Project 1
2/3/2021
Introduction
Hi I’m Amy, and I’m currently a Junior studying Information Systems with a Minor in HCI. I’m interested in Communication Design because it’s so prevalent in our everyday lives, and I hope to gain a better understanding of design thinking to help inform my own decisions when creating things for people to use.
Ineffective Example
My found example for ineffective communication design is the website for the Carnegie Science Center. This website is intended for people interested in visiting the museum and thus aims to provide relevant information such as interesting exhibits and available hours. However, there are elements that take away from the clarity of its information such as in the use of color. The interface feels cluttered because of all the activity going on with use of bright reds and blues. They’re all fighting for the viewer’s attention, and it’s hard to know where to direct your attention first. Also the layout feels inconsistent, and certain elements are placed in unexpected ways like the corner search icon and the elongated buy tickets button that looks more like a header than a button. Overall, there feels like a lack of text consistency with the use of so many different fonts and font sizes throughout.
Effective Example
My found example for effective communication design is the website for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Similar to the other site, the intention is to help visitors find relevant museum information and buy tickets. In general, the visual design here feels a lot more cohesive and clean. Particularly in the use of white space, it helps separate the different blocks of information to quickly allow visitors to locate what they are looking for. There’s a stronger established visual hierarchy as well, and your attention is drawn towards the larger featured exhibit image at the top. The simplistic color palette helps to bring users’ attention towards key pieces of relevant information such as hours and navigation links. Alignment of various elements also gives it a more organized appearance, further helping to convey useful information.
