Category Archives: More to the story
There’s more to the story (Vol. 3)
Look at Oxford University’s homepage for a minute. What’s your assessment of this page? Again, it uses two contrasting colors to good effect. Negative space is the dominant feature. The logo is prominent, so I know where I am. Overall, the design is straightforward and familiar. But is it too familiar? Whether intentional or not, the design, layout, and content communicate conventionalism, even, I dare say, orthodoxy. Is that the primary message Oxford is trying to communicate? One can only hope it is.
The point I’m trying to make is that it’s critical that your web design and content not undermine the message you’re trying to communicate elsewhere.
5 second test
But I chose this page to illustrate a different point. When I land on any web page, I try to clear my mind and approach it as if I don’t speak the language and have never heard of the product or university. When I land on Oxford’s page, I have one question. What’s it about? I should be able to answer that question in my head in less than 5 seconds—before I click away. Try it. What is your answer?
by Ed Carpenter — He’s a bad mutha … shut yer mouth.
There’s more to the story (Vol. 2)
Compare this page from Memphis College of Art (MCA) to the one from Wooster College [There’s more to the story (Vol 1)]. Does the MCA page tell a story? If you had to summarize the page in a sentence, how would you describe it?
I’d suggest that this page tells the story of the environment students’ can expect to find at MCA, as much as anything. It does this with imagery but also by highlighting visiting artists and exhibitions on campus.
While both pages share a number of essential elements: image centric, a scrolling column of campus happenings, and contrasting color to cue the reader, they each tell a very different story. Importantly, they do this before the reader has to do any reading at all.
Which page, MCA or Wooster College, do you prefer? Without spending time analyzing your thoughts, can you explain why?
by Ed Carpenter — He’s a bad mutha … shut yer mouth.