Exploring Successful Websites....

After learning some rules and techniques of what a successful website looks like, I did some exploring to see exactly what they look like....

The Cupcake Shoppe's website is my favorite of the three I chose to talk about. This website is very pleasing to look at with its pastel colors. The site follows several of the good aesthetic rules. It clearly follows a grid and is very organized. There is a lot of white space too, which doesn't make it look cluttered. The site is repetitive as you look through all of the different pages with they layout. This site is really fun, and easy to use......it doesn't make me think!

The second site I looked at was for students & and other youth in the "Open Door" ministry. I found this site through our reading. The colors and design are what caught my eye. After looking through the website, I noticed it seem to be repetitive like the cupcake site. The colors, the font, and the majority of the layout was the same throughout the site. It follows the rule-of-thirds and it has a lot of white space to help make it look clean and organized. It is very easy to learn!

The last website I looked at was the Camelbak website. I was just curious to see what this site looked like since they have such popular products. There is a lot of white space on this site and it does not scroll; meaning it is only shown "above the fold." It definitely follows the rule-of-thirds because the grid is clearly shown by the boxes they use to organize everything. It is extremely easy to use and follows the 3-click rule.

Questions from the first reading!!

Hi all,

Here's the questions I came up with from our reading assignment (from pages 1-22 in Principles of Beautiful Web Design Layout and Composition).

1. What are the two main standpoints from which most people determine whether a website design is "good" or "bad"?

2. Where should all main navigation items appear on a site's layout? (HINT: Think about the newspaper metaphor).

3. What rule is used to help designers create a well-balanced and proportional layout?


Answers:
1. There is a usability standpoint (focuses on functionality, effectiveness, and efficiency) and an aesthetic perspective (focuses on presentation, animation, and graphics).

2. Above the fold

3. The Rule of Thirds (aka: the grid)