Template for content analysis, filling white space, and layout critiquing

Group: 1 myfreetime.ch
Student names: Raphael Tagliani, Michale Huegli, Alexandre Herrmann
Date: 13.05.2007

 

Content analysis (weight: 10/40)

What are the main content groups found on the current GUI? Please list them below. (5 pt)

- A header with slogan and some questions adressed to the users
- We have a Navigation group (Home, Find trip, Propose a trip, Contact Us)
- The possibility to select a language (fr | en | de | it | ru | esp)
- A tool for quickly searching for a particular destination (Make your choice)
- A group proposing the 'Hottest destinations'

 To your estimation, what is the percentage of the GUI that is white space? Why is that a problem? (5pt)

It seems that at least 40% of the GUI is white space.
It is pleasant to have a light GUI, but when it is too light this could mean that some information is missing:
The white space could be used to provide more information to the user. It may be possible that by displaying more information, the user will find what she/he is looking for in less clicks.

 

Content Richness and Completeness (weight: 10/40)

Identify as many elements as you can think of that can be added to the GUI to enrich the content. (5 pt)

In order to enrich the GUI's content, we could add these links in the Navigation group:
- A 'News' page (with the latest trip propositions and travel-related informations)
- A 'Feedback' page (containing comments from travellers describing their experiences)
- A 'Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)' page (to give some support to the new users of this website)
- A 'My profile' page (the user can set his/her preferences and have a history of this activity on the website)
- A 'Car rental' block (the user can rent a car for its trip destination)

We could also add the latest trip description of a user under 'Welcome to Click n'leave.com'. We could display a part of the text describing a particular user's experience in order to inspire a new user in choosing a particular destination. If the user wants to know the whole story, he/she would just have to click on the text.

From the above list, name the top 3 elements that can particularly help the site achieve its functional (business) goals. You may include some explanations for your solutions. (5 pt)

The top 3 elements that particularly help the site achieve its functional goals are:

- The News page: An important part in choosing a destination for travelling is to be informed of the situation concerning the country(ies) one is going to visit. This may help the users in taking their decision for a particular travel.

- The Feedback page: Seeing feedback from other users may be very motivating for someone that wants to discover the world. The positive AND negative experiences of other users may be a good thing to know when choosing a trip.

- The FAQs: Helping new users in quickly finding a solution to problems related to the website can improve the users experience and release him/her from useless stressing situations and help her/him to concentrate mainly on his/her trip selection.

 

Layout design (weight: 20/40)

With the newly added content, provide a grouping of contents that belong together. (5pt)

See the resulting picture

 

Provide a visual rendering of the new content, paying special attention to layout (proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast, typography)   (15 pt)

See the resulting picture

 

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