Design Psychology Article

The “Design Psychology” article was interesting in the way that it said that web designers needed to be artists and psychologists. They needed to be artists such that the web site was appealing and interesting to look at. And they needed to be psychologists so that they could accurately predict how people would see and use the site.

I think that the topics raised relate to all web designs, not just our project. In our case, we want our site to speak to our specific audiences – the community, those who need Joshua’s Haven’s services and the volunteers and donors. We need to come up with a site that looks aesthetically pleasing and gives visitors the information that they need.

We should keep in mind the concepts of concise content, using white space and eye flow of the pages when developing the web site. We will have to review the site throughout development to make sure that we are implementing these strategies.

Review 3 Websites

I reviewed Because You Care, Inc., Virgin Mobile and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary.

Because You Care, Inc. http://www.becauseyoucare.org/

• The audience is people who care about dogs and cats


• The most important content is the picture slide show. The slide show contains pictures of cats, kittens and puppies. The pictures get you hooked and want you to look further at the site and help. These pictures are located at the top middle part of the site. Here are 2 pictures shown in the slide show.














• It is a hierarchial site that isn't very deep. It is also set up as 2 columns.


• The site is fluid.


• There are 3 Navigation areas. Navigation A has 3 options, Navigation B has 8 options and Navigation C has 3 options.


• Here is the wireframe of this site.

Virgin Mobile http://www.virginmobileusa.com/

• The audience is young people from teenagers to 20 somethings.


• The most important content is letting the viewer know that they have options in choosing a cell phone. This content is in the top middle part of the page. The following picture shows how they convey this message.

• The web site is a deep hierarchial one and goes from 1 column at the top to 3 at the bottom.


• It is a fixed site.


• There are 4 Navigation areas. Navigation A has 7 options, Navigation B has 6 options, Navigation C has 6 options and Navigation D has 8 options.


• Here is the wireframe of this site.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary http://www.hawkmountain.org/

• The audience is outdoor people who are conservationists and birders.


• The most important content lets the visitors to the site know that the site is about protecting birds of prey. This content is located in the top middle part of the page.


• The layout is a shallow hierarchial with 2 columns.


• It is a fixed site. The following image shows what happens when I make the window smaller.








• There are 2 navigation areas. Area A has 5 options and area B has 15 options.


• 
  
  Here is the wireframe of the site.