360Degrees.org

The website 360Degrees.org is the website that I am going to evaluate for my first assignment. I chose the site because of how different it is from traditional websites that I have visited. I would first like to comment on what I think is one important thing that diffentiates this site; this being the use of circles as its menu. Each circle contains the main topic that might be of interest to the visitor. The circles are also floating across the screen which reminds me of a screen saver that helps me to relax my mind. The circles are also of differing sizes. Sub-topics are shown through the use of more traditional rectangular shaped boxes. I thought it interesting that the site begins by introducing that it has "Perspectives on the U.S. Criminal Justice System" and then brings the circles on screen individually. One of the characteristics of a circle is that it has no end or beginning and therefore is one unit. The topics, though addressing different facets of the Justice System, are all interconnected and after reading the information, one should have a well-rounded understanding of said system. I would not say that the use of color is interesting but I can see how it relates to the content of the website. I think that the use of different shades of gray is meant to not distract the visitor from the content by having flashy colors. If the colors had been bright, it might lead a person to think that the website is for fun or entertainment. I think that similar to a job interview, the colors that an individual wears says a lot about how serious the person is. Likewise, the color palette of 360Degrees.org matches the seriousness of the website. The kind of typeface used is sans serif. Again, it is a very simple kind of style without any embellishments. I think it works for this website, once again, due to not wanting to distract or send the wrong message to the visitor. It says to me that it is a serious site and there is no time to be fancy. The size of the font varies and I think this has to do with the amount of information contained under each topic. For example, "Dialogue" is bigger than "Stories" and there is a lot more to read under the dialogue heading, while stories have about 2 paragraphs worth of reading. For each topic, the font for the most part is uniformed and I think the size varies only 3-4 times. There is not set alignment for the website. Based on where you are on the site, there might be a left alignment, but the menu is always on the top, left-hand corner of the screen and there are still circles. If you go into the "Timeline" section, you will see a ring of circles similar to dropping a pebble in a body of water. This is interesting because it shows how the initial action affects those that come after. In keeping with the main content, what happened in 601 still haunts us in 2008, once again showing the interconnectedness of the system. The layout is quite undefined and as mentioned earlier, one fixed thing about the site is having the circular menu in the top, left-hand corner. It is from here that you would navigate the rest of the site based on the content you wish to see. Also, there are sub-topic in each circle and these seem to be more traditional in the sense that they are aligned to the left with a line underneath to show that it is a link. I struggled a little with figuring out the visual hierarchy of the website. I would say that the initial page tries to set this up in how large or small the circles are. I think it is fair to say that what the site thinks is of prime importance is in a larger circle and the typeface is bigger. There isn't much color used on this website. The three main colors used are Gray, Red, and and Yellow. One very interesting part of the site came under the topic "Dynamic Data". This is where the most colors are used and the most symbols. It calls your attention quickly with dollar signs and question marks. Overall, I think that the website is consistent in its use of geometric shapes. It establishes the circle as its primary shape and incorporates it throughout. In its explanation of the Criminal Justice system it says, "it doesn't move in a straight line, but travels back and forth--it wanders and circles and leaps." The use of color is in keeping with the issue at hand and the kind of typeface used does not distract site visitors from what is important; the content.