8.4 Explore, Practice and Apply
Overview: Explore, Practice and Apply
Activities found on this page are designed to provide opportunities to explore, practice, and apply concepts presented in chapter 8.
Explore
Explore Activity 1
Let’s put some of the design principles covered into action. Review the FedEx home page —or any other website of your choosing. Consider what planning steps were involved to create this webpage. Do you think any planning steps were missed? Which aspects of the webpage do you consider most effective in both engaging readers (both visually and emotionally) and helping them easily navigate the information on the page? Why?
Explore Activity 2
Find an example of a web page that uses keywords effectively. Start by identifying a question or keyword phrase and doing a Google search. Select one of the top search results and review the web page to see how and where the keywords you used in your search are used throughout the page. Now compare this web page with another one further down on the list, perhaps on the second or third results page. Is there a difference between the way the two pages use keywords? Why do you think the second page is ranked so much lower than the first?
Practice
Practice Activity 1
Consider the list of topics below. Select one of these topics. Outline the steps involved for planning to bring this idea from concept to completion. When selecting the topic approach it from the perspective this information is intended to be viewed on a web page or social media platform. Consider what you will need to ensure it has multimedia elements.
- Yard sale announcement
- Graduation open house announcement
- Ad for a neighborhood block party
- Public service announcement about suicide awareness
- “Closeout” sale
Discussion Questions
- Name some important strategies that will help you create relevant keywords for a web page.
- How can you prioritize keywords so that you don’t have too many?
Apply
Apply Activity 1
Using the webpage reviewed in the explore activity 1. Now consider how the page might have been structured differently. Create a new plan that organizes the elements in a different way. Consider how you could utilize some of the other design principles to engage readers in this new page design.
Apply Activity 2
Let’s review the presentation created in week 1 or create a new presentation for this activity. Design and create a planning grid to outline the project. Submit the planning grid as identified by your instructor.
Attribution & References
Except where otherwise noted, this page is created by Marie Rutherford, CC BY-NC 4.0
- Explore Activity 1 and Apply Activity 1 adapted from from Basic Design Principles In Writing for Digital Media by Cara Miller, CC BY 4.0
