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WebPac Implementation Team : Design Subgroup

Final Report

DRAFT (1) 12/2000

Subgroup members: Bill Ghezzi(Chair), John DeSantis, Dave Izzo, Paul Merchant, Mark Mounts, Jennifer Nelson, Barbara Reed,

Most examples of experiments are mounted on the Design Subgroup webpage at: /library/infosys/opacmenu/.

Main Menu/Search Page

Content for the Main Menu page was provided by the Main Menu Design Subgroup. Our primary goal was to take this information and present it in a simple and uncluttered fashion. Much of the design for subsequent pages (banner, buttons etc.) grew out of the work on the Main Menu page.

Header/Top Banner

Our objective was to keep the banner height small while providing as much functionality as possible. The subgroup developed and considered a number of banners. Some examples can be seen at: /library/infosys/opacmenu/bannersindex.html. Our final version includes a more stylized font, the Dartmouth College shield, and four or five links that move with the banner throughout the system. It is currently mounted. [Use of the Dartmouth College shield has been approved by the Dartmouth College, Office of the General Council.]

Footer/Bottom Banner

A bottom banner for the Main Menu page was designed. It includes four buttons, DCIS Databases, Course Reserves, New Books and Library Home. It was decided not to display the bottom banner on subsequent pages. It was felt that these functions would not be necessary on every page and may make some pages look too cluttered.

Fonts

Readability was the most important consideration in font selection. San serif fonts (Arial, Verdanna) were chosen for buttons and the Main Menu page. By contrast we chose Arrus BT Roman for the banner.

Colors [help]

Background – White was chosen to create the most contrast.

Fonts – Dark Green for the Main Menu Search links and buttons.

Buttons – Yellow (?) with dark green text

AKS – Yellow to match buttons and light green.

Menu buttons

Button design grew out of our development of the Main Menu top and bottom banners and our discussion of fonts. Innovative system buttons were designed to resemble the buttons on the Main Menu page.

Name/Logo

This issue has been referred to the WebPac Implementation Team. The Design Subgroup, in general, favors the idea of naming the catalog but the larger committee will make a final decision.

Frames

Frames were considered undesirable by the subgroup. We've worked to minimize the space devoted to buttons so that search result pages show as many results as possible. Using frames on those pages would devote a portion of the screen to buttons and reduce the space available for the results. Other problems with frames include:

  • Difficulty determining which frame will print
  • Older browsers may have trouble drawing frames
  • Unless very carefully designed, frames could make the interface seem cluttered and complex.

Mouseovers

Similarly, mouseovers were rejected in order to keep the interface cleaner and usable in a wider variety of browsers.