pp. 54-62)
• It is known that a designer will create a mass of ideas, test them, and gather good feedback, all the while honing in on a particular solution. I feel like a design is never completely finished how you expected it would be.  You have to remember to please your audience. So, things might have to change in the future to keep the incoming crowd happy with the product. There are several things that can make the product a success. One thing can be the satisfaction of the customers that are using the product.  The second thing is people purchasing the product. The final thing is the reviews online. Getting good reviews can cause other customers to purchase your product.  A good designer, however, balances convergent thinking with a healthy level of divergent thinking.  The purpose of the design is to please the user and the person who created the device.   
• Identify a product family you use regularly (can be anything from technology to consumables except for coffee). How has its branding affect your use, relationship and experience with the product? (pp. 78-84)
• A product family that I use regularly is Apple.  I currently own a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Headphones.  I also have owned several of their iPods including the nano, touch, and shuffle.  I started using Apple when I was about seven years of age when I got my first iPod.  I continued using the iPods when I was younger because I thought it was easy to just transfer my songs through iTunes.  When thinking I was younger I started with the flip phone and in about 8th or 9th grade, my dad told me I could choose a smartphone.  Having several Apple products before, I knew an iPhone would be the best decision. I can tell you I have not had any other smart phone other than the iPhones.  Anytime I had a problem with my phone, I would always look on Apple’s website because I knew there was a step by step process to walk you through the situation. When going to trade my iPhones, the customer service in the Apple Store was amazing.  They would always answer my questions, as well as, walking me through how to set up my phone. They also have helped me transfer everything from my old phone to my new phone. I feel like I have stayed with Apple because I never really had issues with their products or staff before.  Also, everything on their devices are user friendly.      

• What makes up interaction design and what are some of the industry’s challenges?
  • Worrying about:
    • Fragmented user journeys & clever but lazy users
      • Trying to get everything on the website/app but making things as easy as possible.  You do not want them to get confused using the website or app but you still want to get all of the information onto that page.  
    • New interaction paradigms
      • EX: tapping on social media apps like snapchat
  • Making sure the page is visually attractive
    • You want to make sure you are pleasing the users eye.
  •  How much information you want on your page
    • You want to make sure you are putting an equal amount of text and photos on a website.  Chances are if the website is all text, your viewer will probably not look at it.
  • The simplicity on the page
    • Making sure you can function it as easy as possible. 
  • Making the device looked finish
    • When it fits the user at a specific time
• What is interaction design, how its evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from?
  • Interaction Designers- find themselves in the unique position of being at the center of several worlds, all of which are presently colliding within the global marketplace. These worlds include industrial design, engineering, psychology, art, and business strategy. All of these elements must be present and well integrated in order to create a successful Interaction Design, and the Interaction Designer often seeks out the role of project manager—in charge of ensuring that all of these fields are adequately represented in the development of a product.
  • Good design is as little design as possible
  • Users should not have to think about the design. It should feel natural. 
  • Interaction Design- is the design of interactive products and services in which a designer’s focus goes beyond the item in development to include the way users will interact with it. Thus, close scrutiny of users’ needs, limitations and contexts, etc. empowers designers to customize output to suit precise demands.
  • Different Fields:
    • Interaction
    • Graphic
    • Photography
    • Multimedia
    • Interior 
    • Advertising
    • Film
  • Design shapes behavior
  • There should be a meaningful relationship between the person and the thing.

• 1) What makes up interaction design and what are some of the industry’s challenges?

    Interaction design is made up of various parts.  Not only does it involve the designer, but it also involves the consumer as well.  Interaction designers work to build relationships between products, services, people, and systems by encouraging dialogue through the use of functions, technology, and other forms as they develop over time.  The act of interaction design includes studying the consumer in order to better understand and change the way that they think, do, and view things.  Interaction designers may work under the practice of visual interface design, information architecture, or even usability engineering.  The purpose of interaction design is to help change the way people view and use design.  In order to accomplish this, the designers must be able to understand how people relate to the world, each other, and also the changes that are happening in technology and businesses.

    There are many challenges when it comes to interaction design.  One of the biggest challenges is uncovering the wants and needs of the consumer.  Since every person is different, it’s hard for designers to know exactly what their consumers might want at any given moment. In order to accomplish this task, the designer must be able to pinpoint the needs and wants of their consumer. This includes doing research, among other things, in order to figure out what these needs and wants are.  The designer must also must be able to carry out the task of refining their designs in order to meet the demands of the consumer.  Another issue, which designers may face, is in the area of navigation and usability. Since digital interfaces are often very complex, a lot of people have a hard time understanding how they work and where to go when using them.  That being said, interaction designers must meet the challenge of making these interfaces easier to understand and work with.  This involves taking what’s not physical, or the digital interface, and designing it in such a way as to make it attainable for the common man, without it actually being a physical product.    

2) What is interaction design, how its evolving. What fields does it draw knowledge from?

According to the book, “Thoughts on Interaction Design”, interaction design can be defined as “the creation of a dialogue between a person and a product, system, or service.”  It involves changing the behavior of others and redefining the way that they view things.  That being said, interaction design is always changing and evolving over time. As the wants, needs, and desires of the consumers change, the evolution of interaction design begins to blossom as well.  With technology and social media on the rise, it makes sense that the growth of interaction design would continue along with it. Although the interaction design industry has its own separate field, it encompasses various ideas which it has gained from other fields of study.  For example, interaction designers have gained a lot of their knowledge about memory, perception, and cognition from the field of cognitive psychology.   They also rely heavily on the field of art as a way to learn how to capture the emotions and visual appeal of their consumers.

What are the goals of Apple’s website? How does Apple’s website address the needs of a user who has just purchased their first MacBook?

Apple has truly utilized a strategy for a good user experience through their website. It is easy to navigate their site, whether you are just there for information, to buy a product, or need assistance. They were able to do so through a consistency in their brand identity. Brand identity isn’t just the visuals, it can include the concept or emotional associations with the brand. We don’t design for ourselves. Websites are typically designed to make the company money or save it money (Garrett, 2003). The way to plan for others is to segment users in different ways and be aware of technology awareness within that group. Usability is one of the most important things to consider when planning for a user experience. 

What are the functional specifications of Facebook’s wall? If you are not on Facebook what are the specs for the signup page?

Branding and technical requirements apply to the site as a whole and are often discussed in collaboration between both the developer and the designer with the concept of the final website in mind. It is important to determine how frequently to update. Get the base site down and plan more features for later releases. A functional specification focuses on the people interacting with the system. Therefore, Facebook specifications include connecting people from all over the world and allowing them to share thoughts and life events through a variety of media. Also, through Facebook, you can send payments, sell and buy from an online marketplace, and use it to watch entertaining videos or play games. 

What are four architectural approaches to information structure? Find one example of each.

Web architecture addresses the more abstract issues of the strategy. There are four different architectural approaches: hierarchical, matrix, organic, sequential, but picking an approach depends on the user’s needs. For an example of a hierarchal structure, rmu.edu is a great example. These sites are almost like a family tree where they get smaller and smaller as it progresses. On the RMU website, the navigation bar is the first type of approach. As you dig deeper and deeper within the site, information and links get even more specific. Zappos.com is an example of a matrix information structure. After searching for a product, you can then refine that search by style, color, brand, price, and size. An example of a sequential information structure is a book. While reading a book, you receive and comprehend the information in a sequential or linear order. Superbad.com is a website with an organic information structure. Depending on where you click on each page, each user will have a different navigation pattern. 

What percentage of The Huffington Post index page is navigation, and what percentage is content? What about Google, Wikipedia, and Etsy?

The concerns on this plane are with the individual pages and their components. This deals with interface design, navigation design, and information design. The user shouldn’t have to think about how they are gonna do what they’re gonna do. Make an interface similar to one’s users are familiar with. Content should provide context and reduce mental effort. There are six common types of navigation systems: global, local, supplementary, contextual, courtesy, and remote. On the Huffington Post index page, about 70% of the grid was filled with content, 10% was navigation, and the other 10% was white space. After looking up something on Google, the first page of results yields about 60% content, 5% navigation, and 35% of the page was white space. Wikipedia is a very content-heavy site, with about 85% content, 10% navigation, and 5% white space. While looking at a specific category of products on Etsy, I found that about 60% was content, 20% navigation, and 20% white space.

How does http://landor.com guide the readers’ eyes and focus their attention on what is important?

The surface plane is all about visual design. The grid system is often used for consistency. Color and typography are most effective in communicating a brand’s identity. Landor specifically did a good job in this area. The bright, vibrant yellow will surely draw attention to it. The black and white accents are also bold and modern, giving off an overall powerful vibe. There is not much included in the navigation bar, which directs the user to select a language or click on the hidden drop-down menu. This seems to be a theme throughout the site with large text and minimal designs and stuff to look at in the background. As you scroll further down the homepage, the bright animations draw your eyes to the articles linked beside them. 

Reference:
Garrett, J. J. (2003). The Elements of user experience: user-centered design for the web (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: New Riders.

• What are the goals of Apple’s website? How does Apple’s website address the needs of a user who has just purchased their first MacBook? (Chapter 3)

The goals of Apple’s website were to be user friendly with a lot of support for the user experience. They want to make the customer feel as if they can feel and touch their products without actually seeing them and they want to make it as easy as possible for the user to learn how to use and buy their products.

• What are the functional specifications of Facebook’s wall? If you are not on Facebook what are the specs for the signup page? (Chapter 4: Functional Specifications, Content Requirements an Prioritizing Requirements)

There are many functional specifications on a Facebook wall. This is also another word for scope. Facebook wants you to be able to post pictures or anything. They make it so you can view other peoples posts and make it have tons of functionality. Some of this functionality is as simple as being able to like someone else’s posts.

• What are four architectural approaches to information structure? Find one example of each. (Chapter 5: Information Architecture)

Top down approach is when it starts from broad categories and gets more specific. An example of this is Insta print. There are broad categories to choose from and then you get more specific as you click through the different categories.

A bottom-up approach is when products are grouped based on their functionality. An example of this is Reebok hockey sticks. There are product lines where the hockey sticks are categorized into based on the quality and functionality of the hockey stick.

A hierarchial structure is when there is a main product and other products that stem from that one. An example of this is Nikon. Nikon has a top of the line camera but also has lower models that stem down from that one.

A matrix structure allows the user to filter by different categories. An example of this is Zillow. You can filter based on location, price, and property type.

• What percentage of The Huffington Post index page is navigation, and what percentage is content? What about Google, Wikipedia, and Etsy? (Chapter 6)

I would say that the percentage of navigation and content is equal for all of these websites. Google is mainly based on searching and navigation but they have tons of content within the search results. If anything the amount of navigation may even be greater for these sites.

• How does http://landor.com guide the readers’ eyes and focus their attention on what is important? (Chapter 7: Follow the eye 

They focus on what is important by funneling in the users to make sure they experience everything important. They have interactive buttons that you need to press in order to move throughout the site and there are moving images to attract ones attention to read something.