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.