Ch 3, 4, & 5
Face the Facts
Ch3
Five things to do to make users see and understand a web
site;
·
Clear hierarchy on each page
·
Take advantage of the conventions
·
Beak up pages into different areas
·
Make what’s click able obvious
·
Minimize noise
Hierarchy can be portrayed
in different ways; the important thing stands out and things that are related
have the same level of hierarchy. Grouping, same visual style, clearly defined
areas can also give this feeling of relation. Elements that are “nestled” visually
show how things are related. Hierarchy organizes and prioritizes content.
Without hierarchy it becomes slower to scan and makes us have to prioritize
content on our own.
When a phrase is in a larger type it is a headline and summarizes
the content under it, and a picture with text below is either the caption or credits.
Conventions continue to be used and develop over time. The conventions from the
web have derived from news papers and magazines. The adoption of a convention
takes time, the more well known the more users are familiar with the convention.
Designers often want to create their own convention this is only innovative if
the idea is better or leave it alone.
By glancing around a page a user should be able to point
out the areas of the page. A clear division helps the user decide where they
want to go. Users decide quickly where the useful information is and avoid
areas they don’t need.
It is important to indicate what is clickable to not disturb
a users flow. When there is no contrast of what is clickable forces the user to
have to think to rearrange for a different pattern. Buttons on the search bar
has to look like a button. With only visual cues, it still requires thought. A
triangle is an indication of “clicking here” but it has to be aimed for what is
clickable to make sense.
Limit noise from the busyness of a page and to the back
ground noise. Different users have a different tolerance level for noise. When
designing assume every element is visual noise until made otherwise
.
Ch4
Web
Designers and Usability Professionals
Wide vs. deep site hierarchy
Wide- more catigories at each level but with fewer
levels
Deep- more levels but requires more clicking with
fewer options
Some sites have a standard amount of clicks (3-5) to
go to any page on the website. A click isn’t really what matters it’s how
involved each click is. Users don’t mind the clicks that they know are going to
get them to where they want to go. They just want to be on the right track. “Three
mindless, unambiguous clicks are equal to one click that requires thought” –Jared
Spool
Unclear choices create questions; the choices need
to be mindless in order for them to be easy to use.
Ch5
Of
the Five or Six Things I learned
E.B White’s seventeenth rule from The Element of
Style
17. Omit needless words
Words that take up space should be avoided; these
words are unnecessary and make the site look daunting. Remove half the words
you where originally going to use. This reduces the noise level, makes the
useful words more prominent, and shortens the page making it easier to see each
page at a glance. Happy talk and instructions should be limited if used at all.
People would rather “muddle through than to read the instructions.
No comments:
Post a Comment