ReDesign Website Proposal - Final Project

GDES 70 FINAL PROJECT PROPOSAL – Mission College Spring 2012

WRITTEN WEBSITE REVIEW & REDESIGN IDEA: http://www.organizer4me.com/index.html

Overview – The Organizer4me is a professional organizing service since 1984 and they have just expanded their services from Los Angeles, California to Honolulu, Haiwaii. Their organizing services are ranging from coaching individual to a group, presenting workshops and conferences, selling self-help books, referring to online resources, to organizing physical space, relocation, information and time.

Why - I chose to redesign their website because it looks dated and chaotic and more over it does not live up to the company’s mission and motto: "If you can't find something in 30 seconds, it's in the wrong place and it needs a 'home'!" I actually felt frustrated because of the disorganized layout of this website…that’s why it needs a facelift.

Design Overview

·         What is working – The domain name “organizer4me” is easy to remember.

·         What is not working – Overall layout, interface design, color scheme and typography.

o   Overall Layout and Interface Design:

§  Alignment of the page is off due to the right side space of the page is unused.

§  The logo located in the mid right side of the page is unexpected and more confusingly is that the logo is hyperlink, leading to another page when clicking on it.

§  The navigation buttons on the top and left sides are not consistent throughout the site, at some pages, the navigation on the left side disappear. Not only that, there is no ending when scrolling down the page which is hard for users to find information and navigate their ways at this site. The links and buttons are not highlighted which require users to constantly check “Am I on the page where I’ve selected? Is this a link or an underline?”

§  The branding of the site is unclear perhaps because of too much information competing with each other. One may wonder, “Is this site about ‘consulting, organizing, coaching’ or ‘organize, categorize, systemize’?” Also, the logo does not appear in every page of the site and the word choice is not used consistently. For example, the word “media” is used interchangeably with “publicity” which can cause confusion.

§  Clearly, this web site is not user friendly; therefore, it has a “Site Map” button…still I’m lost at this site.

o   Color Scheme and Typography:

§  Too many colors are used on this site that competing with the focal point. The colors are also unpleasant and distracting. The texts, in various sizes, run wide across the page make it hard to read.

Proposed Changes – Change “what’s NOT working” listed above.

·         Overall Layout and Interface Design: Rearranging the page layout, moving the logo (undo its hyperlink) to the top left, before and after pictures rolling on top of the front page automatically, keeping the navigation buttons on top and on the left sides vertically but regrouping and retitling some of the buttons and eliminating unnecessary buttons, keeping related information in close proximity for easy access, the navigation buttons will change color when it is active and the navigation will remain the same when clicking on other pages. Adding logos of affiliated organizations at the front page allows users to see it right away without having to click on another page. Information will be separated by each navigation button to avoid long scrolling down the page. Changing wording testimonials to video type makes it more contemporary and lessens the bombarded texts on the website. Adding an interactive 3-D Organizing Game to assess users’ organizing skills and refer them to appropriate services or resources (books, tips, workshops). Keeping the information consistent in every page will reiterate the service’s branding and the “site map” button is no longer needed when rearranging the page layout simple and clear.

·         Color Scheme and Typography: Changing color of the website to a cooler green color scheme for more tranquil, refreshing and pleasing to the eyes. Using typography and color contrast for emphasis and signifying new page; yet, keeping the overall layout consistent to ensure users that they are still on the same website. See color scheme below.

COLOR SCHEME: http://colorschemedesigner.com/#2k21Tw0w0w0w0

MOCK WEBSITE

ORIGINAL WEBSITE’S HOME PAGE: http://www.organizer4me.com/

Web Ad

C:\Users\BeChau\Desktop\GDES 70\WebAdsample.html

Color Scheme

Color scheme:  Complementary Blue
After reading the Basic Color Scheme and visiting many popular web sites such as Yahoo, Google, MSN, etc. Blue seems to be the most popular use of color on web sites, perhaps because it's easy to the eye. I don’t have much experience with the use of various colors and it seems that it would be hard to go wrong with blue color so I choose BLUE. Also, from the reading, I’ve learned that blue is an ideal color to use for small spaces. Blue also conveys dependable, confident and professional, which are important qualities when creating a web site. Because Blue is overwhelmingly used, I thought pairing it with its COMPLEMENTARY colors adds excitement where emphasis is needed.

 C:\Users\BeChau\Desktop\GDES 70\Color Palette by Color Scheme Generator.htm

Metaphor

LOVE this metaphor

Icon

On/Off Coffee Icon

good - bad web sites

Bad Web Design: http://www.organizer4me.com/index.html   

The McMillan & Company Professional Organizing’s website is very SUCK! From this lesson’s readings, I’ve learned that the four basic principles of designing a good web page are: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. This web page, http://www.organizer4me.com/index.html, has none of these principles. There are too many colors used on this site that competing with the focal point is. The colors used are not effective but distracting. The logo/header does not display consistently on every page; a page may show up for a search that people may not know the name of the company. The texts, in various sizes, run wide across the page make it hard to read. The information presented is overwhelming. Too much information under one tab/button what required a long scrolling down the page. The navigation buttons on top and on the left side disappear when moving to certain page; which causes one to scroll all the way up or down the page to find a button to take back to top/home. Links and buttons are not highlighted which causes users having to constantly check “Am I on the page where I’ve selected a button?  Is this a link or underline?” Also, the information is not grouping with the like which makes it hard to navigate and to find the information. Clearly, this website does not live up to the company’s mission and motto: "If you can't find something in 30 seconds, it's in the wrong place and it needs a 'home'!"

googleGood Web Design: www.google.com

Google web site is considered good web design because it’s simple and clean with clear primary purpose: search engine. There is no instruction needed to navigate the site. People just know what to do. The color/logo is replicated throughout to have the same feel.  The top options/buttons are easily navigated placed and the information is divided in chunk for easier search. I love Google and can’t live without it! This web page helps remind me that it’s okay to leave white/blank space.

Landscape

Portrait

The two pictures above were completed with MS Paint. It took me a very very long time to complete these simple pictures. It was my first time using MS Paint and it was very difficult for me due to its primitive controls.