Web Design and Layout

I thought this week was very interesting! All the websites had a lot of great information about designing web pages. I was surprised at how much of the information related to things I’ve learned in my major (Theatre- with an emphasis in Acting/Directing). I’m currently directing a production and some of the concepts in this week’s reading are things that I’ve had to negotiate with designers and actors. One of the director’s most important jobs is to be an audience of one (that’s from one of my textbooks). Likewise, the web designer has to keep the user in mind.

One of the headings in the reading said, “Don’t make the user think”; everything in the article revolved around that idea. It’s the designer’s job to design something that is easy to navigate, where a user can easily decipher the most important things and divide the rest of the concepts in his or her mind. I especially liked the rule of thirds. This is also something we’ve discussed in my theatre classes. Lighting designers divide the stage into areas. During a production, the lights help the audience know where they’re supposed to look! I was glad they touched on the importance of white space. I cannot stand overly cluttered websites.

I wanted to find an editing error to relate to this week’s reading, so I bring you www.target.com.  Although it’s one of my go-to stores, I simply cannot shop on their website. It’s a cluttered mess and I don’t have time or patience to navigate it. Look how small the font is! And it's even worse when you hover over the categories on the left.