Wow. Just wow. After all of these weeks about design, photoshop, image manipulation, CSS and XHTML, things are finally coming together. And I couldn’t be more scared. Now we all have to start using all of these tools simultaneously!
Not only are we going to have to use these tools together, but we need to do so in an manner which makes our sites easily accessible not only to the ‘average 26-year old user’, but for those with developmental or physical disabilities. The amount of work that this will take seems staggering at this moment. Maybe this is all of my work bearing down on me.
I think that the concept of usability directs back to my one-man crusade (previously mentioned) towards the narrative capabilities of New Media, and online tools. I think that through smart and attractive design, we will be able to tell stories that are appealing and informative. Krug’s book, while aimed at corporate audiences, still has a great deal of application for our purposes. He specifically outlines how important the visual layout of our sites is, when considering usability. A poorly designed website (see danludington.org) does not introduce the user to the main content of the website, and takes a great deal of (historically inclined) intuition just to figure out how to use it. I would wager if one of my grandparents (who are all computer-literate) visited the site, they would get lost pretty quickly. The other articles that discuss how to construct links and visual hierarchies serve the purpose of strengthening the visual narrative, and helping make it painfully clear to the user where they are on our websites.
I was feeling comfortable about this class until this week, and I realized my life is now over. Who is with me?
I never felt comfortable about this class, but I’m with you on feeling like my life is now over!
^ Ditto
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Dan, I thought you lost your life when your wife decided on bringing home a puppy?
Lynn & John: don’t fall for the dog-owner trap!