Post Write

This past weekend I put together my web design project and I must say that I feel very relieved to have it finished. I found the redesign concept of this project to be extremely interesting, and I love how we are actually doing creative things in this course (Much better than writing papers!). I was just not prepared for such a frustrating experience. I am very pleased that we were assigned to create two separate sites because in the end I was able to produce a piece of work I am proud of. I'm not going to lie, my first revision came out a little awkward. I spend hours trying to make the alignment of the images fit perfectly and the google site just wasn't having it. I searched through the help section too trying to figure it out as well. The hardest part of the project for me was creating the first webpage. I moved on to creating my second site knowing what I needed to do to successfully display the framework of design.

I began my second revision prepared for another hectic experience, but I feel that I chose a better color scheme and template, and things seemed to flow a little better on my site. By this time, using I was using the editing tool at ease. After messing around with each tool on the first site, I knew where things were and how to use them. I had an idea of how I would like my site to look, but the state of the original site was too horrendous to make it up to my standards. If I could explain to her the incentives of each of my revisions, I would start by explaining why I chose a subtle color scheme (2nd site). Her original site had just about every color on the color wheel flashing in your face. I also tried to simplify everything she did, because finding anything on her site seemed next to impossible.

I decided to remove many of her childish pictures and business approach. It drives me crazy how she has an image of herself shooting some blaster gun at Gaddafi implying that she won't stand for high gas prices. It says, "I shoot car fuel costs in the ass" next to that image on her home page. It may be humorous to some extent, but I really don’t understand her business approach.

Overall, I am pleased with my final result. If we had another project in this course to redesign another site, I am positive that mine would be better than the last. The google site we used was fairly simple to use, but just like anything we do, it takes practice to develop a final product you are proud of. To be honest, I actually wish we did have an assignment similar to this because I am sure that it would be better than both of the sites I created this past week. It would be nice to go back once more, and make revisions to what I have already revised. I am certain that it would only continue to improve.

Website Redesign!

As I first read the description, I couldn’t help but feel intrigued about the fact that I will be redesigning a website. While searching through the various sites, I stumbled upon this one site, a horrifying car rental site. I decided that it needed some drastic improvement. There were images shining, flashing, etc. all over the site.The only thing that didn’t cross my mind was the challenge it might be to decipher the text and create a simple, more professional looking page from the existing one. I am definitely proud of the second site I created, and I feel that even though it may not be "perfect" in my eyes, I certainly took the wacky car leasing site and redesigned it using the framework of design to the best of my ability.

Designing the webpage was a little difficult for me. At first, I was unsure how to change anything at all. I had trouble with the templates because once you choose one, you cannot go back and change it. The only part you can change is the color themes. In the beginning, even the simple things like the layout tools had me a little tentative. I have a good vision as to what I would like the site to look like, but doing it to my own expectations was extremely frustrating. I am somewhat of a perfectionist and I spent countless hours trying to make certain images fit, flow, and look professional. I feel that the second site I created is certainly better than the first. I consider my first site to be more of a rough draft while the second is what I am more proud of. I hope that is what you were going for when we were assigned to create two. By the second site, I figured out how to make some images fit and things appeared to come together better. I also found myself using the layout tools quite easily. After working with google sites for a few hours, it became second nature and I felt  comfortable navigating the site and using the tools. Creating two separate web pages was definitely a good idea because we are able to straighten out any confusion with google sites and develop a sound second project.

Week 8: "A Global Phenomenon"

There are constantly new Social Networking sites being created all over the world. Many of them have grown at a rate much higher than originally anticipated. We are always hearing about the latest craze, weather it be facebook, twitter, or some other up and coming social network. In our surrounding countries, the same thing is happening, we just don’t hear about it due to the little coverage we receive here in the US.

Boyd and Ellison discuss many of the successful social networks that have gained popularity worldwide. When I set up my facebook account (3 years ago?) there were many users, but nowhere near comparable to the number now. I remember reading somewhere that facebook has surpassed 175 million users, and in 2009, the site was growing and adding about 600,000 new users daily. The number of people on Facebook grew by over 10% monthly in 52 countries in January. It grew by over 20% monthly in January in 13 other countries (2009). After reading up a bit on the growth of facebook, it dawned on me that part of it’s success is due to its continuous improvement. Weather it be changing the layout of the site or making things more user friendly. Nowadays, there are “groups” in facebook which bring people together with common interests, living conditions, hobbies, etc. I find this to be extremely useful and relevant to the ultimate “goal” of facebook.

One example of a social network expansion is in China, where blogging has swept across the country and increased both in scale and frequency. The blogging industry there may be on a steep rise, but how long will it be before a new Social Network creeps in and makes the now dominant blogging obsolete? This blogging activity in China has definitely created competition on social networks and among service providers that support blogging. I would not be surprised to hear about new up and coming sites that eventually make facebook, twitter, myspace, etc a thing of the past. 

Tollet and Williams Framework

Within the reading, CARP is described as a way to teach proper framework while designing a website. This simple test is a way to make sure the website is designed in a coherent way that is accessible to the user in a friendly manner. The appearance is not the only aspect of successful site, organization and simplicity are also important to the viewers. The letters in the CARP test stand for contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity.

Contrast is in relation to the appearance of the page along with the way in which the data is organized. My example (ling cars) did not take into consideration the importance of fonts, pictures, video, etc. Many of the pictures presented on the site are irrelevant and a little unnecessary for selling cars. One example of poor consideration of this is when I found an advertisement for lunch on the car leasing site... a little unnecessary don't you think? I see way too many pictures as well, many of them seem to be quite outrageous.

In addition, the alignment of a web page is just as important. There are specific words advising not to use a wide range of alignments. Using a mix of alignments can be confusing and it can even give of an “unprofessional” feel. Ling Cars uses alignments to the left, right, center, and just about everywhere on the page. If you couldn't tell by now, I can't stand looking at this webpage.

The R stands for repetition, and this is used to make the webpage “flow” and fit. There is no constant repetition within Ling Cars. The illustrations especially seem to be random and a little unnecessary. Navigating this site is a little confusing, but the only “successful” repetition is done on the left side where the list of cars are named. The fonts used on this page drive me insane. I noticed at least 7 or 8 different fonts while reviewing the site. Those fonts are done in about 15 different colors as well.

Proximity in webpages is important because when information is scattered, navigation becomes a task and it becomes a little annoying and doesn't make the viewer want to read further. We want information presented before us in a coherent manner. On Lings Cars, the information is scattered everywhere and searching for something can certainly get a little confusing. 

Ling Cars

I used Bullock's framework while reviewing my choice of a poorly designed website. I came across a site that is used to lease cars and I must say that it is in need of some serious renovation. Ling Cars offers cheap car leasings and contract hire options for business or personal use. The website may have all the necessary information (or too much..) and it certainly gets the point across. The organization of the site is horrendous and needs to be changed. Just looking at the page hurts my eyes and navigating the site seems to me like mission impossible.

The audience in this situation are the customers looking to lease a car. There is just about no way of knowing these customers on a “personal” level. This site is packed with colors, patterns, and words that everything just appears to be jumbled. A simple description and toning down the flashy appearance would probably benefit Mr.Ling.

As a webpage genre, this site needs to take the information and display it in a coherent manner and not have it look like a project done by a middle schooler. The information is organized to some extent, but simply searching for it can be a hassle. This site should be much more professional. It is important for the audience to be impressed with the professional aura of the site when the customers are making such important purchases.

The stance of this site is without a doubt informal, and certainly attempts to be persuasive. The site uses flashing pictures,colors etc to attract the attention of the customers, but the only result I can see here is an opposite effect. People who are looking to make such important purchases don't want to waste their time dealing with someone who is this unprofessional.

Finally, the media design I chose is a webpage. This site needs to get to the point and not be so tacky. Brief and to the point is all the buyers are looking for. The site certainly has it's share of pictures throughout it. Many of which seem to me to be extremely irrelevant.

http://www.lingscars.com/

Step 3

Navigating through the Ling Car's website is a nightmare. It isn't necessarily that hard to find a car to lease because of the convenient tabs and listings on the left side of the page, but some may easily get confused or lost in the flashy pictures and silly advertisements. A navigation bar is on the top with tabs such as Cars and Vans, How it Works, About Ling, etc. The site certainly has the necessary information, but I cannot see this site being successful because of the unprofessional manner. With a few changes, I can see this site making enormous improvements in it's web design. I found many links straying the customer away from the main purpose of the site, some of which include irrelevant quizzes and advertisements.

The main weakness of the site is definitely it's unprofessional appearance. I see way too many “childish” pictures and fonts. The site is obviously not marketing kids, because kids don't dive, so I see no need for so many flashing pictures and fonts. Ultimately, the links do take the viewer where they want to go, you just need to get past the annoying distractions.

Wikitravel Post Write

The concept that stands out to me most from the Nardi O’day piece in relation to Wikitravel is the concept of a “System”. This site is one that thrives on the knowledge of people all over the world and it is without a doubt that it focuses on the human activity over technology. These information ecologies will only work when all the parts work together smoothly. Just about every part needs to work together, since a change in any part will effect the others. Information ecologies are made up of 5 concepts, and I believe that the “system” concept has a direct relationship to both technology, and human activity, not necessarily one.

The concept of a system can be related to our recent experiences with Wikitravel. After editing locations, things to do, restaurants, etc. I have realized that making a simple change to one piece effects the whole page of information or location. I have gathered my personal knowledge and added it in where it was not. I found this to be extremely useful, and we are able to learn an immense amount about specific locations in no time. In WikiTravel, there is a “system” of some sort overlooking the site, and if inaccurate information is added, it will be removed. In this case, removing information once again changes the information thus changing the page.

Human activity is essential for these types of sites to function, since they heavily rely on the knowledge of our peers. Without the humans to add, edit, and delete information, there simply would be no WikiTravel. The site solely functions on the input of humans. There would simply be no way for Wikitravel to thrive and succeed without our peers participating. One thing I love about Wikitravel is that it the entries are done by people who have actually lived in a specific area. We see this place through the eyes of its resident, and we understand what is important to those people. The best part of the site is that by simply searching through information on foreign places, we become familiar, with the unfamiliar.