This prompt is adapted from Writer/Designer.
Try the exercise here to analyze a webtext of your choosing. Visit your favorite website, app, online journal, magazine, newspaper, or other digital text. Notice the information on the landing page. Why do you think it was chose? What does it say about the primary intended audience and its needs? Take note of the design choices that stand out to you, paying attention to the following:
- What elements does the design of the website emphasize? The logo? A certain picture? The navigation bar? Why would the design of these elements speak to the intended audience?
How is contrast used on the page? Does the use of contrast help to emphasize certain elements? Does it create a certain feeling or help the designer reach a certain audience? - How do certain colors emphasize certain elements or encourage certain emotional or cultural responses?
- Notice the organization of elements on the page. What comes first? What comes last? Why do you think the designer chose this order? How does it assist in communicating the context and purpose of the site?
- What elements are aligned on the page? Does this alignment help you navigate the page? How does this choice help the designer communicate the site’s purpose?
- How are elements positioned in proximity to one another? Why did the designer place certain elements in close relation and others farther apart? What does this proximity communicate about the website’s primary purpose or focus?
Record some of your observations in at least 300 words. Include a link to the site you’re focusing on, and perhaps an image or two of the site.
Remember: The first poster gets to start the conversation. All subsequent posters should read and refer to other posts in their own writing.
This blog entry is due before our next class. Don’t forget that all blogs must include a final word count and a multimedia element, and all blogs must be “tagged” with key words (add these in the WordPress editor when you write the post). Your post should be at least 300 words.