In creating my project proposal this week, I was able to implement design elements and discover the audiences that my webpage could contain. I ultimately decided to create a COVID-19 page specifically for the students of Texas A&M College Station. My original idea to create a webpage for university student across Texas, but I realized that such a large concept would require to much information to be useful as a quick reference guide. Therefore, I decided to make something more specific so the webpage would be more effective for the students using it.
It was useful to observe other examples of a COVID-19 sites in order to get ideas for structure and organization. I looked at both Texas A&M’s COVID-19 Guidance page and the Texas Department of State Health Services COVID-19 page for design elements that I could possibily use for my webpage. A&M’s page was much more organized and cohesive but lacked a way for students to easily find certain information. Things like course changes, the Spring 2021 schedule, and course information were lost in a list of campus messages. The website lacked the ability to serve as a reference tool in case students wanted to come back to previous message. I feel my webpage could provide a place for students to find all previous information with ease, if I’m able to create effective headings and a search bar. The State department website was useful in that it showed me that multiple navigation bars and buttons could provide visual interest. However, the page lacked cohesiveness as it used different design elements for each new addition for information. A user could easily be discouraged by the amount of text and the complicated design. I want my webpage to be a quick and easy reference tool for students which will require the use of simple emphasis and organization.
I also used the Colormind to create my color palette. I knew I needed to utilize maroon and white to indicate to the user that the webpage was created with Texas A&M in mind. However, I wanted to add visual interest to the page, so I decided to include some other colors, include a teal, dark blue, and black, to break up the text. This also helps users know that this page was not created by A&M and therefore is not affiliated with the university. It’s an important distinction to make, as I don’t want students to assume there is a link (not that my webpage will looked polished enough to look like A&M’s webpage).
Overall, the proposal helped me organize the major design elements that I want my webpage to have as well as allowing me to explore how the page might be utilized by students or others connected to A&M. Going forward, I think the most difficult part will be implementing all the design elements because I still struggle with .scss. Hopefully with the time given to us to complete the project, I’ll be able to implement all my design choices effectively.
Posted In: Reflections