Visual Communication Assigment Week 1

1. Review of Website:
Design and the Elastic Mind
Visual Communications. Assignment Week 1
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/index.html

3. 1. Idea
• The primary idea is to allow all information
to present with equal importance and
thereby allow viewers to choose their own
route through the information

4. 2. Support the Idea
• All text same color and weight
• Random, illustrated highlights show up
• Information Overload - Site seems to go on
an on in both horizontal and vertical

5. 3. Use Only Two Type
Families

6. 4. Color and Images for
a Reason
• The mute color palate serves to give all
content equal weight -- not directing view
• Images pop up from all over the place and
even partially off screen encouraging viewer
to wander

7. 5. Make Negative Space
Part of Design
• Negative space is seriously lacking
• But this serves to enhance the feeling of
‘abundance of Info’

9. 6. Communicate -- Tell
it Like it Is
• In this case I think Less Is Not More

10. 7. Establish Hierarchy
• Hierarchy is established only by layout --
title at top, individual bits of information at
the bottom
• Categories do serve as important middle
level of information organization
• Multiple different tracks to information
• categories, pop-ups, connection links

11. 8. Justification
• Justification is left everywhere.
• One mistake is the small arrow icons at top
right of each box. They throw justification
off, further crowd page and aren’t even
links (would be cool if they were collapse
buttons)

12. 9. Work with Grid

13. 10. Make Interface
Intuitive
• A visit to the site is like a visit to the
museum. Meandering is encouraged

14. Some Criticism
• No horizontal scroll (on-screen buttons
not fixed -- confusing)
• Information overload -- Users never feel
they have seen the whole site
• a bit of a strain on the eyes to read the
text
• pictures are often confusing