Lisele Zavala

Paper #2

Final Draft

Tonya Browning

10/18/95

Color And Organization: Their Effects On The Web

The Sci-Fi network's WorldWide Web (WWW) site, on the Internet, is organized to advertise its channel and navigate you through its information easily. It achieves this by constructing its site simply and effectively using graphic designs. Because it is a commercial site, it uses appealing visual graphics associated with science fiction, and the channel, to receive your attention, and get you interested to explore its sources. However, attracting the viewer's attention with fancy graphics doesn't necessarily make it a good Web site. What makes it effective is its format of graphic designs which moves you through its information without any difficulties. The Sci-Fi network achieves this by using proper organization and use of color to design their graphics, in order to establish a successful Web site on the Internet.

The Sci-Fi network uses graphic designs to organize its home page in order to produce an image that illustrates relevant logos and information about the site simultaneously. The fact that the Sci-Fi network is a commercial site on the Internet, contributes to its structure of organization. As a result, the network uses visual designs to publicize the Sci-Fi channel and help link you to its sources of information with an interesting yet effective style. The Sci-Fi network places a science fiction logo in the center of the background, which is arranged with sources along the sides and corners of the boxed image. This logo is used for illustration, and the links, (represented by small squares with titles written in them), are used for locating information of categories found within the site. The Sci-Fi network also manages to incorporate two flashing boxes which link to information about the network's TV listings, on the top two corners of the same image, and incorporates an advertisement of the channels logo around the same centered image.

All of this information is crucial to this commercial site, because it manages to advertise its channel and offer a concise structure of visual designs to link you to information quickly. The site is organized in this structure for these purposes and successfully manages to achieve an effective structure through this proper organization. This approach has some benefits in comparison to the use of written text in other sites, which usually contain lengthy information that may or may not interest you. For example, when you look at the Cyberpunk FAQ site, which resembles this type of organization, and compare it to the structure of the Sci-Fi WWW site, you can see the benefits of using relevant graphics to enhance a commercial Web site. Using appealing graphics instead of written text, enhances the viewers interest more, and decreases reading time which can become tiresome.

However, even though graphics can be used to benefit some sites, visual designs that aren't relevant or don't have a specific function should be avoided along with graphics that take up too much space. Irrelevant or large graphics may result in distracting viewers from important information found on the Web site. On the other hand, proper organization of graphics that benefit the purpose of the site, like the Sci-Fi network, can help create an effective WorldWide Web site.

The proper use of color to distinguish the variety of options you have to select from, is another useful element the Sci-Fi network takes into consideration when building its Web site. Colors are used to differentiate between the networks advertisement logos and sources of links which are both organized on the same screen. The colors chosen should help you locate information you want without any problems. The Sci-Fi network does this by cleverly putting its advertisements and its six links to information in different colors that contrast against the dark, black color they are placed against. The Sci-Fi network chooses bright yellows and pinks for its advertisements and outlines the six links in white along its edges. Because the links are outlined in white, it creates a distinctive contrast against the bright, colored logos and black background.

Using color to help guide a Web site to information of other sources can be a useful strategy. There are many benefits when using color instead of written directions to construct your movement through the Internet. When you compare the Sci-Fi network and Cyberpunk FAQ Web sites, you are aware of the significance of the structure chosen to build their individual Web sites. Cyberpunk FAQ's choice, of using written text to instruct you about its information, is a different approach than using colors and designs for the same job. FAQ's WWW site doesn't contain any visual appeal, because it's not trying to get the viewer interested in it's site. The Sci-Fi network, on the other hand, chooses the use of color to construct it's site, because it can create visual appeal while distinguishing its sources of information in a simplistic yet creative style that satisfies the network's purpose for its Web site.

This structure results in an interesting Web site which uses simple images to link you to detailed information of your choice. However, in order for color to be useful, it needs to be chosen in an effective way that helps you read and understand what its trying to express on the Web site. For example, when color is being used within a site to highlight its links, colors that make it stand out should be used instead of colors that blend easily and may cause confusion. A way which color problems may be solved can be seen in the Sci-Fi network's site. On the bottom of the main home page graphic, a list of all the six links represented on the page as images are written in black letters against a white screen to avoid any confusion of the graphics being used

The Sci-Fi network's WorldWide Web site is designed to interest and navigate you through its information on the Internet as easily as possible. The network fulfills their purpose by incorporating effective graphic designs in its site's format. Their Web site completes this goal by designing the visual designs with proper organization and colors, that help establish the site into a concise and interesting format which the viewer can appreciate and use successfully.

Part of my assignment was to redesign a page on a site on the internet. I have listed the original site, page and my own redesign of the page.

Original Site

Original Page

Changed Page

Bibliography

CBS
This site is very colorful and uses images to link to its informative sources. Its graphics take up more space than necessary. It contains information about TV listings and new shows on the CBS network.

Cyberpunk FAQ
I found the information on this Web site rather long. It contained no graphic designs to aid its page, and was packed with information on cyberpunk.

Doug's Library
Doug's library contained reviews and comments of cyberpunk books. It contained one small graphic image to decorate the home page.

Sci-Fi Network
I thought this Web site was very interesting. I enjoyed the graphic images and the information found in the site. It was very creative and was packed with information about the channel and other science fiction related items.

SF Clearing House
I liked the approach used for this site. It was divided into categories, and used triangles beside the links to distinguish them as links. It was a simple format, without long amounts of information to read through.



Works Cited

Schneider, Erich. Frequently Asked Questions On Alt. Cyberpunk. October 8,1995 http://bush.cs.tamu.edu/~erich/alt.cp.faq.html

Sci-Fi Network. The Dominion. October 10, 95. http://www.scifi.com/