Usability Test

Today in class, I was lucky enough to receive feedback on my web portfolio from three women through a usability test. The first question I asked was, Is the website easy to navigate? Luckily all the women said that it was simple, easy to navigate and visually appealing. The next question I asked was, Was the introduction informative? They all said that they liked my home page which I was very excited about because I thought that maybe it was too much visually but they all really liked it. My "about me" section they said had a little too much text so they suggested I use bullet points to cut it down. My next question for my usability test was, does the web portfolio have a focus? They all seemed to agree that yes it did have a fairly clear focus but the consensus was that I needed to make the Disposable Camera Project and My Photography sections more clearly separated. The last question for my usability test was, on a scale of 0-10, how complete is the site? I can happily say that they all said I was at about a 9 and that I just needed to make some minor adjustments.

Blog Post #9

All ten tips that Smashing Magazine suggests are very good tips. However for me right now, all ten tips do not apply to what I have currently accomplished. I feel as though if I were to make a portfolio in a few years I would use every tip. However, making a tag line would be difficult for me because there is not anything right now that I specifically do because I am a sophomore still and I do not know yet what I intend to do. Also, it would be hard for me to include the services tip in my web portfolio because I do not have any specific service that I am capable at on my web portfolio. When looking at the 40+ beautiful personal portfolio websites, there were a few that I liked, a few I did not like and then the rest I was more or less indifferent about. I really enjoyed Vitor Louranco’s web portfolio. It was simple and very clear as to what he did, I also really liked how clean cut it is. I also liked the Digital Mash website and The Things We Make web portfolio. I thought that they were fun and playful but also well organized. A few I did not like were Kerry Nehil’s, Jason Santa Maria’s and David Appleyard’s. To me they seemed like they were trying to be too professional or trying to be too clean cut. I thought they came across as boring and if I were to make a web portfolio, I probably would not make one similar to theirs. To make this type of portfolio, I would need to know a lot more. I have never tried to make a web portfolio before so I would need to learn almost everything to make one.

Post #8

My literacy narrative will be about when I first started writing. Reading had a lot to do with how I learned to write. My parents would always read to me before I went to bed. They were always a big help, but I believe that the books they chose to read to me were what really stood out to me. The use of perfect linguistics for my age was what really got me going. In order to share my story, I will be showing clips of parts of my favorite book, Goodnight Moon. My parents also saved some of my first letters, so I intend on showing those too. I want my short film o flow so I intend on using background music opposed to talking in this video.

Post #7

My draft for Project 2 is just that, a draft. I know I have a lot of things I need to fix before Thursday. Saying that, Risa and Minori both thought that overall I had a good design. Seeing as I am pretty new to the whole website thing, I feel fine about my design. One thing I agree with though, is that they thought I should move the videos so that each one is on a different column. This way I can analyze each video right underneath it. Other than that the main thing I need to fix is just to add more of a rhetorical analysis. I answered question one alright although I could add more content but the main thing I need to focus on is question two. Before Thursday I will need to talk more about the context of each video. I also really need to focus on incorporating the use of modes.

I look forward to finishing my project.

Post #6

Each candidate approved all the videos I chose to use.

The first video's author is either Mitt Romney or his staff. It is called Richmond Times-Dispatch On Welfare Reform. It is a TV advertisment that I found on Mitt Romney's Youtube channel. The intended audience I feel is any youtube or TV watcher. The video focus's on how Romney is the right choice and how Obama's welfare reform is 'nuts'. The main claim is that Romney will put work back in welfare. The second video is again made by someone on Mitt Romney's staff. I found this video on the Mitt Romney youtube channel as well. The video is called, Long History. This video is for people who watch youtube videos and it is also a TV advertisement. This video again is about Welfare. This video is clearly opposing Obama and the last portion of the video shines Romney in a good light and how he will help fix the problems Obama has caused. The third video's author is Romney or staff again and it is called A Better Future: Iowa - Overregulation. I found this video on Mitt Romney's youtube channel. The target audience I believe for this video is for Romney followers and watchers on his youtube channel. The video is about a better future for Iowa and how Mitt Romney will better them. It also focuses on how Obama is not making Iowa better off. The next three videos I chose were approved by Obama and they focus on Obama being the 'good' choice while it opposes Romney. The first video I found was from the Huffington Post. The video is called, The Question- Obama For America. This is a TV advertisment but can also be found on youtube. It focuses more on accusations that Romney made against Obama and how they are untrue. It also focuses on how Mitt Romney's plan does not help the middle class. The next two videos I found were on youtube and they are also two more TV advertisements that are credible because they are approved by Obama. The first one is called, New Obama TV Ads Attack Romney For Fee Hikes. This video is exactly what the title says. The last video I found is called, "Troubled". It's focused audience is women in the United States who are voting. It focuses on how Romney backed the law that prohibits all abortions and womens right to choose. The rights for all of these youtube videos are existing because all of the video are approved by each candidate. The youtube link will lead you to the candidates youtube channel which is the original source. The format that my citations will take are that they are already youtube videos so I will use them as the link. I want to have the video on the page and then if you click the video it will lead the audience to the actual youtube video from its original source.

Post #5

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty by Sara:
First off, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty was probably my favorite of the three webtexts. Almost everything about the website I loved. The choice of color is probably the first aspect of the webtext that really jumps out at you. The bright blue color goes with the blue color of the font that is the Dove slogan/label. Not only are all the texts blue but there are blue borders on white text box. The blue and the white contrast really well and the blue writing stands out on the white background. Then the blue border really frames the white box and text well. The background of the whole page is a lovely mix of both blue and white. It is a clever pattern of birds, flowers and clouds. Overall the webtext has a womenly feel to it, which I am sure was the author's purpose because the Dove for Real Beauty Campaign targets women. There really was not anything that stood out to me that I disliked.

Life-Based Web Comics by Ariel:
The Life-Based Web Comics webtext by Ariel was very straight-forward. What I liked about the webtext was that it was all very well organized. It was very clear where everything was and there weren't any surprises. Even though I liked that it was all very well thought out and very organized, I think the page was a little boring to me. I really did not like color choice, it seemed a little more masculine and plain.

Credit Unions by Brandi:
The link for Credit Unions by Brandi was not found/not working.

The way I want to design my webtext is very simple. I want to have a bright and inviting color because for me that is what stands out, plain/masculine colored webtexts did not appeal to me. Although I do want a bright and inviting color like the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, I did like the simplicity of the layout of the Life-Based Web Comics webtext, so I will probably keep my webtext fairly simple. I only want to have what I need on my page, no extra fluff. I like the page to be centered and I also want to add some visuals by having some sort of image on the page.

Post #4

For Project #2: Multumodal Analysis Webtext, I decided to choose to look at six different Ads in the upcoming Presidential election. The election is between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney. I wanted to look at ads that are against Obama and ads that are against Romney. I feel like these particular ads add drama and really take into account the effects and modes that are used.

Ads against Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHPa_LZOM2s&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j79YA1rRiWM&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI3XWNApnr8&feature=plcp

Ads against Romney:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/15/obama-mitt-romney-economy_n_1886148.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpZMOCuaB78
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ziBFRKTnk