Design Report
Abstract
This site is the product my final project for Writing 351 at Grand Valley State University. The following report wll summarize the project as a whole, including the design process, use of writing for the Web practices and the way in which both of these elements speak to the rhetorical situation of the site as a whole.
Writing/Designing FOR the Web
Throughout this past semester, I have read numerous articles on writing for the web. Most important of these in my opinion, is the usability of a site. In creating this one, I made sure that all of the links were easily recognizable. They are in bright red, while the rest of the text is in gray. This way, visitors will not find themselves clicking on links that aren't really links. I also liked the navigational bar on this template. It is easy for site visitors to use and understand. All of the links within the navigational bar are easily recognizable. There will be no guessing as to what's in which page.
Although I have not had time to conduct usability testing on my site, I would like to at a later date in order to learn more about my design and how site visitors might interperet it.
Generally, the site adheres to general design principles. Almost everything on the site is aligned in such a whay that it is not distracting in any way. The only place in which there are some discrepancies with alignment is the "What I'm Reading" page. The images used just weren't easy to edit and this template was working against it too. Proximity is demonstrated well within this report as well as in the other pages. Overall the design of the site is engaging and comprehensible.
One obstacle I came across in creating this site which pertains to both good usability and good design, is readability or legibility. In order not to overload site visitors with information, the paragraphs are kept shorter so as to be more to the point. Most web users don't read web pages as much as they scan them. The unnecessecary words were cut making it easier to read and just generally more easy on the eyes.
Design Process
For this project, I utilized Adobe's Dreamweaver. At first it was difficult to understand, but I soon came to grasp how the program works. It really helped me with the HTML coding and the CSS. Over the course of this semester, I have learned a lot when it comes to these concepts, but Dreamweaver helped to catch my mistakes and helped me to better understand the way the design works. Because of the split screen function in Dreamweaver, it extremely easy to see just how the HTML and CSS is working on the actual page. There's less guessing involved, and more precision.
I started out with a free template entitled "Touching" from Open Source Web Design (the link can be found at the bottom of this page). I first analyzed the template to see what exactly I could do with it. After looking at the HTML as well as the CSS on several templates, I decided this one would be best for my rhetorical situation.
It was slightly tough to incorporate graphics into the site. I chose a few pictures of my own to hightlight my creative side, as well as a couple of graphics of books because they are representative of me and what I want for my future. It was especially difficult because this template didn't always accept where I wanted certain graphics to be placed. Although the graphics may not be exactly where I would like them, they make the site all the more visually appealing. Text only would be unsatisfactory to the site visitors and just plain boring.
The Rhetorical Situation
I must say that the main purpose for this site is my final project for Writing 351, but it's really much more than that. I'm graduating soon and I plan on using this site on my resume. This could be very valuable to me because I would like to be an editor eventually and this site displays not only my resume, cover letter, and sample writing pieces, but it also displays my web design skills and general understanding of the way in which the Internet is used and understood.
The graphics I chose speak to the rhetorical situation in the sense that they represent me in many ways and in different facets of my life. I chose to include the "What I'm Reading" page to highlight just how much I love to read and my general interests. The pictures of the actual books make the page much more visually interesting.
The purpose of this site is really to represent me, and more importantly, to market my skills so that I can find a job when I graduate. The design process as well as the writing process all point toward the rhetorical situation.
Conclusion
Overall, this site enhanced my understanding of writing for the web as a whole. This project has been a great learning experience and it really was the culmination of everything I've learned in my four years at Grand Valley.
Now I am looking toward the future. My design process as well as my writing speaks to the rhetorical situation of the site, which then speaks to my future.
Credits
Here is a list of the graphics I used:
The About Me page:
stack of booksThe Template:
All graphics on the What I'm reading page came from
***Note: All other pictures or graphics are mine.***