Hwang Assignment #1

From: Julie A Hwang <jhwang@MIT.EDU>

In the Tale of Two Frums story,

The story is pretty sparse, which isn't such an issue, but the

design of the webpages is pretty confusing. It's pretty simple

HTML, but I just don't understand where the doors are going. I can

infer that the open door leads me forward, but the closed door takes

often takes me where I don't expect it, making the story hard to follow.

I suggest sprucing up the icons, and maybe adding some kind of indicator

where I'm going next. I like the use of different colored backgrounds

for different people; it helps me keep track. But the thing that

bothered me most about this story was definitely the confusion

in navigation.

Examples:

I can follow the frums out, but if I click on the closed door, I can't

get back to them again from the next page, and I end up following Mel

in the kitchen, a transition I'm not expecting and don't quite understand.

Also from here, I don't like how the story ends so suddenly if I clicked

on the closed door. I'm really not expecting this and I've suddenly

been cut off from the story.

These pages also show how sparse and slightly confusing the site is.

I really like ScanMan. It's also a pretty simple site, but there is

an interesting voyeuristic story, and I like how he maintains

consistency of design among the pages, also using differentiating

colors, and how he uses a clock so we know where we are. The design

is pretty clean and effective. I think some advanced improvements

could include improving the graphics, or having a picture of the

scanner and allowing the user to push buttons to change the channels,

and maybe even play soundfiles on the page to simulate eavesdropping

on the conversations.