Welcome back, readers! Today’s topic is to evaluate websites using design concepts. Something about this type of assignment cues me to break out Excel and keep the info tidy. I rated each website on a scale of 1 to 10 according to 9 criteria. Let’s see if I can make it design-worthy interesting too.
www.roverp6cars.com - Even though some things are right, the things that are wrong make the site hard to get through. The design is cluttered and it’s unclear what's the most important. There's lots of CAPS use, it's hard to navigate, and there's no obvious subscribe or contact options. It could be improved by adding a site map to declutter the page, the contrast and repetition is present but difficult to look at, so that could improve with a different color scheme. I gave this site a 2.1 out of 10.
gatesnfences.com – If I were looking for a garage door, this site might just be too much to sift through - it creates an obstacle for the consumer when it should be creating ease. To the site designer's credit, it is orderly from left to right, and the typography is mostly very readable. It could benefit from social media links and removing the left side bar in favor of creating a site map. I gave this site a 4.7 out of 10.
artcenter.org – The art center website has an excellent design. The concept is clear, the contrast is well-used with colors that are easy to read. Format repetition, alignment and proximity are also used thoughtfully. The hierarchy and typography are very clear. Overall, it is easy to use and offers depth of content. This website has all the visual qualities I would expect from artists. I gave this site a 9.7 out of 10.
nps.gov/index.htm – The National Park Service has the best
design of the four websites I evaluated. It elegantly combines form and
function - concept, contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity, hierarchy,
typography - while providing a robust website that is easy to read and use. I
feel like exploring the site! Maybe I'm a little biased because I love nature
and hiking. Now I know I will be able to use this site for my next trip. I gave
this site a perfect 10 out of 10!
From this exploration, I learned that there are many elements that work together to create a clean and easy to use web site. Even though I know which pages I like or not, I never suspected the level of design knowledge that it takes to make an elegant web site. Faithful readers, thanks for sticking with me to the end, until next time!
I like the flow chart that you used to visually demonstrate the points you were making--adds an extra layer of interest!
ReplyDeleteFrank, thank you so much!
DeleteIt is very easy to see visually with the chart than any other degree of analysis.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked it, Masashi!
DeleteThank you, Daphne, for sharing with us what you found through the research; Added the chart is excellent; the chart is beneficial to visualize the score fluctuation of the website design.
ReplyDelete