Readings for February 6th

Chapter seven focused on designing effective documents and websites.  The chapter posed five major goals to adhere to when designing a document or a website:

• make a good impression
• help readers see the relationship between the information
• make it easy for readers to find the information relevant to them
• help the reader understand the information
• help the reader remember the information

The section I found to be the most helpful was when the chapter talked about making a document or website easy for the reader to navigate.  Most people reading a technical document aren't going to read the entire thing, but instead are likely to only need to read a specific section.  You want to make it easy for them to find the information relevant to them, so they are not wasting their time skimming the entire document.  

I think this is even more important for websites.  When people go to a website, they usually have one specific question they need answered, and you want it to be quick and easy for them to find the appropriate information.  I find it difficult to find information with the new design of the BSU website.  I remember in one of my classes last semester we were trying to find the Undergraduate Research page to use the powerpoint they have for making a poster presentation.  The entire class was trying to find it, and it took over ten minutes before someone actually did.  This can grow frustrating, and, if you're a company, you don't want people to become aggravated because they can't find what they are looking for.