The FUCCA website has a somewhat strange layout. Instead of the 'standard' L-shaped nav bar, it is laid out with a double left-hand nav bar. The left of which is the main topics, and the right being the subtopics thereof as to be expected.
The other slightly odd layout issues with the site are the 'Search' box and the 'News&Events' box. Having looked at the site with two different browsers, the 'News&Events' box seems to jump around, its position varying between Firefox and Internet Explorer. However, regardless of browser, the 'News&Events' box placement seems a little odd, almost floating in the page. The same can be said of the 'Search' box, which is placed above the display image. Whilst this is also floating, it looks even more detached from the site than the 'News&Events' box. I believe this is because it is not vertically aligned with any other element on the page. If it were to line up with the right-hand side of the image, it may look a little more integrated. As it is, it too looks detached.
The Journalism pages are bristling with information about the course, though I feel that they are lacking in examples of students work, thus creating the 'gap' that I am seeking to fill with my site. There is only one image available that aims to reflect on the course and this is of the television students. Whilst this shows a little of the facilities and equipment, I still feel that the issue of showcasing students' work is unaddressed.
Furthermore, whilst the page has a lot of textual information and is as a result very informative for the reader, it means that the page requires scrolling. It may be advisable to spread the text over several pages. Whilst this would reduce scrolling, it would make the site-map more expansive and require further 'clicking' on the part of the viewer, and it has been remarked that a 'well-designed' website is one where the viewer can find all of the information within three 'clicks' or 'advances' from the homepage. There are pros and cons of both approaches.
What has been made clear for me though, is that textual information about the course is covered in sufficient depth that it would be redundant for me to convey it as well. The shortcoming is still the showcasing of student work however, which gives my website viability.
In addition, the site has also displayed to me some design conventions that I should adopt; namely a double left-hand nav bar, and the basis for a colour scheme.
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