Clio Wired (History 696)

The Portal to Texas History (http://texashistory.unt.edu/site) is quite appealing visually and easy to use. The site is really a “portal” to Texas history archival collections, but shows that a database-type site can be attractive and maintain some of the design ideas suggested in reading. The designs keeps scrolling to a minimum (even on a laptop) and the navigation bar is consistent. There is visual interest without graphics that take a long time to load or are distracting. Further, the red/white/blue color scheme is consistent throughout, especially on the “young scholars” page, which has small (and cute!) bullet graphics that are related to the link, for example cowboy boots and hat for the social life and customs section. Also, the design is clean and simple (therefore easy to replicate), which is especially nice after looking through other eye-straining source search sites.
The Avalon Project (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm) is not a design worth repeating. The internal links are set in a table, which is not a problem in itself, but the background of the table is a rainbow (the analogy I can think of is that it has that anti-freeze look…). This background makes the text difficult to read…and the text is hot linked and creates unnecessary movement on the page. Other text on the page is italicized and also difficult to read. Further, the pages require lots of scrolling. Especially problematic is on the Papers of Andrew Jackson (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/jackpap.htm) where the useful “search” function is at the bottom of the page, necessitating lengthy scrolling to reach this all-important feature. Even though the design is consistent from page to page, that design is inconsistent and generally unappealing.
And for fun, a Cincinnati business community club, the Queen City Club Restaurant (http://www.queencityclub.com/home.htm) page breaks a few rules too. Check out the graphic effect at the bottom of the page…yeah, that’s stylish.
Amy