The site is the cheesecake factory. The site uses 4 basic colors white, tan, purple, and black. White is used at the top of the page for the navigation bar. Black is used at the bottom of the page for the bottom navigation. Tan and purple are used through out the rest of the page go give it color and detail. The layout of the home page starts with a promotion of there gift cards followed by the top navigation bar. After that comes the content which starts with a large image and a link to online order. Followed by a section of scrolling info. The next section has info about some of what they serve and links to different parts of the menu. Last is links to reservation, story, and locations followed by the bottom navigation bar. All up and down the home page there are links to different pages on the site. When you go to a sub page there are links that go back to other pages. An example is the menu page which is broken up into categories which each have their own page. Any of the menu pages has a link that goes back to the page before it and a link to start an online order. Our site being the same when it comes to the page links. Where they are different is the colors and layout. We used pink, orange, and black for are colors with black being for are navigation bars and orange and pink for are content. The best place to see how the layout is different is the menu. Are menu is simple with all categories on the same page and in two columns. Another way the navigation is different is our home page. There is a link to all the pages of the top navigation bar and some sub pages on are home page.
Review 3
The two sites are Burgatory, and Franktuary.
The Franktuary home page has a simple layout with 3 major parts. First at the top of the page says that there is a food truck with a link to the menu and form to reserve the truck. Second in the middle of the home page there is a large series of scrolling images. Last at the bottom is the 3 types of things they serve. Those 3 things are franks, poutine, and libations/drinks. The most emphasis is placed on the food truck followed by the images. This is do to its size and location on the home page. Unity of the page is simple the images in the middle are the largest thing starching across the whole page. Having a different amount of space between the middle and the elements above and below it. The elements at the bottom of the page have a balance to them with one being in line with the center of the page. One on the left and right sides of it with an equal amount of space between them.
The Burgatory home pages layout is also simple and can be broken down into 5 basic sections. At the top you have the navigation bar followed by an image, an introduction, secondary navigation, and contact info with socials. The emphasis on the page can be broken down with the image having the most. Then the navigation bar, introduction, secondary navigation, and last the contacts and socials. Emphasis on the page comes from the size of the elements and the location of the elements. Balance of the page is asymmetrical as each major element is a different size with a different amount of space between them. Unity of the overall page is good and nothing feels as if it would be better off in a different place. The navigation bar is centered on the screen with equal space between the links and a reasonable amount of space between the links and the logo. Secondary navigation is broken up into 3 sub elements all 3 are equally space with each other and with the elements above and below.
Layout between the two sites are completely different with the Franktuary being simpler and having less elements while the Burgatory’s is more complex with more elements. When it comes to balance they both are asymmetrical horizontally and symmetrical vertically. The overall unity of the Burgatory site is better that the Franktuary’s. Emphasis is another way in which the Burgatory site is better with the size of the image and its location it draws you down the page to see more but at the same it does not force you down the page. The Franktuary site draws you down the page but in a way that forces you down as you feel that you do not have all the information.
The Burgatory uses Krug’s five principles well with simple navigation, clear hierarchy, little text, simple decisions. Now the Franktuary dose have, clear hierarchy, and little text. It also has complex navigation, and more difficult decisions making the site harder to use. The Burgatory site is more affective at getting my attention. As it uses Krug’s five principles well along with the good layout and sticking to the color scheme of the logo on the whole site. The site also has a secondary navigation system at the bottom of the page that is more decorative and fits the overall theme of the Burgatory.
Site Review 1 e-commerce
The site I have chosen for my first review is Amazon. When you enter the site the top of the page has a tab from witch you can access all category’s of products. There is also the surch bar, your cart, orders/returns, language settings, and a number of category tabs according to the time of year and helpful tools. This is what you expect to see when you use an sites like this. Navigation of the site is made easier and has a better flow when using category tabs like this.
Going down the home page there are categories of products. The first one at this time is for prime video with the football games that are coming up. After that recommend for you and suggested for you are listed. They show product based on the time of year, and past perches this is similar to how Netflix recommends shows. Next comes random categories of products ex. beauty and personal care, frequently repurchased, amazon live. Last is back to items that are based on your history.
The design of the amazon home page is great at what it was meant to do. Witch is getting you to look at products that you may or may not need and convincing you to buy them. This is done by showing you products that are similar to products you have bought in the past. As you go down the page the products change from similar to past products to products that are not remotely the same. Then it changes back to similar products at the bottom of the home page. When designed this way it gets the costumer to look at products that they may not have been interested in before.
Each category of products shown on the home page in it’s own rectangle separating it from the rest. The rectangles have two different orientations this allow the page to be broken up evenly. Whether the rectangles are horizontal or vertical depends on the number of products in the category. They are only horizontal if it is a small number of products. The horizontal rectangles are the only ones that can be scrolled through.
When you place a product in your cart a red number will appear over the cart icon. At the same time a drop down menu will show you the items you have put in your cart on the right side of the screen. I like this feature because I can see what’s in my cart with out having to go to it. Also I can remove items from my cart with out having to enter it.
Review 3
For the third review, the two sites I decided to analyze were no9park.com and burgatorybar.com. These two links led to company websites for restaurants. While both establishments are different from the other, the content of restaurant websites can be easily comparable.
No. 9 Park is an up-scale restaurant in Boston, Massachusetts. They have a pretty aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly website. The sections are clearly labeled for easy navigation with simple designs and verbiage to help get their information across. Balance describes how well elements on the webpage go together. This webpage demonstrates symmetrical balance as each section of the site has like elements that pair with one another. For example, the menus tab has three bubbles that take users to different menus they offer. Each is relative to the other; they are of the same size, weight, color, font, and alignment. Unity describes how each element interacts; if they can be recognized as one shape or part, they have achieved unity. I think this site has done a good job at demonstrating this. It is shown in the reservations tab as each new paragraphs moves as one so the text never separates. Emphasis, which is described as drawing attention to one section of the piece, is shown with the different sizes of font in their text. Normally you’d point out artistic elements in this discussion, but as the site is purely for information, the more important sections are in bigger fonts than the rest. Layout can be basic or intricate, and I see this as simple but effective. Each section has the same general layout; scrollable with pictures separating each new bit of information. It implements four of the five important “things” from Krug as it has a clear visual hierarchy in terms of text-to-pictures, page breaks, clickable links, and little noise on the page.
Burgatory is a Pittsburgh restaurant that runs a very appealing website. It is easy to use on both mobile and desktop, which is a plus as both avenues are accessible. Each new section transitions smoothly with no issues of skipping, graphics not loading, or elements bugging. Their design is simple with a black and red color scheme. Balance is demonstrated with the positions of the graphics (in 3s on the homepage, smooth transitions between promotional images). They are in a line or set to transition on their own in ways that are not distracting. Unity is a big part of the site as each sections interacts with the other. It is shown as the top menu bar on the homepage when you hover your mouse over the “Our Spots” tab. There is a drop-down menu that is displayed but doesn’t interrupt anything else on the page. Emphasis can be seen with the menu and catering page. The titles are larger than the body text, which makes it easier to navigate their food selections. They have a simple layout because on each page, there is a centered column for the text and top and bottom links never go away. Each page is also scrollable. From Krug, the site demonstrates a hierarchy in text-to-pictures, page breaks, and clickable toggles.
Overall, I think both websites are equal in usability and succeeded in the incorporation of proper design elements. Personally, I think the Burgatory website is a bit more interesting because of the color scheme and pictures of patrons enjoying the restaurant. They are able to convey a lively atmosphere through their design choices.
Review 1
I choose Fab for my review. Fab is a ecommerce site with a wide variety of products from technology like usb phone charging cables to home decor items such as candles. Overall the site has an upper class fashion approach to everyday items.
The sites navigation is standard placing its global navigation both on a bar across the top of the page and in its footer. Each global nav button is separated into broad categories that once are hovered over then show a dropdown of narrowed options. The first global nav button is the “All Collections” that once clicked shows all eighty-three product narrowed categories presented in alphabetical order. My first questions to this was “How many are there?” and “Why are there two identical bowls and plates options?”. This makes me feel the site is not managed and kept up to date, but overall did not hinder me finding anything. This thought was also supported by the zero items in the flash-drive section, where it also questions me to why it says “Showing items 1-0 of 0’. This made me think slightly that the site was bugged and was not showing the one flash drive that they have. The other global nav categories ar mostly self explanatory, except for a bit of confusion and searching for differences in the “Home Accents” and “Dining & Entertainment” sections where there could be sections swapped interchangeable.
Overall the website Fab did not make me think in a critical way when it came to navigation. Only quick questions of its management and updates. The sites theme of clean black and white colors, seems to match with the intentions of being an outlet for fashionable options for everyday items.
Review 2- Hartzfeld- Knock Knock
For my review of a single page website, I chose to look at Knock Knock, a company that is looking into the gas, water and electricity usage in the Netherlands. When the page is first loaded, the screen opens to a circle with orange and teal surrounding the circle, and the phrases “knock knock” and “Focus on the fun things in life” in front of a transparent blue background covering an iPad being used. Upon first sight, the site is clean, but it is a little bit distracting with the moving video behind the text. The color scheme is crisp, and the text is easy to read.
Upon scrolling down the page a bit, the web page appears to work on somewhat of a grid system, having all of the images and other elements in line with each other and spaced apart to effectively use the page. All of the scrolling is down, and new information is added the farther the page is scrolled. The website is crisp, and avoids a lot of clutter. Knock knock follows a lot of the elements such as the grid and negative space that is talked about in The Principles of Beautiful Web Design.
Knock knock sticks to the main colors of orange and blue through the whole page. Any important information is shown through the use of these colors. From The Principles of Beautiful Web Design, They talk about colors that work for websites, and give the emotional reactions to colors. Orange creates a sense of creativity and enthusiasm, which is exactly what knock knock is trying to achieve. Blue is a calming color, and promotes intelligence. When these colors are looked at together, a viewer can get a sense of contrast from warm to cold, which could be the intention of the site, since it talks about electricity and gas. Web designers for this page also use line to their advantage as they use literal lines to connect points together. The main idea of the next point is shown under this line, and scrolls into the next section. The designers also use a lot of other images to convey the ideas, but they are not distracting in the way that the video is at the very top of the page.
Overall, knock knock is an effective website, and the design works well. There are some flaws such as the opening video and some cluttered spots, but overall the web page is crisp, clear, and interesting to read through. Knock knock is designed to create a sense of imagination into the viewers, and it is effective that the viewers will think, but not have to think about how to navigate the page, but to be able to think about the material presented.