Team 1: https://thegreenspringreview.art.blog/
Effective:
- The logo with the oak leaf is very creative. It creates a sophisticated professional look but welcoming page for the homepage.
- I like the idea of a “featured piece” from the latest issue of the magazine. It creates a constant viewer due the sheer similarity to other websites/magazines.
- The search bar in the right middle of the front end allows for users to quick-search specific topics of which may be to their interest.
- The event planner widget that is within the website lets users stay in touch with Stevenson events.
- The submission page is concise and informs the user of what goods can and cannot be submitted for posting. It may be a little lengthy, however its purpose is well served.
Needs Improvement:
- The book background limits the users understanding of what the Greenspring Review has in terms of its content. Traditional books should be looked away in looking on an online page with content that may entail more than just reading such as videos, art, photography, music, etc.
- The logo is excellent, especially the font, but the placement and the window of which the logo is within is a bit small and misplaced. Though expressed in another potential version of the websites, I think that the idea of using this logo in scrollax form would serve the websites best interest in whatever version ends up to be taken.
- In terms of the “Issues” tab on the navigation bar, I believe that the semester and year of each issue should be in a drop-down menu of which would make the “issues” page that the drop-down is attached to much more organized.
- I think that the social media links are among the most important resources for the website for users to constantly connected to the information in the magazine. I think reconsidering the placement of the social media widget to even making it have its own section in the navigation bar could prove beneficial for users to constantly be reminded about the social media aspect of the blog.
- I believe Hick’s Law (essentially the phrase “less is more”) should be applied here with the detail to the featured piece. The additional text other than the potential title could create unwanted clutter of which the user may not find as visually pleasing.
Team 2: https://jennaaye.wordpress.com
Effective:
- I love the visuals on the home page. The homepage with the header that covers the front image, or the implementation of scrollax is a great means to possibly position featured stories on The Greenspring Review.
- Though the header moves from the middle of the page to the top, the fact that the bar doesn’t disappear entirely lets users not have to scroll to the very top of the page.
- I like how there is an archives option within the “Issues” tab of which allows the user to access older information.
- The approach of the website is logistic. The whole site is the literary magazine and there is no option for Spring 2019 or Fall 2018 and so on. I believe this allows the user easier accessibility to access the contents of the website.
- The simple colored background is appealing to the eye, however, it does not distract the user from the contents of the websites. In addition, the submission page is ideal and should be modeled for future sites.
Needs Improvement:
- The font is unbearable and inconsistent. The font in the image behind the navigation bar is different from the subtitles of the genres, which is also different from the font in the navigation bar. It takes away from the professionalism of the website.
- Though for mobile devices makes the gestural mode of operating this site fairly organized, the single column use of space for the website makes the website feel incomplete in terms of the arrangement for desktop users.
- I understand the logo was meant to be ambiguous, however, I think the logo should be reexamined.
- There’s not much of a homepage which makes the “issues” tab a bit redundant. By having the categories of the literary site view-able from the homepage, there seems to be no point in redirecting the user through numerous pages. Consider having a featured story followed by other headlines viewed horizontally rather than vertically with other related stories or other important events, postings, media, or Stevenson related news.
- Adopt more Stevenson colors. Though the goal is to not feel like a Stevenson website, at the end of the day, this is a Stevenson literary magazine. This should incorporate more darker greens and black coloring (explore using black/white font with the green backing) or maybe even some Maryland colors to give the site a geographic anchor.
Team 3: https://greenspringreview.art.blog/
Effective:
- This site does a great job at turning a great deal of information into simple-easy-to-read sections which breaks the information into organized parts on the home page.
- The header and the title/logo of the site is centered, instilling a professional look from the start. The dual column view looks good for desktop users and the view for mobile devices is nice as well.
- The side navigation bar with the search bar on each page is simple and effective. It provides more options with less effort for the user to search things to search for specific content.
- Having the submission box at the top of the submission page is bold but understandable. If The Greenspring Review wants to generate more content off of student work, it would behoove their interests to do this.
- I like the idea of the wide image at the header of the page. Though perhaps a different photo, but the reinforcement of the magazine is a nice feature.
Need Improvement:
- The font of “The Greenspring Review” looks like little attention was focused on it. Either a traditional-style or modern-style bold font with accents of Stevenson colors (or Stevenson literary magazine colors) would look a bit better.
- Having the classic “share this” section for the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts seems slightly dated and not with the times anymore. Most websites incorporate that information either at the very top of the page in the corner as a simple hyperlink. This may be a beneficial option for the Greenspring Review to get more student exposure of the content within the site by making it easier to share information.
- The website is a little bland in terms of the color and background. The pattern is simple, however there are no accented colors to make essential information pop out for users to be more drawn to the site.
- There are limited options in terms of the places to put additional forms of information such as short stories.
- The accessibility to older editions is fairly limited as only two semesters are able to be seen.