Re: SEUL: SEUL/edu prototype page

[Ian Bicking <bickiia@earlham.edu>]

On Tue, Jan 11, 2000 at 08:07:03AM -0500, Doug Loss wrote:
> It strongly reminded me of Legos.  Here's a general question: do we want
> the SEUL/edu website to stand on its own or to be integrated into the
> overall SEUL look and feel?  In my messages about a SEUL/edu logo, I've
> been saying that whatever we do should work for SEUL generally and be
> extensible to work also for SEUL/edu, SEUL/pub, etc.  Along the same
> lines, I think we might want to have a SEUL/edu website that fits our
> needs but is clearly part of SEUL by its colors, logo, etc.  Of course,
> the SEUL colors, logo, etc. aren't etched in stone at this time, so what
> we do for SEUL/edu might be generalizable to SEUL.  But we have to be
> careful not to assume that our audience is educators and kids and to
> tilt our design so far towards that perceived audience that it's
> inappropriate for the rest of SEUL.

I specifically didn't want to make the page so that it looked childish.
There's no crazy colors, cutesy animation, or funny text color, etc.

The logo is another issue.  The rest of the page doesn't particularly
need that logo.  But a 3D logo wouldn't look good with the page, and
it might be necessary to change the colors of the logo (which could
actually make for a nice continuity/discontuity of form and color)
to fit with this page.


> I'd have to live with the page design for a while to see if I like it. 
> At first glance, it confused me a bit with the number of links in each
> section.  It may be an idea to have (for example) just links for HOWTOs
> and Case Studies in the Documentation section with the descriptions of
> each as they are now (just not hot links).  Then the HOWTO and Case
> Studies links could go to a page that lists all the items in those
> categories.  In the News section, I think it may be important to have at
> least a one-line teaser of the most recent news item on the main page to
> try to draw the casual reader into the actual News section.

I agree on the News.  I just wasn't feeling creative enough to make up
pretend news items :)

The link structure is the same I had proposed in an earlier page.  I
modeled it after Yahoo, more or less.  It makes for a busy front page,
but I don't think a structured hiarchy of pages is easy to navigate
unless you understand the logic behind the hiarchy.  Authors understand
that logic, but users don't.  By exposing some of the most commonly
used links below each section it allows for people to get an idea of
what that section really means, and even if everything under that
section isn't listed, they'll know where to look further.

But maybe I went to much towards giving subcategories instead of 
explaining the categories...?

The number of links is more bent towards a (potential) future when
there's significantly more content.


-- 
Ian Bicking         / 4869 N. Talman Ave. Apt. G, Chicago, IL 60625
bickiia@earlham.edu / http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~bickiia