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? (pp. 41-56)
The goal of Apple’s website is to provide information on their products while reinforcing Apple’s brand image.
A user arriving at Apple’s site looking for help with their MacBook would most likely click support, in the toolbar at the top of the homepage. Then they are prompted to select a product category to get support for. This prompt includes pictures, making the selection simple. Once the user selects their model from the “hardware” menu, they are given an easy to use set of articles, including a welcome page and a “new to mac” article.
What are the functional specifications of Facebook’s wall? If you are not on Facebook what are the specs for the signup page? (pp. 72-75)
The Facebook sign-up page outlines some of Facebook’s main features, and allows a user to either sign-in or sign-up. The sign-in information is smaller and tucked away at the top of the page, and selected by default, for users familiar with it. The sign-up information is more central to the page, and bigger. It also provides text fields and radio buttons allowing a new user to enter their information. The page also features a selection of housekeeping links at the bottom, along with language selections.
What are four architectural approaches to information structure? Find one example of each. (pp. 94-106)
- Hierarchical: brunnerworks.com
The website for Pittsburgh ad agency Brunner consists of a handful of pages, each describing a facet of its business. Each page is self-explanatory and easy to find. - Matrix: Amazon.com
On any given product page, amazon suggests several other products based on different types of correlation, which are also adapted for the user. - Organic: Wikipedia.org
The organic nature of Wikipedia is so unpredictable that games have been formed around it. Pages are full of links to other pages, and the the only consistent navigation is mostly housekeeping (homepage, policies) - Sequential: lifehacker.com
Advice and tips site lifehacker is an example of a sequential website. It features several articles daily, ordered by publishing time, making it possible to read through it, start to finish.
What percentage of The Huffington Post index page is navigation, and what percentage is content? What about Google, Wikipedia, and Etsy? (pp. 116-134)
| Navigation | Content | |
|---|---|---|
| Huffington Post | 98% | 2% |
| 15% | 5% | |
| Wikipedia | 80% | 20% |
| Etsy | 30% | 70% |
How does http://www.landor.com guide the readers’ eyes and focus their attention on what is important? (pp. 144-155 )
Landor.com used color and contrast to guide the reader’s eye. The center sections are given vibrant colors, while the fringe sections are given a washed out low contrast black and white treatment.