I'm going to analyze Google because I have a sort of love/hate relationship with it right now and it would be very fulfilling to find out that parts of it were designed ineffectively *maniacal laughter*.
1. Form: The form is pretty logical. Type in a search, get search results in eye-catching area. Additional useful links are at the top of the page, which is where the audience would usually expect to. Everything seems to be put together in a logical order for the audience.
2. Alignment: The homepage has a center alignment, which I would love to criticize, but honestly, it would probably be very odd/disconcerting for the search bar to be shifted toward the side. I guess it's part of the audiences expectations. Google was made first for efficiency and second for prettiness, so it makes sense that their search bar would be in a convenient place. The search page is aligned on the left side of the screen. Everything is aligned with something. We'll give an A for alignment.
3. Contrast: It is convenient how Google will highlight your the words you searched for in the search results. It helps you to find what you're looking for more easily. I also like the contrast of the colors of the word Google and the white screen. Their homepage does a nice job of using simplicity and white space to their advantage in a very sleek (yet fun) way.
4. Proximity: Searches grouped together. Links to other websites grouped together. Search accessories grouped together. They did a nice job of this (though I will say, the search page does look a bit cluttered for my taste. Take that Google! :) ).
5. Repetition: Google is always repeated in the same colors, which is effective. The search results are one color. The search accessories are another color with each of the group titles being yet another color. Google uses the repetition of colors to help keep the website easy to use and navigate and it does a good job of that.
6. Composition: The search results do seem like they're on one of the rule of thirds lines, which is good.
All in all, Google is still an effective site.
Yeah, I agree. I think that it is very logical that they use center alignment. It doesn't make the site seem dull or boring like most that use center alignment.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there does seem to be a bit of clutter on the search pages. But I can't really think of any way they could change it to make it not-cluttered but still work well. I love google, and I agree that it's pretty effective. I especialy love the repetitiveness of colors, super helpful!
ReplyDeleteThe center alignment just works on google. In fact, I think it just depends on the rest of the website. Since google has only a search bar on its website, it works, but in other websites where the search bar isn't the main thing, it works better on a left or right alignment. I also liked what you said about how google highlights the words you search. That makes the website so much more efficient!
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