Download pdf-file:

Usability Analysis of the website www.arcor.de

Here is my draft of a film poster

2003 Jay-Z released “The Black Album”.

Both were remixed in 2004 by DJ Danger Mouse…

…Scott mentioned it when we were talking about postmodernism.

The way of handling files is inspired by techniques and customs found in the real world.

Green Golden Door by Jeannette Marks

taken from William Stanley Braithwaite’s Anthology of Massachusetts Poets. 1922.

As a continuos experience in creating a website the visual design of the page will change in the near future.

For my semiotic analysis of a political internet site I chose the norvegian party AKP, Arbeidernes kommunistparti (Workers Communist Party of Norway).

This left positioned party was foundet in 1973 imbued by Lenins and Maos model of a party.

The Workers Communist Party of Norway does not participate in elections but supports the Red Electoral Alliance (Rød Valgallianse).

The web site is structured clearly with a menu bar on the top with several menu items. Underneath a widish collage of pictures and photographies calls the users attention. Untypical for the assembly of a web site is the writing of the party name and the logo beneath the picture. Then follow three columns with links to other political sites and organisations on the left, the latest party news in the wider middle column and photographies of published political magazines and books on the right side. All buttons, pictures and texts are composed on a white backround.

Visitors are getting rapidly an overview of the parties attitudes by the eye-catching collage:
First of all you recognise a young lady raising the french flag, taken from the painting La Liberté guidant le peuple of Eugène Delacroix he painted in 1830 to mark the july revoltion in france. This painting is better known in connection with the french revolution that resumed the liberal and democratic efforts circa 60 years later. In this case the design of the picture imports denotatively the revolutionary idea of earlier times and the power of women to the current policy. Further photographies taken in a long shot are showing scenes of demonstrations. Another political statement of the Workers Communist Party is proclaimed by a simple and dull semiotic medium: a poster of the crossed out writing USA, which needn’t any intellectual backround or symbolic interpretation. More pictures of political claims printed on posters evidence the parties purposefulness and suggest the educational and social backround of the targeted people.

In terms of colour a luscious red is present in the design of bars, headlines and the logo. In politics red stands for leftist, communism, socialism or revolution. To conceive the colour red konotatively it could be lost blood of the proletariat in the fight against bourgeoisie.
The logo consists of the black typed acronym akp which stands for Arbeidernes kommunistparti and a red star, the destinct symbol for communistic philosophy and classless society. In the middle of the upper yellow menu bar coloured flags step forward. These include not only the function of links to several languages the site can be displayed but also the possible cosmopolitanism. But to a greater extent they try to suggest international networking.

In the left column there is the only possibility for the user to interact with the site and „the party“
by a simple search function that is offered. Beyond the first and most conspicious button there is an invitation to blog with Ingrid Baltzersen, the head of the workers communist party. A small sized photograph of her is the only personal illustration you can find on the start page.

The most eye-catching element in the body of the site are photographies of two communistic magazines. This distinct choise of (print)media alludes to the behaviour of the audience related to their little use of the internet and association with new media. The layout and graphics of the print media are colour-coordinated with the web site.
At the title page is illustrated a close-up view of a red dressed girl wearing a gas mask. Its shocking and radical effect is a logical consequence of the revolutionary idea the party stands for. The visitor got these impressions before. But particullary in a political context metaphor causes apocalyptic thoughts and may even scare you or provoke a subconcious panic. These methods of simple and rigorous slogans combined with the spread of oftentimes hyperbolised or unfounded scaring are gladly used by populistic and extreme positioned parties.

Finally the site leaves the impression of a non-professional appearance even though the socialistic and communistc ideology becomes apparent. So you notice quickly the little number of actives. After browsing the site their attemps of a reputable and proficient appearance in the internet fail pertaining to psychological and aesthetic aspects. In most instances the layout of the start page disappears after clicking a link and unstructured pages shows up. Semiotic modes are rare. I think that the visitors of the akp have a determined and strong communistic attitude and needn’t to be persuaded. Last mentioned the communistic idea is anyway noticable by their multiplicity of links to other projects and the tolerant variety of links to all sort of political issues.

Because I have just arrived in Bergen and I house in the Fantoft appartment building which demonstrates a sin of architecture but is an efficient dwelling I designed a fictional space:…

At the moment I’m just trying to get along withe the Dashbord.

See you later