Assignment: Peer Review #2 (My Blog/Lifestyle)

For Peer Review #2, I will be looking at “My Blog/Lifestyle” by Hao Nguyen. 

Theme and Customizations

A header image is nested at the very top with the title in white. It looks as if he took the image from the “Twenty Seventeen” WordPress theme and used it as part of his customization process to create his own theme. I noticed that it is slightly distorted but understand this aspect can be easily fixed. The website is primarily black and white. Only that image as well as the meme for Mini Assignment #1 possesses other colours. However, Hao says in “Process Post Prompt Week 2” that he is “not a big fan of colour and embellishments,” so I respect his decision to keep the design this way. Gertz (2015), regarding the topic, states how design is about “people who stand by their own unique personality,” so I believe Hao took the best approach when he devised his site’s appearance.

Typography

The font that he chose to use is very easy to read. Because it is in black and the background is white, the shades contrast nicely. He also uses the “Drop Cap” function, which I personally like to use for my blog posts and believe it is very eye-catching.

Layout

The layout is interesting as every post shows up on what appears to be a home page but does not have other pages. I assess this singular page can either make it easier, as one stays here, or more difficult for audience members to locate content as one may be required to keep scrolling to find a specific post and it might become increasingly time consuming. No other apparent categorization has been made other than the default “Social Menu” and its features.

Social Media Integration

As of now, there is no social media integration, referring to both personal handles as well as other accounts created for his blogsite.

Site Structure and Usability

As mentioned above, there is only one page where all content is located, with the newest entries posted at the very top and older ones below respectively. The search bar is located at the right just above the “Social Menu.” I am unsure as to whether or not Hao would like to continue to have this particular infrastructure. When designer Mauvé Page was a guest speaker during our Week 5 lecture on October 1st, she mentioned how “proximity” is an important component, as “things that are close together belong together.”  I believe that if he were to build new pages accompanied with descriptive labels, such as “Home,” “About,” “Blog,” “Posiel,” “Contact,” etc. and sort the posts according to where they appropriately fall under, this implementation would make a significant difference. Overall, Hao has intriguing content on his blog, and I see a lot of potential as a peer analyzing from a design perspective.

References

Page, M. (2019 October, 1). Design, Week 5, lecture notes. [Guest Speaker Presentation].

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *