Author Archive
The Markle Residence (Final)
Here are my final pages 
Hope I’ve covered all the comments.
I’ve finally gotten a picture of the residence’s exterior but because it’s winter and the trees all don’t have leaves, I decided to take a vertical shot of the building instead of the front facade where the landscaping looks sad because of the lack of green.
The Markle Residence (Round 4)
So, here are my pages. I edited my “Application Process” page into three mini-pages (just clicking within a page to change the text) to deal with the “wordiness” of my previous design. Thanks to Renda for pointing it out and Yoko for suggesting a direction for me to go with. I’m still not entirely sure it works, especially Step 2 because I only have one short paragraph on there! Looks like I’ll have to write some more words to fill that space up. I have two options for these pages, so please tell me which one you like better.
Also, you were right Yoko, the text for the page you were viewing on the submenu was disappearing into the bar, so I decided to change the text into white instead. Looks better now, yes?
I’ve also added some new pages: the “About the Markle” page, the “Current Room Rates” page and the “Neighborhood Map” page. I have yet to finish the other Amenities pages and the other Room pages but they will all look alike anyway except for the changing pictures and text, so that’s fine. So… I am essentially missing a design for one page now, the page for “Nearby Establishments”.
Alternative #1: Horizontal Buttons
Alternative #2: Vertical Buttons
The Markle Residence (Round 3)
Thanks Ed and Liam for the comments. I’ve changed all the things you suggested needed changing and things look and read better now! Everyone’s very welcome to nitpick these few new pages, haha!
The Markle Residence (Round 2)
Hey guys! Here’s the revised version of my site for the Markle Residence. On Ed’s suggestion, I have decided to change the welcome page to say “Your home away from home” instead of “Welcome to the Markle Residence!” and the problem of redundancy has been solved. I also shortened the introductory text by two lines, giving me space to increase the text size. And as Mushon suggested, I’ve added a “More” link after the last paragraph which will lead you directly to the “About the Markle Residence” page. I’ve also moved up “The Markle Residence” on top to keep it from feeling cramped against the navigation bar.
In the “Single Room” page I’ve “highlighted” the sections from the navigation bar that are being viewed. (So in this case, that’s “The Rooms” and “Single”.) I’m not quite sure what else needs changing in this page, I feel like I might be missing something. But, anyway, feel free to comment on how I can improve my pages! Thanks!
The Markle Residence
Here are the designs I made for the “Welcome” page and the “Single Room” page (which can be found under the “The Rooms” heading). I haven’t taken a nice picture of the exterior of the residence yet so the photo I used here is just of some random building somewhere in the city.
Information Architecture- The Markle Residence
Please click on the link to download the Markle Residence- Information Architecture file. New features to this site include separate pages for each type of room and the “Neighborhood” tab which will include a map and a list of nearby establishments. Improvements are also made to the function of the “How to Apply” page where a step-by-step process for collecting requirements and submitting your application will be explained.
Described below is the site map for my proposed website. The headings in capital letters are the main categories while those separated by commas under each heading have their own pages.
HOME - About the Markle Residence, About the Salvation Army
THE AMENITIES- Dining Room, Laundry, Library, Roof Garden, Beauty Shop, Auditorium/Chapel, Maid Service
THE ROOMS- What’s Included in Each Room, Single, Double, Quad, Room Rates
THE NEIGHBORHOOD- Neighborhood Map, Nearby Establishments
CONTACT US- How to Apply, Got a Question?
No tag for this post.The Markle Residence
So, I was looking around the neighborhood trying to find a business that wasn’t food-related and didn’t have a decent enough website already. That’s when I realized I was living in the very establishment that needed a website makeover!
The Markle Residence is a women’s residence (supposedly for students and professionals from 18-35 years old) run by the Salvation Army on W 13th Street. We’ve got people living at the residence from all over the globe. It’s not uncommon to have people from 5 different countries on the elevator with me on the way up to our rooms.
You can look at their existing website (click here) if you want to learn more about it.
Good Interfaces
Non-digital Interface: New York Subway Maps and Signs
I think the New York Subway system’s materials are good examples of interface because I usually have trouble getting around using public transportation in other countries. In New York however, I only had to ride the subway twice in order to get the hang of it. In New York you only need to know generally whether you’re heading uptown and downtown, and the signs before you go down the stairs spell out exactly that, and even whether or not you should have your Metrocard on hand because some entry points won’t have machines or tellers.
Digital Interface: www.yellowbook.com
I don’t usually like answering my cellphone if the number calling isn’t someone I know. So when I was watching Cashmere Mafia one day and saw one of the characters tracing the number backwards on the Internet, I went “Oh yeah, I could do that!” So I went to yellowbook.com and found the tab “Reverse Lookup” and voila, I found out who was calling me, or at least from where a person was calling me. It was so easy, I only wish we had the same thing back in my home country.
Freedom remains obscure.
on 
