Chapter 4 - Key Ideas
Sorry this is getting up so late guys. You know the drill...Add AT LEAST ONE comment to this post about the KEY IDEAS you found in Chapter 4 of "Visual Design for the Modern Web."The earlier, the easier it will be to find unique ideas... No Repeats!
posted by JessieAnn @ 8:44 PM
15 comments
15 Comments:
I read the section on color, on page 151. I think color is essential to good web design. Although many peoples opinions will vary on a color scheme, I prefer warm colors like reds, yellows, oranges and browns. I found a cool website that allows you to select different colors and put them next to each other to get an idea of how they would look. The site is http://www.colorcombo.com/. check it out.
Brandon
When developing a page, a good way to add prominence to key ideas and features on your website is my manipulating the eye through contrast. There are many different ways to do this (line, shape, size, color, texture, typography, focus, space, direction and style) and the book provides visuals of these on page 161. Contrasting elements naturally draw the eye towards them, so by effectively using this technique you can easily and effectilvely add organization to your page.
I think that the section about visual harmony was an important idea to keep in mind. there really is a fine line between simplicity and overload. as well as simplicity and boredom. you don't want your site to become overwhelming with all of your content and various designs, but you also don't want it to be too boring and plain. it's a good concept to keep in mind.
I found the section about manipulating visual balance important and useful. Visual balance is the placement of items, such as textures and graphics, on the page. This is probably one of the most important concept in web design. The book mentions that certain balances create certain "relief" within a page. This refers to how comfortable a user feels using said website. Visual balance also includes the necessary use of white space on a website.
I thought the section on file size was very important. Sometimes when you're designing a web page it's easy to go nuts and put MP3s and all kinds of crazy things on the page (I definitely remember this growing up), but unless those things are used in moderation they will almost always detract from visitor experience. Personally, I don't think it's ever a good idea to embed an MP3 in a webpage unless you warn users somewhere that that's what you've done, because often they'll have their volume up and be unpleasantly surprised when the song starts playing. MP3s also make the loading time much longer. The same is true with images--they are important for drawing the user in, but if overused they will only make things worse.
I realize that the topic might be considered rather simple and that the author had previously discussed it. However, the section discussing display size and resolution really helped me understand all the pitfalls associated with it. It did a good job of breaking down the problems that come when sizing a page and dealing with a target audiences' different resolutions and different monitor sizes. I also like how she says that the page author should cater to the audience in terms of page size and resolution, because asking effort from the visitor may decrease the frequency of their visits.
Not necessarily a "key idea," but, I'm sure everyone noticed the added amount of HTML coding in this chapter? Some of its usage in the chapter I made a mental note to possibly go back to once I start work on my website (tables and div tags), while some, not so much (print-page formatting). I find coding interesting, so I hope to see more of it in future chapters.
I found the line and shape section of the chapter to be pretty interesting. Playing with lines or shapes to create a mood or theme on a page can really help tie the site together. It's good to have a reoccurring style to let the user navigate through more successfully. Constantly changing the design through differing lines and shapes might throw the user off as they tour through the site. Lines and shapes can help to divide up and even connect different sections of the page, these are powerful tools in the creation of a well design page layout.
I read that choosing a composition center that is dead center can be a bad choice. Which makes sense because in photography and even video, the rule of thirds is used. A web-page is ultimately a photgraph so using some characteristics of a good photograph will be helpful in designing a webpage.
Within the Visual Harmony section, I thought the part about visual adhesiveness was pretty important. It talks about chunking related information so the page is held together aesthetically as well as conceptually.
One item which I noticed in the chapter was the concept of repeat elements. The text noted that repeat elements tend to give the site a "visual consistency". This is something I feel is important in desiging a website in that it gives the site its' own unique style and helps with the transition between different pages.
I particularly thought that the section about the advantages and disadvantages of Adobe flash was interesting. It kind of broke down exactly what a flash file is and how it all works. I always find flash sites to be visually entertaining and loved them, but after reading some of the disadvantages I realized that's about all they're good for. Either way, they're still cool and hopefully I can learn to create a nice flash site.
It's one of the most-discussed elements in class so far, but I'm starting to realize how important a consistent layout is in a website. Once a user hits the home page, they shouldn't have to re-assimilate themselves every time they move to a different page on the same site. Fluidity is based on consistency; it's starting to show.
another interesting point is about pages for print. the chapter talked about how you need to but down a 535 pixel wide page. with some web pages being as dynamic as they are, with all the flash and colors that are used now, it helps when you can print a page with just text. i also liked how they included some of the coding needed in the CSS styling that is used when you want to print a page.
the required page elements is always a good thing to keep in mind, the visual framework for each page should should include things such as logo or some kind of company identification, a page identifier or title so the user knows the purpose of that particular page, main navigation with a like to the main page, local navigation and a footer that may include copyright info ect..
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