Brainstorming 3.3 [part one, CARP]

Using the CARP princliples of design outlined by Tollet and Williams, I am able to identify the dozens of flaws on the nksd.org website.  CARP stands for: Contrast, Alignment, Repetition, and Proximity.  By applying these principles to the NKSD website, we can better understand what changes must be made.

Contrast applies to the visual presentation of the website; specifically, text, images, colors, videos, and texture.  Things like italics and underlining are ways designers use contrast to get there message across.  There are many contrast issues with the NKSD website.  Many pages consist of gold-text on a black background, this contrast issue makes many passages almost unreadable.  By changing either the color of the background or text, we can easily correct this major issue.  On the homepage's header there is gold text on a yellow background; this contrast issue makes some link practically invisible.  On the "District Policies" page there is black text on a black background, which is possibly the biggest contrast issue on the entire site.  Despite the dozens of contrast issues, the black and gold -- North Kingston's school colors -- work well together on some pages.  By correcting these color issues we will greatly improve the website's credibility.

Alignment refers to the positioning and layout of the web page.  Alignment helps to organize the page and make it more user-friendly.  There are two major alignment issues I have noticed.  First, a calender pop-up on the homepage blocks the school's mission statement.  This issue is a huge detriment to the site's readability.  Next, many of the captions extend past the picture they are associated with.  These captions make the the web design seem sloppy and unprofessional.  Alternatively, the site displays good alignment on a few pages.  Many pictures are successfully embedded into the text very effectively and look very professional. 

Repetition is exactly what it sounds like: the repeating of certain aspects in order to establish a point.  Many links on the NKSD website are unnecessarily repeated, which contributes to the clustered appearance of the site.  By eliminating some of these repetitive links, we could condense the website and make it much more usable.

Proximity refers to the page layout and how different things are placed on the page.  Out of all the principles, successful use of proximity is best illustrated by the web designer.  Most images are evenly spaced and there is not a lot of empty space on any page.  Surprisingly, this is one of the best parts of the NKSD website.