Friday, April 26, 2002
I heard about the illustration work of Arthur Mount through a friend of mine.
Mount works as an illustrator, and works with vector art, much like what you all have created in the Illustrator Challenge.
You can review his work here:
I think you'll find that his work is nice, but the work the class has done, stacks up nicely.
posted by Michael Barrett Friday, April 26, 2002
Thursday, April 25, 2002
Michael's website is very easy to follow because of how it's organized. We only have to look up for the dates and we get all the class material that we need. In my case, I had to miss many classes but this website made it easy to catch up because all the information is accessible. As far as graphics, I think that Michael wans't trying to make the page look too great. Because there is a lot of information in the page and adding more graphics will probably make it confusing to read. I think it is okay to leave a simple webpage because in this case it is a class and not a company's website or the school's website. If I had to critique the page for not having any graphics or colors than I could, but I know that this is for a class and that's probably the reason why we don't see many colors. But overall, this website is supposed to inform us and it definately works for that.
posted by sonnia orellana Thursday, April 25, 2002
Our class website is really not bad at all. It is clear, easy to access, organized well, and easy to read. Our class assignments are organized by weeks so all we have to do to know what we have to do that day in class is click on the date. That makes my life so much easier, especially if we have missed a class. It is very helpful to have pictures of what things are going to look like when we are making the website, for example if we are supposed to click "file>save" there is a picture of that selection on the site. The only suggestion that I have is on the first page of the site there is some text that should have more hierarchy. The titles "the assignment", "steps to completion", and "due dates/grading" should be bigger and bolder. This would make them read better as titles of a paragraph instead of all one paragraph. Otherwise I really like this site and find it very convenient. Thanks Michael!
posted by Lauren Paulson Thursday, April 25, 2002
Michael's website is not that bad. It it very easy to find stuff on it and the task bars are found at the right spot. There are links to things used in class, which are helpful. The site explains things very well and even pictures are used to describe how to do things. The timeline or weeks of class is very helpful and appropate where it is placed on the main page in that location. The page is very through at what things will be done in class. Maybe a tab should be added for due dates. Once a project was introduced it was difficult to remember when it was due, b/c it wasn't mentioned again. Another thing that could be added are more colorful graphics. The appropate things were included and displayed properly, but if have given extra time, I'd suggest working on the look of the page. Over all the page is very successfull and get's the point across!
posted by jessica trigg Thursday, April 25, 2002
UNCG’s webpage is not that bad. There are only minor adjustments that I can see right off the bat but they wouldn’t be too hard to adjust. First off the webpage has just a tad too much white and there are a lot of different fonts. "The University of North Carolina at Greensboro" logo should stay in the font that it already is but the other words on the page are very different. I mean the font that was chosen for the other headlines is fine but some of the sentences are different colors and some are bold and that is just too confusing when you start to think about it. Keep the blue lettering! It is really affective to see the blue lettering and then look towards the top of the screen and see white lettering on a blue background. There is an interesting contrast there and the different colored sentences just don’t seem to fit. The last thing to talk about would be the amount of info on this first page. It is really hard for someone new to this website to know what Pipeline is or what UNCGenie is. How would they know to go through the Pipeline link to find phone numbers of the people that attend this college. To solve that problem, maybe more of a list should be posted on the left side of this first page. Maybe a link like student and faculty numbers right there would do the trick. That way, you wouldn’t have to go through the Pipeline link and search through that to find the numbers.
posted by Vicky Leggio Thursday, April 25, 2002
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
UNCG.EDU: The UNCG website seems to be pretty understandable. The menu bars across the top and to the left are useful. The one on the left is a bit overwhelming with all of the options once you click. The links underneath the top picture of the campus just look like a bunch of words / paragraphs hanging out there. It isn't very creative that they just stuck them there with no form or attention to design. The big picture at the top acts like a link when you roll over it, but it isn't. As a student, I appreciate the quick links to Pipeline and Genie. It is annoying that the width of the page is just a little too big to see it all. There would be no reason to not make it just a bit smaller to fit... why not?? All in all, the site seems fairly user-friendly, just without a whole lot of pizazz. It is very "safe."
posted by sara bowers Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Our class website is more informative than the one from our past class with Michael but it’s not exactly innovative. It is very plain for being a website for a class on computer design. I am very grateful for the time spent on this website that is full of important information and guides on how to do the assignments. Last semester a lot of us struggled in the computer lab for hours because he did not post anything on his website, which really irritated me. It is a very novel idea for a teacher to actually present material with an actual layout to go by. It is funny when teachers just expect their students to be able to get something done that they were not fully taught. Maybe I am just an evil bitter person but I do think that we as students deserve that much. I would just like to congratulate on succumbing to our needs this semester so that we can spend more time on our work and less time screaming obscenities to our computers who just sit there and mock us. The format is very easy to understand and one is able to get to the information that one needs in order to complete the assignments. The only part that I would change is the boring layout. It looks like a research paper or instructions to a some sort of mechanical device. I understand that our teacher is a busy, busy man and I know that he has it in him to produce a state of the art website, and that our class’s is not what he wants to put all his energy into. But it would seem to make more since to have a visual appealing site for a class on web design. In all I am very appreciative of this site
posted by Megan Casanega Tuesday, April 23, 2002
The UNC Greensboro website needs to be given credit. I have visited other university websites such as NC State and that sucks. There are a few things that UNCG could do to enhance the webpage and bring it out of the "it sucks" category.
First all, the website needs to be "livend up". It's rather boring with all the usage of the school's color blue. It's great that they are using the school's color, but we have other colors! Maybe using other shades of blue will do the trick. And of course, using the same color throughout the page also entitles they use the same font throughout the page. We are a school of diversity- show it.
Being that this is a college website and many potential applicants check it out, more attention needs to be focused on attracting these visitors. On the opening page, a bigger emphasis needs to be made on describing what the school is about. What's so great about UNCG? The only graphic on the page is a picture of the library. What an exciting place! This goes back to my phrase: needs to be "livened up".
The links aren't too bad to navigate. Although I seem to get a little lost when trying to find certain department links. I have forever been lost in trying to figure out UNGenie and Pipeline. Are they are part of the UNCG website itself and if not, then why isn't it?
Overall, UNC Greensboro's webpage is all right. But I'm sure not excited when I visit the page.
posted by marissa marvelli Tuesday, April 23, 2002
This web page is alright. It is better than not having one or not knowing how to do things like last semester. All you have to do is come to the website and click on the link that you had a question about. I wish that what we were doing in the future would be on there before the week actually comes. I dont really like all the gray but i guess i can live with it. I would rather live with Blah colors than no webpage at al. I found it difficult last semester to know what was going on. Class went by WAY over my head and when I needed questions answered no one would email me back and so I had to take a lesser grade because I didn't know what was going on. Overall this web page is fine, it works well and it lets the user find their way around easily.
posted by Bethany Tucker Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Though I can barely hold back the gag reflects from all of the pastels and cuteness, I guess the page layout is sufficient. The softened colors and simple text layout are quite suited to the purpose and the mind set of the audience at hand. More than likely people viewing this page are looking to relax. Personally I would have to be desperate for something to do to look at this page for very long, but that is me, I am sure some people would find it quite intriguing. Advertisement for various items are thoughtfully disguised throughout the page, kind of the whole "I’m cute, there is no reason you need me, but I’m cute so buy me anyway" way of marketing. The light blue checked background doesn’t do much for me. On certain links there is little or no interaction between the background and the foreground, it seems to be quite a waste of space. This is a situation where I have to try very hard to remove my personal opinion of the contents of the page an focus more completely on the success of the design, and not how I am not in the mood for cutesy cartoons about carrot soup, boyfriends, and teddy bears. The simple page layout seems fitting to the journal-like feel of the page, and overall it works, but I feel that all areas of the page are not taken full advantage of on many sub-pages. Possibly, it could be formatted to make better use of the full area of the page
posted by Amber Rich Tuesday, April 23, 2002
I have had quite a few negative experiences with the UNCG page. Once I was trapped searching for a simple University Calendar trying desperatly to find out if the University was closed on Good Friday or Easter Monday for nearly an hour. Visually it works ok, but the headings are vague and confusing, and don't always lead to what they alude to. It seems to be more of an advertisment for the school than a tool for the students. It is a bit boring, and I don't think it does justice to the diversity and arts of our school. All the pics are flanked with blue and yellow and clothing yeilding UNCG. Personally I don't think that this is the extent of what makes our school appealing to a large percentage of our students. From a design perspective, my main complaint is the level of difficulty involved in getting basic information that is important to the student body, not just prospective students. I am not sure if this is still a problem, but in the past I have had scrolling problems with this page on certain slower computers.
posted by danielle courtney Tuesday, April 23, 2002
www.uncg.edu/~mwbarret website is very clean and organized. I find my way around very easily. Some complaints that I have about the site are the graphics and colors. The little book at the top of the page on the left is there all by himself. There are no other graphics on that page of that sort and the blue color is only there --- no where else on the site. When someone click on the bar on the left that background color changes to say that you have already been there. The problem is that it is not enough of a change. I barely noticed it. One thing that I appreciate is how easy it is to print the directions for the day out and not have to mess with the page layout to get it to fit on letter paper. I really enjoy the gray hues carried pout throughout the site, although, I really would enjoy other colors here and there. For example, the page with the illustrator challenge on it is my favorite because of the color. The floating bar the first time that I saw it was very intriguing to me. I wish that other sites would do that for the sake of people with smaller screens. In response to how well this works for the class, I find it very helpful espcially when I am in my room and want to doule check the site. It is much easier to check the site instead of handouts.
posted by alexis bauman Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Since having to use the schools website, uncg.edu, for the past two years I have grown to love and hate it. It is a good tool when it comes to the easy link to the Jackson Library, but at times it gets confusing and one can get lost when trying to do something as easy as find a teachers website or class requirements. Near times of registration, one may want to look up the classes that they are interested in but want to know more about. It is rather hard to do that . The search link is not very efficient in my opinion. There should be a major link that helps the students out in that fashion. The website is very straight forward in a good way with a few things being left out, which should not be.
The website is also a little sneaky in how the some of the pictures are lies. I know from people that are out of state they either saw the campus through either the site or brochure and the man lied to them. Some of the photographs that are highlighted are not really what this place is like. My friends and I enjoyed the image of the Jackson Library covered in snow. We were trying to figure out how they were able to make the snow look so realistic. I guess that does not have to much to do with the design of the site but it is still something to think about.
posted by Megan Casanega Tuesday, April 23, 2002
In visiting the Loobylu website I get an impression of a soft, feminine feel. The type as well as the imagery tells me that this site is for a young maybe businesswoman in her mid-twenties to her mid thirties. I think that this look goes well with the information that it contains. The contents in it self is light and airy. Something that a busy woman can just looks at and calm down to after she has spent her time on the go. The colors as well portray a nice delicate since. The color of the type as well is relaxing and not strenuous to read or look at. The page has a very relaxing feel, which invites readers to read without being forced to do anything they would not want to do.
It is very helpful how the main links are at the top right of the page so that one does not have to search the entire page by scrolling or ignoring flashy, clashing ads. It is nice that when visiting one can go right to the destination that it came for. It is not confusing all. I agree with the layout in that it portrays all that it came to portray and gives the reader a soothing feel.
I personally do not see anything wrong with this website. The purpose of the site is to relieve some inner stresses through getting her feelings across; it’s not that much in debt. I think all the components from its layout to the type to the imagery all cooperate with each other making a soothing, feminine place to read for enjoyment.
posted by Megan Casanega Tuesday, April 23, 2002
The UNCG web page is just alright to me. I view this page as very informative, but needs a little help in organization. I would like to see more graphics of the University. Maybe we should show " a little school spirit" in which this school lacks. A larger picture of the library that exists there now would be nice. I do enjoy the blurred effect of he edges of the picture. I would suggest more navy and gold, university colors on the page along with a larger logo. The links on the left side of the page could use an up in font size, sense they are significant links that most students use. Pipeline and UNCGenie I believe should be moved upward, they are most likely the most useful tools on the page. Overall my feeling might just be that there is not enough going on. There is too much white background. It maybe helpful to use color blocks, along with variety of fonts and sizes in the colorful page. This would be a cool effect for the University's web page, maybe we can get away from the norm. UNCG is a diverse school and we should show some variety here as well. I know we shouldn't over do it, but a little spunck is always a nice touch. No, I don't believe that this page sucks, but I think it is a great idea to give it a more colorful, bold touch of pizaz!
posted by candice gurganus Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Overall I like the site. I like the softened picture with the school logo underneath I think that it tells you what the site is about and its not to loud so you countinue to look over the site. I also like the tool bar at the top of the page, it stands out enough to be noticed without being flachy and distracting and I like the fact that the colors are the invert colors of the school logo colors. the left side navigator works well with the colorand the different fonts. i also like that when you lold the mouse over the link it likst what the contents of that link are and I think that that is very helpful. The main text of the page doesnt' work well, it doesn't stand out enough and it fades into the background. The links throughout the page work well they are quick to upload and that is refreshing. This site holds a lot of information for students and visitors and I think that it is well enough organized that any visitor could find what there looking for fairly quickly.
posted by danielle courtney Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Hey, this site looks familiar.
That's right, I want you to critique this very site.
Go back to the beginning, read through a few things.
Is the material organized well?
Is it helpful to have course materials online?
What are the major shortcomings of web-based course materials?
Don't worry, having a negative opinion of my site will not affect your grade.
I promise.
posted by Michael Barrett Tuesday, April 23, 2002
Monday, April 22, 2002
The UNCG's web site is nicely laid out, In the middle of the page show a picture of the Jackson Library; We attend one of the prettiest colleges in NC and it should be shown. This picture is a good one, everyone knows the library and it is centrally located. Other images could improve the site, there are other pretty places around this campus and they should be shown as well. Large area's of white make the site less appealing more images would make it more interesting. I like how all the links are located on the right side layed out in a very organized manner, the only thing that would improve the links is to make them a larger font so they grab your attention more. The UNCG title bar needs to continue all the way to the right side, and maybe make the top title bar font larger. The layout works and is very organized and easy to read, however it is kind of boring and simple with the block font. Overall this site doesn't suck!!!
posted by Erin Penrod Monday, April 22, 2002
UNCG has a beautiful campus, one that should certainly be advertised. When first visiting the University’s homepage one is greeted with an image of the Jackson Library. Given it is centrally located on campus, its representation as a symbol of knowledge, and that it is one of UNCG’s great assets it is understandable that the library would appear, but why restrict the page to this single image when there are so many attractive aspects to UNCG? If the page were to contain more images or changing images not only would the school’s landscape be better represented, but the page would become much more interesting. The University of the South’s website is a good example of changing images. Everytime one logs onto the site there is a different image displaying the campus’ character allowing visitors to grow closer to the idea of Sewanee. There is a vast amount of negative space on the UNCG page. The large spance of white makes it easy to confuse the page’s information. The title bar that runs across the top of the page should extend out to the same distance as the farthest right point. Currently it is aligned with the image but the University’s address projects past the bar in the bottom right corner. I feel that the page needs a face-lift. Organizing the lower half of the page and adding additional blocks of color could do wonders to the currently bland appearance. I imagine that my opinions may be derived from my personal experience with the site. I am an out of state student. When looking at UNCG as a possible choice to continue my education I remember feeling as if I could not grasp the true feel of the campus or the University from the website. Although I think that giving visitors a true representation of UNCG’s atmosphere and environment are important I must say, I am glad that the current image of the Jackson Library does not truly express its domineering towers. Let’s keep that flaw to ourselves.
posted by sarah norville Monday, April 22, 2002
Well all I can say is organization!!!! This site has very bad organization, which makes it hard to read. The left side of the page is nicely arranged and very accessible. The text on the left contains a hierarchy which defines the importance of the contents. I think the image of the library could be situated on the page better and incorporate the school name somehow. The top toolbar is useful and honestly whenever I come to this site that's the only thing I use because I hate using the other links. Also since everyone accesses UNC-Genie through this site I think it should be in a different location. Make it stand out instead of having to scroll down to click on it. A suggestion would be under the other links on the left hand side of the page. I don't think this site sucks, but there's a lot that could be looked at to make it more successful. Below the image of UNCG there is some text. There is a differenciation in the boldness, but it's not very fluid. There could be some change in font style and size to help organize the space. I'm excited to see the updated version and hope it is a little more successful.
posted by Whitney Hipp Monday, April 22, 2002
Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m a UNCG student and I have never really taken time to look at the school’s homepage. When I finally did take a look, I took a luke-warm liking to it. It is certainly not the worst university website I’ve come across but it’s not the greatest one, either. I’m glad it’s getting a makeover in the near future.
The site does have some good points. It makes adequate use of the school colors, which is a great idea and makes sense. Furthermore, I appreciate that the UNCG logo is in the top left corner. We read left to right, top to bottom, so it holds an important and prominent place on the page. The menu bar across the top that provides links for search, index, etc. is in a very prominent position as well. It’s a great idea to use this menu bar as a border that establishes the top of the homepage. The site is generally easy to navigate, especially if you are a prospective student looking for general information. If you’re a current student looking for something specific, it’s harder to find your way around; the search engine provided is extremely confusing.
Now for “constructive criticism.” The menu at the left-hand side under the UNCG logo that begins with “Academic Programs” could use some work. A clearer, less bulky font for main titles would be a good start. Also, as you move the cursor over each word or category, a new menu pops out to the right. It’s great to have this option, but when you move the cursor over these sub-categories, the text should be highlighted. This would make navigation easier so you don’t accidentally click on the wrong link.
Another complaint is that the upper section of the homepage looks thought out, but further down it begins to look more jumbled. It seems as though things were “stuck on,” such as the “what’s now” and “featured site” headings and sub-headings, and the oval picture of students on the left side of the page. Furthermore, the UNC-Genie and Campus Pipeline links are in the bottom left corner… the last place you look. Personally, these two links are usually the only reasons I visit the UNCG website, and it seems that the website creators forgot to include them on the homepage until the very end.
As far as balance is concerned, I feel that the homepage is a little right-side heavy. The big picture and “The University of North Carolina Greensboro” isn’t quite in the center; it’s more towards the right. Either put it in the center or compliment it with a background color behind the text on the left for visual balance.
My biggest piece of advice for those working on the updated UNCG website would be to hire graphic designers to help out, and to ask the current students what we’d like to see or what suggestions we have. After all, it is OUR school, and we are its best resource!
posted by Jennifer Cutchin Monday, April 22, 2002
The UNCG website - we all use it but we all take it for granted. I have never stopped to actually look at the layout or design of the site. I only go to the site when I know exactly what I'm looking for and I usually know exactly where to find it. So, I don't ever really browse the site. Today I used this assignment as my opportunity to search the in's and out's of this site.
The home page is the first thing you see and so it is important. It is very appropriate to make use of the school colors as the main colors. That is why I don't understand the choice of purple and green for some of the text. They should have stuck to the Spartan colors. It is a good idea to have an image of some part of the campus on the first page and since the library is about the center of the campus, what better building to use. But I have never really liked the blurred out edges of the image. It makes it too soft. I think it needs to be more dominant and linear to match the rest of the page. It would be more striking if it was on a background of yellow, blue, and white rectangles, for example.
Pipeline and UNCGenie are probably the most visited links and so every student probably knows where it is. Because of its importance it should take a little bit of dominance, which I think it does because of its boldness. The other text on the rest of the page just seems to take up space. It doesn't seem to be in any kind of order and doesn't seem to be important at all and so that is maybe why I had never really read any of it. The list of links on the left-hand side is very useful. I think it is planned out well and follows some kind of order that makes sense and makes it easy to find your way around. Using different sizes and boldness of text helps emphasize this. I'm also glad that they didn't use the random purple and green.
Overall, I give this site an average rating. It has everything it needs to have but it is done in a straightforward way. It could be so much more exciting - stir the Spartan spirit and pride.
posted by mari-ann green Monday, April 22, 2002
What a smart idea to get us to critique this as one of our blogs. Its nice to know that the designers ( or redesigners) of the website are actually asking students what they think.
At first glance, the UNCG site doesn’t look so bad, just a little bland and boring. The picture of the library is nice, but I don’t really like that the edges are blurred and taken away. It seems like the rest of the page is really blocky and linear, so maybe it should have kept that same look. The navigation aspect of the page is handled really well, and it is fairly easy to find what you are looking for. The column of links called "Of Special Interest To" is especially nice because depending on if you are a prospective student or an alumnus you can direct your search to the information pertaining to you. One thing that I would suggest is to move the buttons for Pipeline and UNCGenie up closer to the top of the page somehow because those links are used a lot, and it would make them easier to access. The links under the heading "What’s Now" are a little confusing because I couldn’t really tell that they were links. I think maybe it was because of the colors, they just didn’t have enough contrast or something, although they were done in colors other than blue. The other thing about the page is that there seems to be a lot of white empty space. It makes the content of the page seem kind of unorganized because there are large gaps in some places, while it is tighter in others.
posted by Mandy Overcash Monday, April 22, 2002
What a great idea to critique our college's home page, because I definitely think that it could use some help. Critiquing this site is a bit different than the others because I have used the site quite often. I find Navigating the site to be fairly easy. The menu on the left side of the page has been broken down in to categories that relate to you, and under those categories are links that would interest you depending on your perspective, whether you are a prospective student, current student, or faculty. I have had previous problems with searching for some links because they weren't under those categories, or if they were it was just my stupidity and I didn't know where to look. However, don't fear the menu at the top of the home page contains an index and a search. The index is easy to use as well, you simply click on the beginning letter of what you are searching for and a list pops up that has all the items that begin that letter, and from that list you can find what you were searching for. I find the search to be less helpful, it seemed that everytime I attempted to use the search it always found random pages that were not what I was searching. The menu that is running across the top of the page that contains the search and index also contains several other useful tools. For example, the "contact UNCG" I find to be very useful when having to find important numbers. Although the I have never used the "events calendar" item seems useful and strait forward.
The design of the page could definitely use some help. There seems to be a lot of wasted space or there is not enough of it to balance out the text and images. For example, the empty space between the menu on the left and the picture of the library is too wide, disjoining them. I also think the picture of the students and the mission statement could be a bit larger, I would think it would be a vital element to university and its site. There could also be more hierarchy among the fonts that are used, it seems they all have equal importance. There is also a lack of images, more images and pictures might make the site more visually appealing as well. As a prospective student looking at the site I might be turned away because of its lack of pictures, the pictures can help to define what is going on on campus.
Overall, the site doesn't completely suck. It lacks visual interest, however on the other hand its is easy to use.
posted by Christa Saunders Monday, April 22, 2002
