Chapters 8 and 9 - Weinberger
Chapter 8
Point:
Chapter 8 , What Nothing Says, is about labels and metadata. The chapter talks about signs becoming implicit so that the meaning is conveyed without words. The chapter discusses the difference between the implicit and the explicit. We rely on the implicit to know what to do, but it is always changing. On the internet there is much left unsaid. Tags only use one or two words. Like on flicker you are not quite sure what you are going to get by looking at the tag you have to look at the picture.
So what?:
This chapter is important because as a DTC major I will most likely be designing websites and graphics. On the internet not everything can use words to explain. When you want to place a button but you don't want to place texts on it you need to do something that lets people know what it does without words.
Chapter 9
Point:
Chapter 9, Messiness As A Virtue, is about organization. Printed pictures can be sorted out by good or bad but with a digital camera now days there are thousands of photos which is too many to organize in detail. Most things in our world can be sorted alphabetically, numerically, by color, by size, and a infinite amount more. The worldwide web has so much information it is impossible to be completely organized. The internet in not governed and anyone can post, link and put on whatever they please. Some sites help users find what they are looking for like Google, Bing, and many others.
So what?:
This chapter is important to DTC majors because we will be working with the internet. In all that mess we need to be able to make websites that users can find. Once they get to the site we need to be able to organize our information in such a way that it is easily navigated. As more and more information is being put on the internet every minute it is just getting to be a bigger mess. As a DTC major we need to be able to navigate our way through that information and make sites that are organized.
3 comments:
What do you think makes a well designed website? You say that as a DTC major, you need to be able to navigate your way through the information and webpages ... well, how do you prefer your computer/web browsers/online experience to be laid out?
I tend to appreciate simple layouts, bright colors, white space that emphasizes importance, and often - interactive websites.
I agree with the fact that we as DTC majors need to be very conscious of how we design and present information on the internet because as the internet becomes more crowded and messy we must learn how to clean it up the best we can without removing the information. I also like the point you made about when you may not want to use a word to pin point something, we need to know how to show users what exactly that buttons does. It is the same concept of labeling to make sense.
It's interesting to think of the connections between usability and Weinberger. how do we design, as you ask, a usable website while keeping in mind issues of miscellany and context/user driven information seeking? (you don't have to answer that, just something to ponder)
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