It should be clear to you that we are speaking metaphorically when we call a collection of Web pages (which are computer files) a Web "site."  Why do we use this word? I would like you to think about the ways in which this metaphor is an apt one in that it calls attention to the similarities between a group of Web pages and a real geographical/spatial site in the world outside of computers.  (You might also consider what is meant by calling this network of networks a "web.")

ASSIGNMENT:  For this exercise go out into the "real" world and analyze a "real" site, for example a shopping mall, a downtown area, an apartment complex. 

Write three or four paragraphs about how the designers of the site have attempted to capture and direct the attention of the visitor. Here are some questions:

1. What do the designers seem to want you to notice?  

2.What seems important and how is importance signaled (through size, color, movement, etc.)? 

3. How is color used?  

4. What do the designers seem to want to keep you from noticing?  What is kept hidden? How is this accomplished?

E-mail your exercise to me.

This exercise is worth 10 points.

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