GD 66: Midterm Project

I’ve decided to redesign the website http://www.tallyhouniforms.com/index.htm for the midterm project. Let’s see…where should I begin? Well, the look and feel of this website is incredibly outdated. It’s almost as if, somehow,  the site was created in 1975 and no one ever bothered to update it. A couple of  things that really jump out at me are the annoying GIF animation files on the home page. I’m already at their site, why do they still need to get my attention? The font types, font sizes, and font colors are not consistent. There is little contrast between the text and the background (especially when scrolling down on the home page). There are too many colors going on which makes it difficult to focus on anything. And, I hate the use of blue and red together. The navigation is inconsistent and not all of their links are functional. Also, a lot of their inventory is listed as “discontinued”. Wouldn’t it be easier to just delete the item from the page altogether? There are a couple of spelling errors that I’ve noticed so far. For some reason, you can scroll down to see their company history at the bottom of the site, but then you can also click a link at the top of the page to see the same exact company history. Is this a mistake or are they just being redundant? I could go on and on but it’s probably easier to just go to the site yourself and witness the horror!

As far as my ideas for redesigning the site? I’ll get rid of that annoying drop-down ad that comes up every time I open up the site. I’ll stick with three or four neutral colors (blue, white, gray, and black). I can see that the web designer originally started out with the same colors and then, inexplicably, decided that, darn it, this site could use some red and green and purple and orange!

I want this site to look sleek and modern and tailored towards those who work in the airline industry.  I’ll get rid of the background picture, which is somewhat distracting. I’ll also redesign the logo to give it a modern feel. Navigation-wise, besides updating the look, I think I’ll keep the six links at the top. Everything below “Serving airlines throughout the world since 1948” has got to go. At the bottom of the page, I’ll get rid of all of the links to clothing options so that vertical scrolling won’t be necessary. And, as far as I can tell, all of the links at the bottom are included in the “site map” link at the top anyway! In my opinion, you should only need to go to one place on a site in order to do your shopping. In fact, the more I look at this site, the less sense it makes! The navigation should be much simpler. I mean, c’mon! They’re selling airline clothes not space shuttle parts! So anyway, to make a long story short, I plan on simplifying the navigation as well as updating the design so that it has a simple, sleek, and modern feel to it.

GD 66: Examples of Bad Websites

1) Navigation – http://www.joneschijoff.com/

This is a perfect example of very poor navigation on a website. When you go to it, there is a graphic illustration of a brain and it’s separated into a bunch of squares. And that’s it! Well…there is an arrow next to the brain. When  I clicked on the arrow, all of the little squares that make up the graphic illustration of the brain went away and were replaced by different graphic images. The images appear to be different ads, childhood photos…who knows? I’m still not sure what the point of the website is! But, when you click on one of the photos, it zooms into the photo…and then what? I think this is a portfolio for a designer. Regardless, the navigation is not intuitive at all and I don’t plan on ever going back to this site again. None of the links are labeled and there is no structure to this site at all. It’s almost like the designer wasn’t even trying.

2)  Color and Graphics – http://www.miauk.com/kala/

Okay, that’s it. I think I’ve found one of the most annoying websites ever created. Don’t look at it too long as it’ll give you a headache. There are way too many colors going on here. And, they’re flashing and they’re bright and…they’re flashing… To say it’s distracting is an understatement. And, there’s really no point to all of these graphics. There is no alternate tesxt available for any of the links or graphics. It’s just a big mess. Like a Crayola factory that exploded and someone took a picture.  Not to mention that the navigation is horrible and one of the links is broken. MIA is pretty famous. You’d think she’d have the money to pay for a decent website. Then again, I think all of the colors flashing was probably her idea. Ah well, there’s no accounting for taste I guess.

3) Content Presentation – http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/

Ugh! Where do I start? Let’s see…  Well, to begin with, this site has so many different font types and font colors that, not only is it difficult to read, but it’s also difficult to determine where the regular text is and where the links are.  Also, there are way too many links. I got lost after only a couple of clicks! And looking at this website more closely, I realize that the postings are in order by date. But, you’d never know this since the dates are not in bold or displayed as a headline. On top of all this, there is no consistency to the way the content is organized. All of the info is just there on the page with no hierarchy whatsoever.  This is a great example of what not to do when organizing content.

GD 66: Are you a Chameleon or do you have a Signature Style?

I found this article at http://webdesignernotebook.com/design/do-designers-need-a-personal-style/#more-1189  The question posed by the author is in response to A post by Darren Hoyt

The question posed in the article is as follows:

Is it more attractive when designers can…
a) design like a chameleon in any style or genre appropriate to the project, or
b) design over a period of years in a consistent, signature style

In the writer’s opinion, the best designers usually do have their own style, even if their distinct style is subtle or hardly even noticeable. Since designers are constantly adhering to the requests and guidelines of the clients, their own style may be somewhat difficult to discern. But, over the years, all designers do tend to create their own style, as subtle as it may be.

Elaborating on his opinion, website designers are not artists (like painters or musicians) since they have to listen to clients’ requests, they have restrictions they must stay within, and they must continually change the site according to users’ feedback. Therefore, designers don’t normally create work because they must express their creativity and put their vision on display for all others to see. A designer’s work is going to be used in a more practical and functional manner and will also evolve over time. But I was also happy to read that the writer believes that this shouldn’t stop designers from adding our own personal touch to the site in order to be creative and original.

In my own opinion, I understand what the writer is saying, but I also think that this opinion can be somewhat limiting to one’s creativity. I realize that, with clients’ and users’ demands, it’s difficult to truly be creative and original. But, on the other hand, as long as your fulfilling the clients’ requests, why not try to push the envelope and show them something truly original? Who knows? They may realize that they don’t want another run-of-the-mill website and that your vision…your field of dreams, if you will, is really what they’ve been looking for all along.

GD 66: What do I like best about Web Design? Hmmm…

I’d say the thing I like best about web design is the fact that, while I can create something visually unique using my skills in Photoshop and Illustrator, I can also create an interactive experience that the user can explore. It’s a window into my world in a way.

Designing a site also forces me to think about what makes for the best possible presentation. I like the fact that I’m forced to think about how it’s going to look and function even before I begin constructing the site. This is opposed to just designing a graphic where you can revise it at any point in the process. Web design gives me a chance to flex my creativity while also forcing me to stay within the confines of what I had originally envisioned. It takes discipline to make sure one is completely organized before diving into a project, and it’s a good feeling once the site is complete and I can see how that discipline paid off.

As far as possible careers in web/interactive…I think that I would best fit into the role of a designer (entry level at this point) and/or copywriter. To tell you the truth, at this point, I believe I would be better suited for copywriter. In my humble opinion, I have a certain way with words, and I’ve always loved the intricacies of the English language. Coming up with a phrase or a tagline that can best sell a product is, for whatever reason, fun for me.  And obviously, I feel like I would also fit into the role of designer because I’ve been studying it for a couple of years now and I’m really enjoying it so far. It’s the brainstorming of ideas and then…BINGO! All of a sudden a great idea just appears in my head and it’s perfect (well, at that point). And then, actually going into Photoshop/Illustrator and seeing my vision come alive on screen…it’s the creative process, right? Sometimes it pans out and sometimes it doesn’t…but the process/journey along the way always makes me look at the world in a different light.

GD 66: Favorite Websites

http://melissahie.com/    I found this site while browsing through various design portfolios.  To me, it’s playful, fun, yet clean and professional. I love the bright colors she used as they are really eye-catching. Yet, they never seem to be a strain on they eye. But, most of all, I love the navigation interface. It really makes you feel like you’re looking at the site from a bird’s eye point of view. And, to me, the best part of this type of navigation is that there’s no waiting around for pages to load.

http://www.marionela.com.br/site/marionela/    Believe it or not, this site was actually created using WordPress. While there’s not much to it, navigation-wise, I enjoy its clean, elegant feel. And, since it’s a fashion website, I think it perfectly fits the theme. I feel like I’m flipping through an expensive fashion magazine when navigating through the photos. I have a friend (not experienced in web design) who used WordPress for his photography website and it also has a clean, professional look to it. I’m curious as to the advantages/disadvantages of using WordPress as opposed to Dreamweaver. Is it that you have to use one of their WordPress templates and you can’t create a website from scratch? Any comments are welcome!

http://realwebdesigns.com/   This is also a website that was created using WordPress. Although, at first, it may appear busy, (although not compared to many websites out there) it has a pretty user-friendly interface. Visually, I’m really drawn to the pencil sketch look (you can also change the theme to color!) I also like the unassuming type that was chosen. It helps create a warm and inviting atmosphere. I appreciate the fact that they could have created links for certain tabs (e.g., About, Services) but they chose instead to just list this info on the bottom of the home page. That way, when you do need to click on a link, you don’t have to sift through many of them to find what you want. I also like the carousel showcasing their latest projects that you can stop or start. All in all, a great-looking, user-friendly website.