NED23 – Practice 8.2, 8.2.1. Exercise: Steve Krug’s Acid Test Tutorial

NED23 – Theory 8.1, 8.1.1. Reading: Street signs and Breadcrumbs: Designing Navigation

Steve Krug talks about street signs in LA compared to street signs in Boston I actually think it makes plain sense and let’s say for example that Australia has street signs just like Boston where you need to squint hard enough and close enough just to read the signs. I think if signs are made big, the right colours and the right font then a sign or let’s say in terms of buttons on a website they will stand out and do the job they are designed for.

NED23 – 7.1. Theory, 7.1.1. Reading: On not throwing the baby out with the dishes: Interpreting Test Results

Just reading through this was quite interesting I guess what Steve is trying to say is just because a few don’t like things doesn’t mean you need to bite the bullet and scrap the idea, change a few things then re-test I guess it’s actually a smart way to do tweaks rather than scrapping and starting again as a designer you are already on a deadline and scrapping a site if not really needed would be wasting precious time.

NED23 – 6.1.2. Reading: Usability Testing: The movie: How to do your own testing

Very long process I think someone like Steve Krug would need to be in charge someone who knows the wrongs from the rights, I do understand all you need is 15 different users split up into 3 different groups and a observer with a video camera sits quietly and observes what the user does on the screen but I do think you need someone who is experience to run the show, the person with all the rules and how it is run.

NED23 – 6.1.1. Further Reading

I personally do think multiple instances of a group of 5 while testing would come out different then testing 15 users at once, I think if a company was to hire 15 people at one time to test and after the test found many errors what if the site had a re-design to fix errors and more errors came a long then the company would have to re-hire 15 people again but if they split the 15 into 3 groups and have 5 users per group at different intervals of fixing the site then I’m sure a better outcome would come from it with less errors then only doing the test once.

NED23 – Theory 6.1, 6.1.1. Reading: Usability testing on 10 cents a day: Keeping testing simple – so you do enough of it

I do agree with everything Steve is saying where he tells the difference between a focus group and a usability testing group, also I found it interesting where he would just get anyone for the test and actually film them to find out how they would use the site, originally at the top of my head I thought users would test from home online and report through email or something but now I fully understand why you would record the users in small room so that allows the designer to find out what a user types in and where their mouse moves to.

NED23 – 5.1 Theory, 5.1.2. Reading: Omit Needless Words: The art of not writing for the Web

After reading this I can look back and tell you how many mock-up web pages I have designed with happy talk on the front of every page, it’s true to me the front pages always looked blank and I always tried to figure what to say so I can fill in the boring blank space, Now I know to never follow that trend again 🙂

NED23 – 5.1. Theory, 5.1.1. Further Reading

Regarding Mystery Meat Navigation, I do think if you go to a website and you see nothing but the numbers 1-10 no one unless your very experienced will know that numbers have a roll-over effect, very bad way to keep your customer on the site, also making images as link but not telling your users what to click on I think that is very silly type of design to, Actually the pictures and logos as links would be good for a arts/creative type site but nothing else.

NED23 – 5.1. Theory, 5.1.1. Reading: Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

I enjoyed reading these few pages about link structure that there should not be much thought processing regarding where to go on your site, what link to click on, I personally think it should be painless and sometimes when I have to think to much I decide to give-up.

NED23 – 4.2 Practice, 4.2.1. Exercise: Get It Testing Tutorial

http://www.elementk.com/
What draws your eye – 1st, 2nd, 3rd?
1st thing that draws my eye is the flash banner and it gives a good description of what the site is about.
2nd thing that draws my eye is the 3 column aligned content section below the flash banner.
3rd would have to be the menu up the top of the page.
Note if something draws your eye again – or causes you to avert your eyes
My eyes automatically revert to a login and pass box because I have a habit of doing that on so many pages so my eyes know where to click to.
What role is white space playing?
The white spacing on this site especially between the 3 column’s create a sense of neatness, things don’t look over cluttered. The background white space makes the site look bigger when its not, maybe too much spacing in my opinion.
Can you determine if the design is intentionally directing your eye? How?
Well the play button is definitely getting my eye the designer might not have intentionally made it this way but because I’m used to see this logo on many web-pages and forums I know what to look out for.
What is the purpose of this site?
From the front-page I see the IT logos so it gave me a sense of IT something, It’s a e-Learning website but I would not get that impression if I looked at it once, I would only get it if I go through the menus.
Is this site of value to you? Would it be of value to anyone else? Why?
It would be the same value to me if I was using the site to study just like I am with Open universities, at this stage though this site wouldn’t be of any importance to me, It would be valuable to someone who is willing to learn what the site has to offer from the IT partnership.
How is this site organized?
It’s organised like a reading board 3 columns and you read left to right, Re-minds me of a commercial website.
How does it work? How are people supposed to use it?
Well from looking through the website you can only access reading information I’m guessing when your a partner you will have access to subscription type material like learning material. I’m guessing it looks like a workable e-learning site but it is 2010 and they still have 2009 at the bottom of their page.
How long did it take for your partner to figure out what the site was about, or “Get It”?
Worked alone.

http://www.digitalthink.com/
What draws your eye – 1st, 2nd, 3rd?
1st Flash banner eye level
2nd I start at the flash banner and go down the page diagonally at the other pictures.
3rd In between looking at the page information, top menu and bottom items.
Note if something draws your eye again – or causes you to avert your eyes
The rolling little banner of 4 items gets my eyes all the time so this could be distracting if on more then one page.
What role is white space playing?
The white spacing on this site actually makes the site look professionally organised.
Can you determine if the design is intentionally directing your eye? How?
I would think yes the design is intentionally directing my eyes in a certain direction.
What is the purpose of this site?
From looking at the front page I cannot figure out what the site offers but from reading the little bit of infomration under the banner I can see that their site offers customer, Smart BBS, HR solutions.
Is this site of value to you? Would it be of value to anyone else? Why?
No value to me but might be of value to a business who wants the above mentioned solutions for their staff and customers.
How is this site organized?
It’s organised like a very clean professional e-commerce website,a professional website that offers business solutions.
How does it work? How are people supposed to use it?
Insights, Solutions and Products customers and businesses can obtain more research into the topic and product information also I’m guessing Industries, Customer and Company tells you more about what they do, where they are from and customer feedback.
How long did it take for your partner to figure out what the site was about, or “Get It”?
Worked alone.

http://www.madxs.com/
What draws your eye – 1st, 2nd, 3rd?
1st the crazy blue pattern designs got my attention.
2nd the moving picture squares.
3rd the menu to the right of the page linking to other peoples sites.
Note if something draws your eye again – or causes you to avert your eyes
well when placing my mouse over the six picture squares they create another word called GO!
What role is white space playing?
It has no white spacing, I would call it yellow but I do not seeing it do any purpose on this site.
Can you determine if the design is intentionally directing your eye? How?
I can tell you this site is meant to give me a MAD feeling inside my head.
What is the purpose of this site?
I don’t understand what this site is about. Until I click on mission.
Is this site of value to you? Would it be of value to anyone else? Why?
No value to me what so ever.
How is this site organized?
The site is organised in a MAD, Crazy way.
How does it work? How are people supposed to use it?
I personally can navigate through this site but with little difficulty in where the site will take me.
How long did it take for your partner to figure out what the site was about, or “Get It”?
Worked alone.

http://www.virtualflowers.com/
What draws your eye – 1st, 2nd, 3rd?
1st thing I see is the flowers that they seem to be selling.
2nd thing I see is the flashing virtual flowers up the top of the page as well as the animated banner up top.
3rd thing I look at is the menu horizontally.
Note if something draws your eye again – or causes you to avert your eyes
Well my eyes keep looking at the annoying flashing logo and banner.
What role is white space playing?
Mostly the white background is the spacing, the rest of the spacing is very little.
Can you determine if the design is intentionally directing your eye? How?
I can tell the flashing logo from virtual flowers to real flowers is very intentional.
What is the purpose of this site?
I see the purpose of this website is to sell real flowers virtually.
Is this site of value to you? Would it be of value to anyone else? Why?
I think this site would be of value to myself or others around the special occasion times, valentines, thank-you, get well etc.
How is this site organized?
It’s organised like a little tiny corner business shop website.
How does it work? How are people supposed to use it?
I think it’s pretty straight forward to use a site as little as this.
How long did it take for your partner to figure out what the site was about, or “Get It”?
Worked alone.

http://www.ibm.com/
What draws your eye – 1st, 2nd, 3rd?
1st part is the big image on the front-page saying “IBM works to reduce infant mortality in Nigera”.
2nd would have to be the bottom part of the site “Learnt about” Shop for.
3rd part would be the search box and top menu.
Note if something draws your eye again – or causes you to avert your eyes
The IBM blinking news alert.
What role is white space playing?
They are using spacing but no white spacing.
Can you determine if the design is intentionally directing your eye? How?
I think the big image about reducing infant mortality is intentionally there to make me look and think.
What is the purpose of this site?
IBM is a IT distributor so they offer support and products from their company.
Is this site of value to you? Would it be of value to anyone else? Why?
If I were looking for a partnership program, new laptop or desktop or server solution I probably would use this site for research as a model basis. I think other’s in my situation would do the same thing.
How is this site organized?
This site is organised very e-commerce like, professional looking company that provides quality services to a IT market.
How does it work? How are people supposed to use it?
I think the site works exactly as it is supposed to be used.
How long did it take for your partner to figure out what the site was about, or “Get It”?
Worked alone.

http://www.disney.com/
What draws your eye – 1st, 2nd, 3rd?
1st thing I see is the movie titles sliding by on the front page displaying all Disney related stuff.
2nd would be the moving virtual worlds column to the left and the menu above it
3rd would have to be the menu up top with the picture icon menus
Note if something draws your eye again – or causes you to avert your eyes
Middle section and bottom images catch my eyes.
What role is white space playing?
No white spacing but the site is using spacing so everything is arranged neatly.
Can you determine if the design is intentionally directing your eye? How?
The middle movie titles that are scrolling and the virtual worlds box is definitely intentionally making peoples eyes focus on them.
What is the purpose of this site?
The purpose of the site is to advertise what Disney offers in terms of movie titles, characters etc.
Is this site of value to you? Would it be of value to anyone else? Why?
The site wouldn’t be of value to me but my little kids would probably love this stuff.
How is this site organized?
The site is organized in a very neat fashion, looks a bit like a wide-screen TV layout, very kiddy feeling.
How does it work? How are people supposed to use it?
I think because this site is very kiddie style, easy layout that anyone could browse it without problems.
How long did it take for your partner to figure out what the site was about, or “Get It”?
Worked alone.