[Web4lib] U.Va. Library website design review

[David Kemper]

I agree with the previous comments from Ron and Phoebe. The use of
white space in the body section is good, but the number of links in
the body creates "link blur." Perhaps I just coined a new term, who
knows.

Aside from the black headers, which contrast with the red links, I
cannot really "see" the links. I guess that what I was trying to say a
few days ago about attempting to make those headers and their
respective links "pop" more, be more visible to the scanning eye.

Now that I think about it, information-rich websites seem to suffer
from "link blur." I've been guilty on many occasions.

I'm wondering if there is a cure-all--or more likely a recommended
process--to deal with this issue?

Tabs? Colored blocks of content and links? "More >>" links that invite
users to dig deeper into the website?

David
Archivist, Web Services
IMF Archives


On 5/11/07, Ron Peterson <ronpeterson39401 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> I agree with Phoebe, I think that there are a lot of links listed, and not much to differentiate them for the user.  The headings don't really set them off that well. At MPOW, we have done some focus groups for a long overdue redesign of our website and the issue of links just "blurring together" has been a frequent theme.  They are clearly looking for visual cues as to what is the good stuff.  Maybe you could move some of the less frequently used links deeper into the website or use tabs or rollovers to control how much information is displayed at any time and to create a stronger sense that those links are related.
>
> One other thing, the background design colors seem to be scaled to the size of the window.  So when I view your page in a window less than about 990px the background stops at the window edge and the design starts to break down.  At about 850px wide the blue Special Collections link is on a blue background.
>
> Ron Peterson
>
> ----- Original Message ----
> From: phoebe ayers <phoebe.wiki at gmail.com>
> To: John Loy <jml4n at virginia.edu>
> Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
> Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 4:49:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] U.Va. Library website design review
>
> It looks good! The colors are good, and it's very pretty. My main concern is
> that the page is awfully busy with links that all sort of blur together (I
> went looking for subject guides and didn't find them without a ctrl-f
> search). Having all that info on the front page is good, but I wonder if you
> can work on some more logical groups, so similar links are next to one
> another -- i.e. should "interlibrary loan" be next to "borrowing policies"?
> "request a research tutorial" next to "questions for a librarian", since
> they are pretty similar?
>
> I'd also work on link names a little bit to make them as easy as possible --
> "location" should probably be "map"; classes should be "library classes" (to
> differentiate from the other classes); "articles" should probably be in
> there along "databases" in the link to the databases page.
>
> I'd also consider condensing the blue header along with the image a bit to
> buy yourself a bit more screenspace, so not quite as many of the links get
> cut off.
>
> -- phoebe
>
> On 5/9/07, John Loy <jml4n at virginia.edu> wrote:
> >
> > We've just posted a draft of a new design for the U.Va. Library
> > homepage at <http://lab.lib.virginia.edu>, and would really
> > appreciate any suggestions and comments on it from the Web4Lib
> > community.
> >
> > Please keep in mind that this is very much a work-in-progress, and
> > several things aren't working yet, most notably the search box. Most
> > of the links in this version work, but they will take you to the
> > site's current live pages, not ones reflecting the new design. The
> > design concept; including typography, colors, layout, and other
> > visual elements; will be applied before long to templates for the
> > rest of the site. Those templates will be included in the next
> > posting to our online "Lab".
> >
> > In the rush to get the page up by our deadline, we haven't tested
> > very thoroughly. So the html and CSS may not completely validate yet,
> > the CSS may not render quite right in older browsers like IE5, and
> > we've undoubtedly not covered every accessibility detail.
> >
> > We've also started a blog at <http://uvalibwebdev.wordpress.com/>
> > where you can find out what's coming next in our design process,
> > learn about the technology running behind the site, and get links to
> > sites in which we're finding inspiration.
> >
> > Please send feedback to webmanager_library at virginia.edu. If you
> > respond to the list, please Cc that address.
> >
> >
> > Many thanks,
> > --
> > John Loy
> > Web Designer
> > University of Virginia Library
> > phone: (434) 924-7099
> > fax: (434) 924-1431
> > 552 Alderman Library
> > http://lib.virginia.edu
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4lib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Web4lib mailing list
> Web4lib at webjunction.org
> http://lists.webjunction.org/web4lib/
>