Prioritize Your Blog Into 5 Distinct Groups
December 12th 2007In the first post, What Is Design Clutter?, we talked about how clutter is caused by too many objects competing for attention.
The problem for any blogger is choosing which objects should get attention and which shouldn't. It's hard to accept that something you went to the trouble of putting on your page isn't worth actively promoting (Because it will steal attention from the things that really do matter).
Separating The Wheat from The Chaff
The best way to avoid clutter and make sure that the valuable parts of your blog are properly promoted is to make a clear list of your priorities. Once it's written down, it will make design decisions much easier.
Write out a list of every element on your blog (From the blog title right down to the post date!), and then run each aspect through this flowchart:
You now have 5 clear cut priority levels, and you can design your blog accordingly.
Groups 1, 2 and 3 need to be in the highest positions and in the most noticeable colors etc. However group 4 only has to be there withoutgrabbing attention, and group 5 will only be seen by those few (e.g. Your loyal readers) who actually take the time to explore your site.
With your priorities firmly written down in paper, it becomes much easier to organize your blog with a level head. You won't need to worry about your primary goals being lost amidst the secondary ones.
In the final post of this mini-series, I will talk about how prominence for your most important objects can be achieved through design.
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Find other posts tagged with: Clutter, Information Architecture, Organization, Usability
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December 12th at 2:44 pm GMT
Comment #1
now if we could just get everyone to start doing this...
December 12th at 3:03 pm GMT
Comment #2
We will eventually, one blogger at a time.
(Although, if you want to speed things up by getting every single person out there to subscribe to this blog, I've no problem with that!
)
December 12th at 6:22 pm GMT
Comment #3
great post i will take all this into counter because im redesigning my website for 2008!
December 13th at 1:57 am GMT
Comment #4
Simplicity of thought which we sometimes do not realise. Your tips above are spot on! I am actually quite happy with the looks of my blog now, save perhaps the header... still pondering whether I should change it.
December 13th at 9:56 am GMT
Comment #5
WOW, this looks like a dichotomous key to me
December 13th at 9:29 pm GMT
Comment #6
Michael,
I've nominated you for the Nice Matters Award. Find info in my post: http://www.writersnotes.net/ni.....gers-gift/ .
Take care!
Jeanne
December 13th at 9:35 pm GMT
Comment #7
Great post! I'll use this chart to consider where to put what elements
December 13th at 11:40 pm GMT
Comment #8
I couldn't see myself going through all these steps
December 14th at 2:59 am GMT
Comment #9
Michael,
Great visual post! This really brings a lot of information in one visual picture. You can read all day long about how to clean and prioritize your blog, but this really helps.
@ Brad, I think if you start doing this, you will realize that it will become second nature pretty quickly.
I'm gonna print this off and post it above my desk for future reference! Thanks again!
December 14th at 5:31 pm GMT
Comment #10
Grant - Looking forward to seeing that!
Pablapabla - Usability often does have an extremely simple bit of common sense under it all.
Pelf - Glad that it's clear. The diagram saved me a fair bit of waffling!
Jeanne - Thanks!
Nice - Cool. I find it a useful little process to run-through when I'm stuck.
Brad - It becomes intuitive quite quickly. Laying the process out in full like this keeps everything clear in your head though.
Elliot - I'm glad you liked the diagram. I think I'll try using them a little more often in my posts. (And I'm pretty damn proud that someone would print out something I wrote!
)
December 14th at 10:02 pm GMT
Comment #11
Michael,
You're very welcome!
Jeanne
December 26th at 6:23 am GMT
Comment #12
The diagram is great! I guess it falls under group 4 - it helps the reader gain most of the information at a glance.
December 27th at 12:28 pm GMT
Comment #13
Forrest - I hadn't thought of running the diagram itself through the diagram! Well done, and yes, I'd agree entirely.
January 6th at 8:55 am GMT
Comment #14
Great post, I'm putting this in this week's Sunday Seven! Thanks for teh diagram too. Seeing the pieces laid out helps to drive the information home. I'll need to take a 2nd (& 3rd & 4th look at my blog!
January 6th at 12:09 pm GMT
Comment #15
Suzanne, thanks for the link. And I'm glad you liked the diagram. I think I'll start trying to include as many of them as possible in my posts. They're a little more fun (And easier!) to read from than a block of text often is.
April 21st at 12:45 pm GMT
Comment #16
This is an extremely useful post. I like how you simplified it with diagram. Now I know what stuff I should get rid of. Thanks