The single page website I chose to analyze was, http://projectfms.co.uk/project/blood/, a site focused on blood donation. Overall, I think the site was well-done and accomplished what it was meant to – provide viewers with facts about donating blood and encourage people to donate.
The overall feel of the website is very simple. There is definitely minimalistic qualities as you scroll down the page. The site used a Split-Complementary color scheme with the base color as dark red, making the other two colors mustard and teal. The colors went along with the simplicity as they are subtle and not ‘in your face’. I also found it interesting that the webpage did not use the primary color red a lot. Being that it is a site promoting donating blood, one would think red would be more prominent. In Chapter 2, the color red resembles adrenaline, and causes excitement and is dramatic. Now that I understand red in these terms, donating blood probably doesn’t get people’s adrenaline rushing. However, the color green is described as symbolizing freshness and hope. These two terms would better associate with donating blood and saving lives.
The background color was extremely plain throughout the website, but there were subtle background color changes as you scrolled down the page to a different section. I think this effect gave the page organization. It was clear when you were moving on from one section to the next. The background colors alternated from white to light gray. The change was not dramatic but it was noticeable and I think it was an asset to the site and its navigation. The navigation was easy as you just scrolled downward to view more information. For the most part, other than the clickables, the navigation was provided to the user. There was a navigation bar at the top labeling the different sections of the page, as well as a footer where you can share the page on Facebook or Twitter, links to their sources, as well as the names of the developers.
The clickables throughout the site are very obvious. Some things were underlined, which is a clear indication that you can click on it, other things provoked the pointer to change shape, and other buttons that moved when you rolled over them. I think that all three of these techniques were appropriate for the clickables otherwise I would not have known that they were links.
The layout of the information was straightforward and easy to follow. The information itself was easy to understand and was not above a fourth grade level. There was a clear visual hierarchy from the top of the site to the bottom, as well as in each section. The first page you see is an eye-catching graphic that portrays the ideas of the site with words and the color scheme. Each component of the site contained simplistic graphics that showed proportion and relativity to the other images. I think the site would have been more complete if at the bottom of the page there was a similar graphic as to the top with a person donating blood or saving lives.
All in the all, I thought the site was well done for the purpose it was attempting to fulfill. The composition was uncomplicated and had nice flow. I cannot say, however, that the page had a huge impact on my opinion of donating blood. I do believe that donating blood is an excellent thing to do, but it did not provoke many emotions making me feel that I want to donate my blood as soon as possible.