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<BR>Here is a look at some of the design processes we apply in our dealings with Australian business. SiteSource designs and develops a cyber plan tailored to your business needs to ensure your www Internet presence is maximised!<BR><h1 align="center"><font face="Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Web Development Goals</font></h1>
<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><a href="http://www.sitesource.com.au/"><font face="Arial Narrow, Arial Black, Arial, serif"><strong>SiteSource</strong></font></a></font></p>
<p align="left"><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Responses<br>
The site is designed to drive interested people to contact SBI either by telephone
or online forms, which will be emailed to SBI customer service for prompt
response.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Orientation Info<br>
The site will use a pull down menu, and button clicking environment. Each page
will be able to link to every other page of the web site. The site should
be framed by blue borders to ensure that regardless of screen size the layout
remains consistent.<br>
Interface Elements<br>
Identity<br>
Key Elements<br>
<a href="http://isp.sitesource.com.au/">Fast Download Times</a><br>
Consistent Appearance<br>
Consistency in appearance will be achieved by use of tables and the following
format styles on each of the final destination pages;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· A heading at
top describing the information level the user is at. </font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· A picture and
quote from an executive</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· 2 or 3 pictures
only helping to communicate information about the topic.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Text (and where
appropriate bulleted lists) describing the required information. This text
is to be stylised with bold, underlining and italic
of its main points for emphasis. All bulleted lists are to be in a greyer shade
and +1 size larger font.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Each of the intermediate destination navigation pages (ie Products, Services
and Information) is to have the following consistent layouts;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· A heading <a href="http://results.sitesource.com.au/">describing</a> the
information level the user is at.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· A picture (as
a link) and text as a link to each of the final destination pages (with a
small amount of text about the linked page).</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">The corporate elements of blue and red should be present as much as possible
within every possible element on the site.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Functional<br>
Loading Speed<br>
Modem<br>
In conjunction with the universal design element, a page download speed of
5Kbps is set as an average (given a 56Kb modem). The target minimum load speed
per page is 30 seconds, therefore the average page size should be limited to
below 150Kb, with an attempt to achieve 30KB (although with the amount of image
use per page this may not be possible)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Browsers<br>
The site is to be designed to work on browsers compliant with WC3 HTML4.0 standards.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><a href="http://estore.sitesource.com.au/">Operating System</a><br>
The site should work on browsers operating in both Windows and Mac operating
environments.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Interactivity<br>
The user should be able to navigate by pull down menus on the navigation bar,
or the top level buttons on the bar and then text/picture links to the final
destination pages). The left top logo should link back to the welcome page.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Aesthetics/Style<br>
Orientation Overview<br>
Metaphor Design<br>
The site must present a technologically advanced image, it should achieve this
through the use of pictures as well as text. The welcome page should have a “glossy
brochure” style picture on it to help portray this image. This element
should present the positioning of the company as “the leader in light
weight building products”. And also four key components of the <a href="http://diy.sitesource.com.au/">corporate
identity</a>;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· design</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· materials</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· innovation</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· technology</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Navigation/Functional<br>
Image Map <br>
For additional navigational aid, the front welcome screen main image should
also act as an image map, to direct customers to the second level products & services
page, as well as the technology and advantages pages directly.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Buttons<br>
A navigation bar with buttons should be located in on top of all pages.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Menus<br>
Menus to final destination pages should pull down from the navigation bar.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Windows<br>
All links (both internal and external) will open in the window originally opened
by the user.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Text Links<br>
Will only be used on the intermediate pages (products, services & information)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Scrolling<br>
Maximise information on each page @ 800x600 resolution, when this is not achieved,
anchors must also be used. Horizontal scrolling is to be avoided.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Informational<br>
Fonts<br>
San serif where possible, to ease online reading. These should be in black
(except, where stated above they are in grey).</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Images<br>
All picture elements must be optimised, and not take the full page size over
the size limit. When used as a link, there must be a text alternative. Images
on the final destination pages (other than corporate photos) are to be 120x120
@ 50 dpi, corporate photos 100x100 @ 72 dpi.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Structural<br>
A hierarchical structure is to be used. (see site map)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Background<br>
Plain white, with blue framed borders. (There is to be a link to the main page
displayed if the user’s browser doesn’t function with frames).</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">JavaScript/Plug-ins<br>
No plug-ins are required, scripting is to be used for the navigation bar.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Layout<br>
White Space<br>
Regardless of window size, white space should appear consistently on a page.
Therefore elements should be bound to the page using a formatting device. (This
will be either layers or tables, to demonstrate the use of both).</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Templates<br>
A standard template is to be set, and every page will conform to the level
template that it represents.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
Interface Design in Multimedia<br>
Background<br>
What is this topic all about? There are three main components that need to
be discussed;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Multimedia <br>
Interface <br>
Design <br>
Multimedia<br>
Multimedia is the use of two or more media forms, combined together to create
some sort of communication. In I.T. terms it means interactive (dual directional)
communication using a combination of at least two of the following; </font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">text, <br>
graphics, <br>
video, <br>
animation or <br>
sound. <br>
The Interface<br>
This is hardware that is used to present the multimedia. It can consist of;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Visual Display Screens, <br>
Speakers/Microphones or <br>
Printers/Scanners. <br>
In the case of this paper, I will only be looking at interface design as it
relates to Visual Display Screens, and the end users’ interaction with
them.</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">The Design<br>
Design is the way that, the combination of multimedia, is both constructed
and then displayed on the user interface. Design relates to both the construction
and transmission of the communication. The end user is in control of deconstructing
the message, based on their personal perceptions. It is important for the
to understand as much about the end users perceptions as possible to ensure
an accurate decoding of the message.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Interface Design Process<br>
The key principle for success in Interface Design for Multimedia, is to optimise
the end users’ comprehension of the communication. To achieve this
the designer should follow a comprehensive process. This will ensure the
quality of the end product.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Information Design<br>
The first step is to clearly understand what is to be communicated by the site,
and to the site.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Product Goals<br>
Any time there is communication there is a reason or purpose for that communication
to take place. It might be designed to be;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">educational <br>
entertaining <br>
commercial. <br>
Within the goal of each communication there are many objectives, these differ
from product to product but it might be (educational) to stop people form smoking,
understand the damage that smoking is doing to them, call a specific 1800 number
for help to quit.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Audience & Environment<br>
Once you understand what the purpose and goals of your communication are you
need to know who you will be communicating with. The way that you communicate
with Harvard educated nuclear physicists would differ markedly with a political
message intended for the entire population of Zimbabwe. The environment that
the audience is in also impacts on the message.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Consider the main section headers on the screen example left . They have been
developed in consideration of the types of people visiting the site (travellers
in various stages of actualisation) and the reasons they are visiting.</font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Key considerations of the audience revolve around;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Motivation <br>
Interest <br>
Control <br>
Intuition <br>
Planning<br>
For ultimate success you need a step by step approach to your communication.
This will help you tackle each task systematically and also deal with things
that constrain your communication (like finance, time, capital and other resources).</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Delivery<br>
-This relates to what channel you will use to distribute your communication.
In relation to this topic example might be the internet, CD-ROM or floppy
disk. Other considerations might include speed of internet connection, down-load
times.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Organisation<br>
Consideration should be given to how the communication is presented. What should
come first, what are the major categories of communication, and how does
this effect the communication?</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Flow Chart <br>
The flow chart is a useful tool for designing how the organisation of the information
can be turned into individual screens within the whole site. It represents
topic levels using boxes and interconnections between the boxes as to how
the communication might flow (in a non-linear pattern). (example from )</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Interaction Design Concepts<br>
The critical tasks in designing for interaction are;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Orientation (how the user is guided through the site) <br>
Navigation (the specific elements used to travel through the site) <br>
Usability (relates to how easily the user can interact with the site) <br>
Functionality (how all the concepts and design fit together) <br>
Story-board (detailed look a t each box from the Flow Chart) <br>
Presentation Design<br>
Consists of;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Simplicity <br>
- the simpler the better, there is less chance of user confusion in deconstructing
the message.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Consider the site (pictured right) the page is very simple, in line with its
clear communication objective of being a search engine.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Consistency <br>
- if the information is encoded in a consistent manner the user quickly learns
the rules or codes to deconstruct it. Consider the consistency in layout
(location, element positioning, sizing) design (colour, animal imagery font
and button usage) from the pages below, all from .</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
Clarity <br>
- Elements must be easily distinguishable from each other. (Again the Optus
sites show buttons, links and information very clearly.)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Intuitiveness <br>
- if the interface is designed with general IT standards for similar sites
in mind, the user will be able to accurately navigate quicker. (Navigation
on the Optus sites uses well defined, clear buttons, picture links and pull
down menus – all very easy to understand)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Aesthetics (on the screen) <br>
- Balance <br>
Symmetrical balance means that size and location of elements are equal on the
left side of the screen top the right. Asymmetrical balance refers to size
being balanced against location for all elements on the screen as a whole.
(Consider the balance in the house pictured opposite. Placement of the pillars,
the windows and even the rooms/annexes on either end.)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">- Harmony</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Elements within the screen should suit the type of communication that is being
attempted. Harmony is created with the use of similar fonts and colours, pictures
which match the topic and graphics in similar tones.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">- Unity</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">All elements while individual, must also work together as a whole. </font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">- White Space</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Space between elements allows them to be read more clearly and also demonstrates
priority.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">- Grouping</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Single elements should work with those adjacent to create logical groupings</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">- Alignment</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">The less alignment points on a screen the easier it is to read.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Universal Design<br>
With all of the above in mind the concept of universal design should be at
the back of the mind. This involves the consideration of access to the communication
independent of the users’ IT platform or physical disability.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif"><a href="http://solutions.sitesource.com.au/">Site Interface Design analysis</a></font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Purpose<br>
Analyse<br>
This paper has two distinct themes. The first is that it will analyse two documents
designed for end users of an IT product. These “manuals” will be
discussed individually in terms of their;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Requirements</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Contents</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Design</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">This will produce independent perspectives on their approach and results.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Compare<br>
The second section of this paper will then compare the results and approach
of the two manuals. This will be done under the headings of;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Clarity</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Completeness</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Design</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Then a final conclusion will be drawn in the comparison.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">Format<br>
This paper will be formatted as if the reader has been able to see each of
the two manuals in detail for themselves. To aid in circumstances where this
is not possible, the final section contains copied page elements to demonstrate
the manuals approach. The following elements (where applicable) have been
presented to give an overall feel for the manuals;</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Cover </font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Contents Page
(if available)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Communication
by Image Example</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Middle Page </font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">· Trouble Shooting
Example (if available)</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">It has been decided that these elements are largely present in many IT product
manuals, and they give a good cross section of manual elements.</font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">back to <a href="http://solutions.sitesource.com.au/packages/">Online
designs for business</a> </font></p>
<p><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif">next look at <a href="p4.php">ADSL
broadband ISP Sydney</a></font></p>
<p> </p>
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