Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Web sites for other purposes, this technique will help you again and again to
gain reference to page count. Also, the flowchart is valuable as a visual
reference while designing and updating the Web portfolio throughout its life
span.
Review and Conclusion
Now that we have the basic scope documents of what the site will be about and
how the site will be structured, we will establish how the site will look. In the
next chapter we begin the visual design process.
To this point you have worked in a logical, calculated way. This methodology
is important because you want to realize a clean, calculated route for our users
to learn about our professional capabilities. You have taken care to bring
information to the simplest levels of presentation on paper, in outline form and
using a flowchart. Now, you must continue to take care to bring information to
the simplest levels using visual tools. What you do not want is for navigation to
overwhelm content in any way. Computer graphics and multimedia software
has revolutionized the way we create content. You must respect the tools, but
more importantly respect the design of the Web portfolio so that it does not
have a lack of balance when it comes to navigation and ornamental items versus
pure content. You want the appearance mixture to favor pure content. You
want navigation to act as a conduit, a threshold, and a pathway to content.
Navigation can never be a distraction to content.
Up to this point, you have made some important decisions about the Web
portfolio. Although computers have not been discussed yet, you have laid the
groundwork for taking information and putting it into a hierarchical structure
that you can now begin to present visually. If you have been following along in
the text, you should now know what the Web portfolio is going to contain, who
your target user is, and what your goals are in creating this multimedia product.
Now that we have discussed information design, let us explore visual design.
