Kudler Fine Food web site

Evaluate the use of design principles within the Virtual Organization site using the design criteria developed within the team.

To do this you will need the list of 20 team design principles (these were assigned in wk1, we were supposed to talk about them in wk2 and firm up a list of 20.  We never did this as a team).  Lisa’s list was just the questions from the worksheet copied.

I can work on this part and get you a list of 20 design principles so that you can use it to evaluate the Kudler Fine Food web site with it.  I will have it to you by Tuesday 6/10.  Please have your update to me by 6/14 of your progress for wk4’s summery.

 

*Recommendations for improvements to the site based on the design analysis and the inclusion of metadata to promote the website (Ludlow)

Please have both of these parts finished and in by 6/18 so that it can be added to the final paper in time.  Thanks!

 

And assignment,  

Common element of design, so it’s not surprising that a lot of thought has gone into it. It’s important to consider things like:

1. Font Choices — Different types of fonts say different things about a design. Some look modern, some look retro. Make sure you are using the right tool for the job.
2. Font sizes –Years ago it was trendy to have really small text. Happily, these days people have started to realize that text is meant to be read, not just looked at. Make sure your text sizes are consistent, large enough to be read, and proportioned so that headings and sub-headings stand out appropriately. Big takes precedence over little (unless everything is big, in which case little might stand out thanks to Contrast)
3. Size — Some think that this is important. We do not. If the text is displayed right away even if the images are still downloading, and if we can make a decision that we want to stay to read the contents of that page without the images, then the page can be very long.
4. Spacing — As discussed above, spacing between lines and away from other objects is important to consider. You should also be thinking about spacing between letters, though on the Web this is of less importance, as you don’t have that much control.
5. Line Length — There is no hard and fast rule, but generally your lines of text shouldn’t be too long. The longer they are, the harder they are to read. Small columns of text work much better (think about how a newspaper lays out text).
6. Color — One of my worst habits is making low-contrast text. It looks good but doesn’t read so well, unfortunately. Still, I seem to do it with every Web site design I’ve ever made. Using bold and subtle colors is a simple way to tell your user where to look.
7. Paragraphing — example: justify the text in everything. It mades for nice edges on either side of the paragraphs. Unfortunately, justified text tends to create weird gaps between words where they have been auto-spaced. This isn’t nice for your eye when reading, so stick to left-aligned unless you happen to have a magic body of text that happens to space out perfectly.
8. Position — Where something is on a page clearly influences in what order the user sees it.
9. Contrast — Being different makes things stand out, while being the same makes them secondary.
10. Clarity (Sharpness)– Keeping your design crisp and sharp is super important in Web design. And when it comes to clarity, it’s all about the pixels. To achieve a sharp design you have to:1)Keep shape edges snapped to pixels. This might involve manually cleaning up shapes, lines, and boxes if you’re creating them in Photoshop.2)Make sure any text is created using the appropriate anti-aliasing setting. I use ‘Sharp’ a lot.3)Ensuring that contrast is high so that borders are clearly defined.4)Over-emphasizing borders just slightly to exaggerate the contrast.
11. Backgrounds — Gaudy is an eye sore especially on professional commercial sites. Colored text that is difficult to read is also hard on the user’s eye.  Text over complex patterned backgrounds is definitely not easy to read. The page must be clean, uncluttered, and very easy to read without hurting the eyes.
12. Banners — None at the top of your page, and usually fewer than four on the page.
13. Be Commercial — Who you are, What you do, What makes you unique, Why use your products or services, and How you can help solve a problem or condition. Content is king, and selling without selling is the way to be commercial. Clarity is important in your content and purpose.
14. Content — is KING. If you have no real content that contributes to a visitors pain or need, then their visit is not worth their time. Offer something they cannot get anywhere else. If you need to, offer your opinion, but be sure that you are right.
15. Contact Technique — There must be a clear method for contacting the company by completing a form, email, US mail (street address), and telephone/fax. If there is no street address and phone then it is assumed that you have something to hide. There must be a clear navigation to a contact page.
16. HTML — Do not worry about how “clean” your HTML is unless it causes your page to look funny when switching between browsers or monitor resolutions.
17. Image — The site must convey your corporate image, however you define it. It must be appropriate for your industry, clients, and appeal to your prospects.
18. Matching — The general design for the site should all match. Visitors should feel comfortable that the look and feel is similar while transitioning page-to-page, and that navigation is always located at the same spot on the page. Changing the style within the site is not recommended.
19. Obvious Purpose — Make sure that top of page text tells a visitor what they will get by staying at your site. Don’t make them leave, let them know how you are going to relieve a pain or satisfy a need that they have.
20. Screen Size — 85% of the world uses screen resolution higher than 1024×768. Before publishing your website to the public, check your pages at 1024×768 or higher to ensure compatibility
21. Speed — Display the text within 5 seconds, and then the images. We hate to wait for a page to load images before we can see if we want to be there or not.
22. Spelling — Get it right. Sure there will be an ocasional [sic] typo, but these can be caught by proofing your work and with the many word processors available today. Proofing is vital, don’t allow typos where the wrong word happens to be a word that is spelled correctly — such as Sue for Sure (missing r).