Exploring PROJECT: Offline

Design Choices

Right off the bat, I noticed the crisp and sleek feel of Taylen’s site. However, using the learnings from Mauvé Page’s guest lecture, I identified some particular design choices to discuss in this review.

Firstly, Taylen utilises white space effectively, with a nice contrast from the bright colours of the introductory photos and headshots. Moreover, the photo boxes are all the same size, leaving sharp and consistent borders around each. 

On the page, the panel with the photo boxes, and the menu bar on the side, are not exactly symmetrical; however, this asymmetry provides a nice juxtaposition to the preciseness of the boxes. Overall, the site is very appealing to look at.

As for typography, Taylen chose an easy-to-read font, and has made excellent use of headers and sub headers. Both of these factors, along with the use of simple and accessible language, renders her writing easy and enjoyable to read. 

Functionality

In terms of layout and functionality, I found Taylen’s site organised, but simultaneously confusing. I like how she set up her sections in the menu bar, so as a reader I know exactly where to find each type of post, broken down into process posts, assignments, and PROJECT: Offline. She also has an About the Author section. 

However, the piece I found confusing was the interactive feature of the photo boxes on the landing page. If you click each of the headshots, it takes you to the post for that individual’s interview. Additionally, if you click on the protest photo it takes you to a detailed overview of what the page is all about and Taylen’s motivation for starting it. 

I like this feature; however, there’s no indication that the photos are “clickable” and redirect to content. However, all of this content can be found through the PROJECT: Offline tab on the menu bar.

Alternatively, the introduction section is incredibly detailed and provides useful insight to the reader on the contents of the website; however, it is tricky to find and not accessible on the menu bar. Therefore, I find this design choice hinders the predictability and consistency aspects of UI design on the site.

Furthermore, when navigating to posts through the menu bar, each post in the category is shown in its entirety. Therefore, if the user is interested in reading a post that was published a few months ago, they will have to scroll a while to find it. 

To enhance user experience, I recommend including only short blurbs of each post as a teaser for the reader. Contrarily, Taylen could show just a title and cover photo for each post, leaving the contents of the post a mystery unless clicked upon. 

Taylen has also done a fantastic job at integrating various forms of social media into her site. On the menu bar, she has linked her Instagram, Spotify, and YouTube pages. This is a great feature, as it allows readers to easily find and interact with Taylen on alternate platforms that they may be more active on. Additionally, each platform favours different types of media, allowing Taylen to tailor her content to each unique audience, if she chooses to do so.

Taylen’s Content

Now, I know that this review is supposed to focus on design, not content; however, I could not end this post without including my kudos to Taylen’s public posts. I found the interview content fresh, personable, and down-to-earth. Although I do not know these individuals, I greatly enjoyed reading their excerpts and learning about what makes them unique. 

Moreover, PROJECT: Oflline brings realness to the digital space. As discussed in Gertz’s Design Machines. How to survive in the digital Apocalypse article, much of what is presented to us online is simply “crap content selling crap”. 

In other words, content online is usually highly manufactured with the purpose of selling something, opposed to being used for education or entertainment (Gertz, 2015). But with Taylen’s site, she highlights real people and their stories, with no underlying monetary or business intentions. 

This is something I believe we need to see more often online, creating a real space for real people to interact with one another and enjoy. Therefore, I am greatly looking forward to future content from Taylen and PROJECT: Offline 🙂