There are thousands and thousands of websites on the Internet, and every single one has a different message to their viewers. Each website wants their viewers to get something different from their website for example newspaper websites want as much information on their page for the reader to view, and shopping websites use pictures so viewers can see products. Websites each have a different design, and type of language so their reader will be able to navigate and use the website in the appropriate way.

One website that I often frequent is, www.gap.com. I work at the brand store, and every time I visit the website, I am very satisfied and find it easy to use and do what I want when I am on the website. After discussing the many different type of web designs and layouts, I noticed that the Gap website falls into two of the categories. When I first arrived at the Gap homepage, I found it to be designed as the ideal and real model. In The Language of New Media Design book it says, "Advertising has exploited the Ideal-Real principle frequently and to a great effect. Its function of selling..." (pg. 20). This fits perfectly with what I believe Gap is trying to accomplish on their homepage; they are a large brand and their homepage advertises their products in a way that makes me want to shop and find out more. The book also says that the logo is usually found in the top-left corner of the web page which is true with the Gap homepage, and the other store brands that Gap owns follow after it in the top heading. Like the example website from the book, "Koala page from Encarta," the task buttons are at the top as the ideal, and then a photo displaying some of their popular products is shown below. Gap's homepage is a good example of how the Ideal and Real models works, but once the viewer navigates away from the homepage, the model changes.

Once the viewer clicks on one of the items on the task bar such as women, men, or Gap kids, they are taken to a different page which is set up like the given and new model. From the book again it says that "the given and new model divides information into two halves, or 'poles,' which contrast with each other in one way or another" (pg. 15). This relates to the different sections of the Gap website because on one half is the product descriptions such as shirts, pants, dresses, etc. while the other half displays pictures that correlate with the description that the viewer is looking for. On the left side in the given, or the past information and on the right side in the new, or the present of future information. The Given side on the Gap website has the descriptions of the items which never changes so I think that information is in the past. On the right side is the products which either are in the stores right now, or will be coming out in the future. The given and new model works very well and helps the viewers shop easily on the Gap website.

I never knew how important it was for a website to pick a model and layout for their website. I realize now that the model has a great impact on the viewer and how they navigate through every website.

Google

While doing some research for one of my communication classes, I noticed that I was using Google a lot. I decided to analyze Google to see what kinds of structures the website uses. Structures and designs are used to organize content, but content still needs to be the most important part of a website. In “The Language of New Media Design,” the authors cite an analogy that describes the importance of content. They used the idea that says when an audience sees a theatre performance the actors want them to remember the acting and content of the play as opposed to just the costumes and design aspects of the performance (pg. 19).
Like most websites, google.com uses the given and new structure. In some ways this website is described perfectly by the textbook. While a person conducts a search on Google, the main navigation structure remains on the left side just as the textbook suggest (pg. 16). Also, the things that the user searches for come appear on the left side of the screen because once the user searches for it is considered “given.” Anything else that appears on the screen, like advertisements, show up on the right because those are “new” to the user.
Another structure that Google uses is similar to the given and new, but it is called the ideal and real structure. Instead of separating information from left to right, ideal and real separates information from top to bottom (pg. 20). A common practice in the ideal and real structure is to have the company logo in the top left corner (pg. 22). When a user goes directly to google.com the logo is centered at the top of the page, but once something is entered in the search box, the logo moves up to the top left. Although Google is mostly made up of text, whenever images appear they appear at the top which the textbook claims is another characteristic of the ideal and real structure (pg. 22).
The Google website is not the only website that uses these structures. The structures are like templates that are used by many web designers. The templates are good because it makes it easier for a person to navigate through the page since it is a familiar layout, but in a way templates are similar to the grid. With that being said, web designers should find ways to break out of the templates like publishers broke out of the grid.

Ideal and Real

I decided to analyze the Holiday Inn website because the past few days I have been researching about the Holiday Inn due to a potential opportunity at a Holiday Inn so I have been spending a bit of time perusing their website. Also they are trying to improve their image and now have a new logo along with other makeovers, so I thought it would be interesting to see if they have improved their website since they seem to be improving everything else. From my observations, I would classify the Holiday Inn website’s home page and an Ideal and Real model for several reasons, which I will explain below.

First, a primary characteristic of the Ideal and Real model is polarization that divides information into two contrasting halves. This is clear in the Holiday Inn website because it has a large banner with pictures and then below it the more detailed information is shown like a description of the change that is happening.

The Ideal portion of the website would be the general words at the top announcing reservations, offers, Holiday Inn experience, and priority club members these are all very general headings that indicate there is more detailed information behind. In addition, the large banner displaying the new sign and right below that are pictures of people with descriptive words underneath the small pictures that say things like “wake up recharge, relax, stay connected etc. again these are all general but fulfill the purpose of setting a tone for the website.

The Real portion of the website is shown in the bottom half of the website because it describes in detail how they have given their iconic logo a makeover. In addition, to the description’s right you can reserve a room. This side to side approach in the second half of the website could possibly also be see as the Given and New Model because the reservation half is the given and the description is the new because it’s telling you about the new changes that are happening. At the same time though the bottom half applies to the Ideal and Real because it’s much more specific and below at the very bottom of the page are more specific details like a phone number, about HIQ, site map, international locations etc.

In Summary, the Ideal and Real model goes from the general to specific in a polarization manner of dividing information. This model is evident in the Holiday Inn website’s home page.