Tools for Information Literacy

Preparations for design considerations

You are working on your site, using your template,
as you do so, think about the design of your site.

To prepare for the images & design topics

For the design component, think first about accessibility by looking over Introduction to Web Accessibility by the W3C

And then, in the Web Style Guide by Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton glance over Chapter 7, Interface Design

How to assist your users in finding their way

Wayfinding has four core components:

1. Orientation: Where am I am right now?
2. Route decisions: Can I find the way to where I want to go?
3. Mental mapping: Are my experiences consistent and understandable enough to know where I've been and to predict where I should go next? Can I make a coherent mental map of the spaces I have seen, and use it to predict where to go next?
4. Closure: Can I recognize that I have arrived in the right place?

And then, think about design in the larger sense, how good design helps us do what we need to do, and poor design hinders us. Think about it while planning your site.

Other items relevant to today's class

1. Five principles of visual design
2. 11 important characteristics of effective website design
3. Using color to enhance your design
4. Design bias is harmful and it may be lethal