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Web Page Critique
Directions: Write a one-page critique for the web page shown below. Discuss the contrast, repetition, alignment and proximity you see in the design.
There are four primary elements to consider in educational design:
Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity.
Contrast is the first element and can be a very effective way of increasing interest in a Web page. For contrast to be effective, two elements must be very different. I am graphically and artistically challenged, so when I first saw the model above, it was obviously in color and the "Mendo Oceanography Institute" title bar gave me cause for concern as the text was blue and the background was also a shade of blue. To check for the proper contrast, I printed out the image in grayscale. Surprisingly (to me) the contrast was effective as the text is very easily read. Additionally, putting the title in a box and changing its font made the screen not only interesting, it was effective in organizing the information in my opinion.
Repetition is the next element and it very useful in tying concepts or pages together for the reader. In order for repetition to have the desired effect, it must be consistent. When you look at the font type for the body text, the bullet symbols and colors (on the web page, as this grayscale image does not show the colors) you can see that the elements of this particular web page were repeated throughout the page. This is not an eclectic design and therefore meets the requirements of being repetitious.
When alignment (the third element) is considered, you should remember that arbitrary placement of objects is not a good practice in visual design. I was concerned at first when I considered the alignment because the title appeared centered and the body text was left aligned. However, every element on the screen on this web page has a visual connection with the other elements and presents the screen as unified and organized. This work is professional looking and has a simple sophistication that appears to me to avoid using more than one alignment on the screen because of the length of the body text bullets and the successful contrast offered between the title block and the text. This page would not have been as effective had the body text been centered.
Proper use of proximity kept the clutter off the screen. It was not "too busy" and that made the information appear organized. This home page appears to be a table of contents to the rest of the web site and has links (I assume) to all the other information available to the reader. Because it is clean, neat and fast, it enables to readily reach the other pages on the site.
Overall, the page had a clean, practical look, with "white space" between the elements that were placed together as a visual "unit". It appears to me to meet the criteria for effective visual design.
