The existing Blanton site has serious usability issues as the design is amateurish and counterintuitive. Thus, we approached the re-design with three goals in mind: usability, scannability, and tone. We simplified and condensed the navigation, added a search feature, brought the content into focus, and created a more professional color scheme.

We made it easier for users to complete tasks and find information by combining repetitive sections, creating a unified navigation bar, adding a visitor information section, and using color to make connections and guide the eye. We brought the content to the forefront of the page by adding colored margins, reducing the size of the header on interior pages, and changing the layout to keep scrolling to a minimum. We improved the legibility of the content by increasing the font sizes and having black text on a white background. We also added the visionary wordage, “collecting, teaching, inspiring,” to the Blanton header so that users will make a connection and always know what the site is about.

1. What are the primary objectives of the site redesign, and what are the goals of the new site?

2. Use a few adjectives to describe how you want site visitors to perceive the new site. How do you want the new site to be perceived?

3. What are the rules or general guidelines used by museums when posting pictures of works of art and info about them?

4. Is the solicitation of volunteers so important that it needs to be displayed prominently on the homepage?

5. Are there any specific features or amenities about the new building that should be highlighted on the redesigned website?

(a few more questions, if time permits)
6. Who, would you say, is a typical site visitor, and what is their primary reason for visiting the site?

7. Why are some of the features hosted by finearts.utexas.edu , instead of blantonmuseum.org?

8. What is the difference between "news" and "features" on the calendar page?

After reviewing the material provided in the text about the communication brief, I feel that we need more information from the client (Bill) about redesign goals. I am putting together ideas for the brief, but it seems incomplete. I suggest moving the due date for the communication brief back a day or two, because we will not be meeting with the client (Bill) until Tuesday. I feel that the ideas we talked about on Thursday (such as making general information easily available to the audience) are great, and would work better if combined with information from the client. Please share your thoughts. Thanks,
Chad.

1. Communication Brief: Chad will take the lead on this and be responsible for writing the

   actual document. Everyone should email Chad with their thoughts and idea on what the proposed site

   should be. He will put it all together and send out the finished brief to the rest of the team.

   This needs to be completed by next Tuesady, the 14th.

2. Site map of the existing web page: Dona will do this, and will email it to the group to

   get feedback. This needs to be completed by next Tuesady, the 14th.

3. Audit Methodology: Erin should take the lead on this and be responsible for creating the

   Excel sheet, but everyone needs to submit input as to what the content of the new site will be.

   This needs to be completed by next Tuesady, the 14th.

4. Site map of the proposed site: Stuart will do this, but will need to check with the group

   to be sure that everything is included. This needs to be completed by next Thursday, the 16th.

5. Content delivery plan of the proposed site: I-Chen and Patrick will work on this

   together, with a "reasonability" check by the rest of the group after it is completed. This needs

   to be completed by next Thursday, the 16th.