Sustainable Development November 20, 2013. Bowie Corporate Center – Bowie, MD 2.
Navigation & Interface Website Designs Dr. Bowie.
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Transcript of Navigation & Interface Website Designs Dr. Bowie.
Type 1: Long list of links
• Name descriptive: site design (especially homepage) is a long list of text links
• Design outdated, but common before 2000
Type 2: Simple rectangle
• Rectangular shape, designed to fit in browser window (no scrolling) with 1-2 graphics and categorical links
• Common today• May be similar to
other types
Type 3: Short L
• Similar to short rectangle in shape, but often larger
• Has clear header bar & left menu bar that are one piece or related
• Common late 1990’s to early 2000’s, being replaced by “Long L” type
Type 4: Long L (or high density)
• Has header and left menu bar of “Short L”
• May have links in header area
• Has high density of images, links, and info
• Common since 1997, but often becomes more dense over time
Type 5: Portal type
• Horseshoe or inverted U style
• Has “Long L” plus a right link menu
• Explosive growth in early 2000’s, becoming more and more popular
Other types
• Lots of other types exist, but most sites lean towards these most common types
• Example: http://www.tiffany.com/
Designing your Structure
• Make all links obvious• Utilize the “rhetoric of departure” and “rhetoric of arrival”
– rhetoric of departure: let people know where they are going by crafting links with clear destinations
– rhetoric of arrival: let people know where they have arrived with site design
• Compose clear and brief links and menu items • Reveal the site structure with your design (map-like)• Provide “clear, brief, and highly conspicuous orientation
information” on the main page (Farkas & Farkas 350)• Include basic orientation information including links to main
page on all pages• Use a consistent interface design• Make each page clear in the site structure• Organize information by common patterns (alphabetical,
numerical, chronological, (Jeney 44))
Consider Navigation Methods
• Website navigation methods: how people find their way around the site– Landmark: route-based strategy that relies of
geographic features • draws on the use of consistent navigational links, use
of in-text links, use of “breadcrumbs” navigation structure
– Global: mental map-based strategy that includes cardinal directions and distance measures
• includes the use of browser controls like “go” and “history,” use of the search engine on the website, use of a site map, use of browser “find” command, and the use of the URL address bar to type in URLs