Critique 5 – My Sketchbook (1/14/2011)
Similarity
- Navigation buttons look the same, implying they are a group
- Currently selected page’s button is dissimilar from the group, making it an anomaly
- Navigation buttons are all near each other, once again implying they are a group
- Navigation buttons are located at the top of the screen, keeping them present but out of the way
- Critiques are in the large center frame, making them the key focus
- Short summary is off to the left as a reminder of what is being read and who wrote it
- Top and Left frames scroll with entire page, making them ever present
- Navigation buttons are smallest things on the page
- Critique frame is the largest and dominates the page
- Header and Title text is slightly larger than the rest of the text, dividing up the page’s content
- Large, central critique frame draws attention first
- An image of the item critiqued is a key focus of the critique frame
- The only interfaces are the navigation buttons and those have been labeled to correspond to which critique they link to
- The button to the page that is currently selected is colored differently to inform user of where they are on the site
- Open sketchbook
- Scroll through first critique
- Notice that navigation and title frame do not get scroll as well, remaining fixed
- Click other buttons for different critiques
- Notice that current page’s button is highlighted
The site is not the best but it is simple and pleasing to the eyes. The navigation and title frames remain fixed and constant on every page, making it easy to navigate but leaving enough room for the content in the center of the screen. The navigation buttons are the only interface on the pages but accurately link to their respective pages while simultaneously informing the user of which page they currently have selected. The white text on a dark background is also a nice touch; light text on dark backgrounds has proven to reduce eye strain when reading from a computer screen.
Posted on 1/14/2011