Self - Guided tour of the WWW

• Go to ten different pages, chosen at random. How many of the pages utilize strong alignments in the layout? How many have an arbitrary mix of alignments? Which pages have more organized, clean presentations, and why do they appear that way?

• On every web page you look at from now on, notice how elements have been aligned. Write what the page looks like how it affects you. When viewing a messy page, think about how it might look if things were aligned properly.

• On the next ten web pages you see, note how the principle of proximity affects you instant impression of the page and what it is trying to communicate, both positively and negatively.

• Choose three web pages that are oblivious to the principle of proximity. Write how the pack of proxmity disrupts the design layout, and how it disrupts the communication process. Think of solutions and write them down.

• Go to large, corporate web sites. Then go to museums or art sites. Put into words what the designers have done, using repetitive elements, that unify all the pages of their sites. If the designers didn't do a very good job, put that into words. Why doesn't the site appear unified? What could be done to make it unified? Do you see why it is important to use repetition?

• Go to five more web pages. Close your eyes until the page is fully loaded, then notice where you eye lands first, and where it goes from there - it is probably following the contrasting elements. Do the elements lead you in a logical path through the information? Do they establish a hierarchy of information that makes sense for the page?

• Find two pages where the contrasting elements disrupt the natural flow of the page. What can be done to improve those pages?