Virtual Fieldtrip - 1

The Audobon Society  http://www.audobonintl.org

This site gets high marks in all areas: visual, content and functionality. The pages are visually appealing, with continuity in use of natural colors, the Audobon Society logo, sans serif fonts, nature photo images (used sparingly), quality writing and thoughtful organization. The overall impression is professional, conscientious, and stable—everything the organization could hope to convey. The table of contents on the home page, though simple, is extremely well-organized and makes for ease of navigation throughout the site. Many pages have the same 2-column format, using the society’s logo, standard stylized page titles, and no images, though not all pages keep to the same title format. These pages are fast-loading and visual appeal is enhanced by use of various colors and fonts. Other pages provide visual stimulus with high-quality nature photos.

What I like most about this site is the table of contents on the first page, as it is well-organized, beautiful, and simple. Given the type of organization the site represents, it could have been overloaded with beautiful photo images, and I like the fact that images were not overused. I like the navigation buttons at the bottom, which are pretty consistently just "home", "up", and "next" with embedded icons. Having such a well-organized and prominent table of contents makes these simple navigation buttons possible, and I will keep this in mind with my own sites.