Take Up the Content Strategy Torch

Content is a very important element in designing web pages. Content is the reason most people get on websites since most of the time they are going to a webpage to gain information. In the article “The Discipline of Content Strategy” by Kristina Halvorson, she says that nobody seems to be asking the questions about the content such as “What’s the point?” and “Who cares?” and that’s why most content out there is “crap”. As messy and difficult as it is as web designers to worry about content for the web, Halvorson says, “And yet, the web is content. Content is the web. It deserves our time and attention.” As designers, we need to quit pretending that content is somebody else’s problem and take up the torch for content strategy.

It’s important to have a strategy when it comes to content, according to Halvorson. Not only does a content strategist need to explain what content will be published, but also why it’s being published. Some of the things that a content strategy defines is key themes and messages, recommended topics, purpose, content gap analysis, search engine optimization, and implications of strategic recommendations. Overall, content strategy’s main goal is to use words and data that create content that is a meaningful and interactive experience. This can be done by being knowledgeable in all areas of communication. Some of these areas include editorial strategy, web writing, and content management strategy. A big area in content design is being able to keep it up to date as information is constantly being added or changed. The importance of content needs to be clearly defined and defended to companies and clients so they will realize this need to do content right.

I agree with this article completely as I think content is very important in web design, even possibly more important than the design itself. Whether or not a web page is visually engaging, people will most likely still get on a web page to read about the information that they are wanting to find out. It’s good content that makes the person continue reading and then come back again to the site another time. Good writing is memorable, and I think content that is well written, precise, and easy to read is the best type of content. In this busy day and age, people want their information like they want their fast food; they don’t like to sit there and read words that seem to have no end. So as a web designer, the best way to give people what they need is to have efficient and to-the-point content.

-k

References

Halvorson, Kristina. (2008). The Discipline of Content Strategy. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 

               274. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/thedisciplineofcontentstrategy/

Choosing the Right Type

The article “On Web Typography” by Jason Santa Maria focuses on choosing the right typeface for website designs. It has become more important for designers to have a good understanding of typography and on what typefaces and typeface pairings to use that best represents the overall message of the site. The importance of this issue has increased in the past couple years once typefaces were made available for free on websites and with CSS allowing designers to link to any font-face file. Jason says that it’s important to practice the art of typography by really understanding what each typeface means. 

One of the most important things when choosing a typefaces is readability. Reading is a learned behavior, and since simple serif and sans serif are mostly what we read today, it becomes easiest to read. Besides readability, typography is about the details, like personality and contrast when choosing pairs of typefaces. Pairing serif and sans serif fonts or bold and italic fonts help to add variety and contrast. It’s also important to figure out the qualities of the message that we want communicated and then choose typefaces based on those qualities. They might also have a connection to a certain time period or culture so it’s important to make sure a typeface does’t evoke the wrong connotation. Typography is a powerful tool so use it to your advantage. 

I agree with Jason that it is very important to think carefully about your choice in selecting a typeface. As he stated, “...with great power comes great responsibility. Just because you can use the font that looks like it’s wearing bellbottoms, doesn’t mean you should.” It’s true that having a more wide and available variety of typefaces can help you create an aesthetic for your website. Sometimes, though, less is more. I think that for a lot of websites, it’s better to pick a simple and clean typeface that will not distract from the message of the website but rather draw attention to the website’s content. I think audiences now-a-days really gravitate towards simple and straightforward design. They want a website that is easy to navigate and by choosing a simple typeface, this is the best and quickest way to make that possible.


-k

References

Maria, Jason Santa. (2009). On Web Typography. A List Apart: For People Who Make 

          Websites, 296. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/on-web-typography/

Getting Stuck in a Bad Habit

In the article “Habit Fields”, written by Jack Cheng on May 4, 2010, it talks about the things around us that store not only many memories but our behaviors as well. These stored behaviors are referred to as an object’s habit field which means that being around a certain object causes us to act in a certain way. More specifically, we create established behaviors when we use an object in a continued practice. This type of learning is called procedural memory, or memory on how to do things. According to Cheng, this type of behavior has become common with our desks and technological devices that we use everyday, but not always in the most productive way, as it’s easy to get distracted by social media websites every time we sit down to work. But we can change our habit fields, and one way Cheng says we can do that is to switch locations depending on the activity. Sit at a desk for work and a comfy chair for leisure activities so that every time you do one or the other, you have to move. This becomes a nuisance, and over time you will learn to stay in place at your desk. This simple change in habit field builds work habits that are prolonged, which will result in being more productive as well as let you expand your creativity and remember what it feels like to be completely absorbed in your work again.

This article was just what I needed to read as it opened my eyes to changes I need to make. I am probably one of the most distracted people I know when it comes to using computers and trying to get work done. Pretty much every time I get on my computer, the first thing I check is Facebook, then my school email, and then my Hotmail account. It has become such a conditioned behavior that I do it without even thinking. Once I’ve checked all three then I will start on whatever assignment I had originally gotten on my computer to do. Also, so many times throughout the assignment if I’m confused or get tired of working on it, I find myself checking one of those websites yet again. It’s become a pretty bad habit that I need to break.

Cheng’s articles made me realize how much better I could be utilizing my time. I would be able to get so much more work done just by having a set spot where I did my work. As a college student, it’s sort of hard to employ this concept in my dorm room as my desk is right by my bed. But just getting up and moving from my desk to my bed every time I want to check my Facebook would get to be very annoying, and I think this might just be the thing that gets me to stay in place at my desk longer. 

-k

References

Cheng, Jack. (2010). Habit Fields. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 305. 

          http://www.alistapart.com/articles/habit-fields/

Here It Goes Again

Hi. I'm Keely Geringer! Here are a few things about me:

I'm a senior graphic design major at Cedarville University.
I enjoy the simple things in life like a good book and a rainy day.
I'm from the country but would love to live and work in the city.

I remember different terms and techniques about layout design and about building a website from my Web Design class last semester. I also remember some html coding. I haven't worked on any since last semester so I might be a little rusty, but I'm sure I'll pick it back up really quickly! I enjoyed learning something that was challenging but rewarding once I was able to get a browser to look and work how I wanted. I also got to help work on some web design projects for my internship this past summer. It was neat seeing them work on redesigning their website and getting to be a small part of that.

I hope to perfect my coding skills in this Advanced Web Design class. I want it to become natural and easy for me to write code so that it will no longer take an endless number of hours! I would like to learn more techniques on how to create engaging, creative web layouts and designs. I'm looking forward to this upcoming semester and what I will learn!

-k