Tyler Grant

Visual Rhetoric

Dr. Henthorn

11/20/19

Document Design Analysis

For my document design project, I chose to look at the Catawba extension of the mobile

site for Blackboard. The site is poorly optimized for the mobile platform. I’ve generally always

been able to navigate the browser version of the site well enough, but the mobile version has

presented challenges not always found in the browser version. I’ve had both good experiences

and bad experiences trying to navigate the site. Since I’ve been at Catawba, I’ve seen the

mobile site change many times, little by little. So, there is effort being done to fix these issues
presented, but it’s not enough yet. Largely, I’ve only used the mobile site when I had to quickly

look something up for a class and being under pressure and trying to navigate this mobile site

never seems to end well. This layout stresses me out just trying to see my grades, much less

trying to find the syllabus I’ve misplaced for a class.

By far the biggest flaw of this layout is the space issues presented on the institution

page. Everything feels on top of each other when you start clicking around on the site. It feels

like the site has gone into error mode, when it’s just functioning normally. It’s hard to explore a

space when it feels like just opening anything causes the page to become clustered. For

example, when you click on the person’s face in the top right side, it pops open a navigational

box with courses and recently visited areas. Which in theory is great, but in execution is flawed.

The box is half on the page, and half off the page. Zooming out does not help the situation.

There are other moments like this on the site, it leads to information being cut off, and

communication frustrating. Similarly, when everything is so cluttered and printed on top of

each other, navigation is out of the question. However, one thing that the blackboard mobile

site does well is separating the courses out in the course section. I’ve never had a problem

finding which class I was looking for, largely because everything was spaced out well. The

classes are evenly divided into sections and it’s helpful. Nothing pops up unless you click the

face icon again. There’s even a search bar.

Another thing I think the site does well is how it handles quick links. It’s a clickable icon

at the top of the screen that when clicked opens a popup across the screen of organized links. I

tend to like that on this site, because it handles the space issue well. It doesn’t feel clustered

when it pops up, because it overlays the rest of the screen and pops up quickly. However, it’s
much too small. I didn’t think it was even clickable for the longest time. When you do click it, it

extends out from the side and says “Quick Links” along with the chain link emblem, which is

helpful once you know it’s a thing, but not so much on its own. One thing I like about the site is

the font choices. They’re usually clear and easy to read, which helps when trying to navigate

the site after it has visually broken. I’ve never found what I’m looking for but not been able to

tell because of the font choice. But the size of the font could use some reworking at times, like

with the quick links and popups. So, while this visual aspect is a good step in a more helpful

direction, it still has aspects that could be improved upon. Similarly, the logout button has

issues.

The site relies heavily on symbols at times, as many other sites do. The quick links are

symbolized by two links in a chain, and the logout button is symbolized by the circle and line

symbol to indicate how a device activates and deactivates. This button is similar in size to the

face icon, and just as vague. But why is a power button indicative of logging off? An argument

could be made that logging off is like shutting down, but why was that specific icon chosen? It’s

more confusing than it is immediately helpful. So, while it’s not the worst aspect of the design,

it is one that could use an overhaul. There could be better ways to indicate to someone that

you click here to log off.

There are redeeming qualities and then there are failings, but it’s clear that this site has

not been properly optimized for the mobile platform, particularly in the way that it handles the

space. Some icons are too small, some overlays are done wrong, and it makes the site feel like

it’s glitching out when you’re just simply navigating it. Turning the phone sideways makes the

situation even worse, with the face Icon opening up so that you only see one small part of it in
the top left-hand corner. The site needs revision on the technical side, but also more

importantly on the way that it Is visually represented. The interface presented should be to

help users instead of frustrating them at every given opportunity. Blackboard needs help.
 My redesigned document

https://pubsecure.lucidpress.com/588042bd-b973-4047-8cb8-4c32624656ae/