Week Thirteen | Nelson

Her campus online magazine for Syracuse (which I blog for, so check it out, just sayin) doesn't have a very dominant visual hiearchy. The image posted is when the site is just opened, but scrolling down a bit more, and there are images everywhere, all usually about the same size. It's a very basic layout, with links to stories and pictures associated with certain stories, but there could be many improvements made to make the website more interesting and more innovative, in my opinion.

1) The first thing that really pops out on the page is the little banner that says Syracuse. This is strong, since there are so many other schools involved, viewers need to know which page they're on. The images lead us down the page to other links, since you can see the hint of the next image (part of my blog. Again, just sayin), it keeps you wanting to scroll down and see more--though part of that is from the headline above the image. It is clear the stories are placed in an order of most recent/interest, and those with pictures and most importance are placed towards the top. Since the photoblog is all pictures, I think it serves a bit of a hierarchy to catch one's eye and keep them moving down the page to then read articles and find out more about what's happening on Syracuse's campus.

2)From first opening the page, the dominant item is the Syracuse flag. It's visually pleasing, since it's just a simple sunny background on a snowy day, which is iconic of Syracuse, and it's also noting to the viewer which page they're on. The type on the image is fun and since the y's a descender, it somewhat leads the eye to continue down the page for the next hiearchical image from the photoblog, which always remains the first component on the site from week to week.

3)The good part of the design is that upon first entering, it's not very cluttered. There are links to various articles and the banner at the very top; the only images we can see are parts of the images that go with the next stories, to force the viewer to scroll down and see what else there is.

4)The layout overall doesn't have a sense of hiearchy other than scrolling down to different stories, which for all I know could be in random order. I feel the image sizes should be more varied, and there could be more variety in text and font color. It's a very basic design with no one thing that necessarily really draws the eye in. If a little rearranging on the grid system was done and more time spent on the organization of photos and stories, it could be more aesthetically pleasing and interesting.