Blog Website: The "World" According to Jack

http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/

AllEars.Net is an unofficial site dedicated to all things Disney. AllEars Blog Central is a collection of blogs within the AllEars site, located here. I decided to look at the blog, "The 'World' According to Jack." Jack is a Florida resident and loves Disney so much that he visits Walt Disney World a few times each week. His blog consists of observations from his visits as well as current information and events and other things of interest that are Disney World related.

This blog is very plain and simple in terms of layout. The heading and description are located at the top, under the AllEars.Net information. Recent post listings are on the right hand side and categories are listed below that. Below that is an extensive archive list. While I think it is a great idea to have a category listing because of the cornucopia of information covered, I also think that this section is so long that it competes with the archives. If everything is indeed present in the category listing, it could almost suffice for archives, because of the recent posts section at the top. Two other nice features are the RSS subscription option and the search bar at the bottom. The only bad thing is that the search bar is so far down that the view may not find it right away.

In terms of content and the way the information is provided, I think "The 'World' According to Jack" has done a civilian's job. In other words, it's all right, but it's not great. The sentences aren't always grammatically correct sentences, but it is reasonably well-written. The blog is thorough and informative. The most recent entry is about the restaurant "Bistro de Paris" in Epcot in Disney World. Jack tells about his trip there and his entire experience. There are many original photographs included in the blog and it definitely provides an extensive look at, as well as a review, of the fine dining establishment. The pictures themselves are a mixture of tourist and professional, which is a nice balance for tourists (people wanting to go to Disney World or who are interested in it, which is why they are viewing this blog) to look at because they both identify them and learn from them. The feel of this blog is not one of an official blog, but of a real-life person's look at Disney World and what it has to offer, though I believe Jack tries to be somewhat objective as well.

The only major complaint I have about this blog is that, for a Disney blog, it's very plain and from the design, it is not evident at all that the focus of this blog is Walt Disney World. Additionally, the entries are exceptionally long, but a large part of that is all of the pictures that are included, and I don't think those should be cut out because they are a large part of why the blog exists. I also think the typeface is rather generic. However, the blog is well organized and very informative as well as persuasive (to make the viewer want to experience the things the author writes about).

Web Application or Intranet Website: Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com

Amazon.com is an example of a web application site. You can access Amazon.com to look for specific types of things (that you need or are interested in), which is why it qualifies as an web application site. Everyone knows they can find good deals on Amazon, which is why so many people use it frequently.

Upon first glance, Amazon's site is fairly cluttered and reminds one of the classifieds section of the newspaper. However, this is kind of the point of the website, so in that way, it works. As with the classifieds section of the newspaper, things are fairly easily categorized on Amazon's site. Along the left are links to different departments with subcategories in drop-down (to the side) menus. Across the top, in the very small and almost squished banner, there is a place to sign in to receive personalized recommendations based on what you view and buy. There is also a place to sign up if you are a new customer. Other links across the top are "Your Amazon.com," "Today's Deals," "Gifts & Wish Lists," and "Gift Cards," as well as "Your Account" and "Help." Below these links is a banner that holds a search bar and a menu for departments as well as a link to your cart and your wish list. At the far left is the Amazon.com logo, which is actually a link to the homepage and when you hover your mouse, the rollover includes a box around the logo to make it appear like a button and the word "homepage" appears (this only occurs when you are on a page other than the homepage). The main section of the page includes a moderately large advertisement. Right now, the advertisement is for Kindle with a link to see more from Kindle. To the right is an ad for another great deal: external drives under $100 (at the moment), and a link to see more of them. Also going down the right side is a paid advertisement, "Free Song of the Day," "Bestsellers" list, "Save with Amazon.com Visa Card," and another paid advertisement. In the main section of the page, under the main advertisement, there is a section for "More Items to Consider," which shows you what you looked at recently and suggests things related to that product that you might find of interest. Beneath that is a section for items "Related to Items You've Viewed," which suggests things of the same topic. For example, yesterday I looked at the book, "Essential ActionScript 3.0," so it suggested more books about ActionScript, whereas in the "More Items to Consider" section, it has it listed that I looked at Kindle and it suggests a different sized Kindle, a leather cover for Kindle, and a clip-on light. The next section down is items "Inspired by Your Browsing History." Earlier yesterday and a few times before, I've looked at a book called "How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS4: The art of design and animation," so in this section, other Flash CS4 books are listed. The next section is "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Looked At" and it shows that I looked at a packaging book and it lists some package books and some folding books that other people have looked at when they looked at the packaging book I looked at. The next section down is "Customers with Similar Searches Purchased" which shows the book I looked at and then tells me what people who searched for "ActionScript 3.0 books" (for example, in this case) actually ended up purchasing. The two sections underneath that are "Save up to 35% on Our Bestselling Fitness Equipment" and "Everyday Essential Accessories." Finally, at the bottom of the page, there is a section of "Your Recent History" that contains your recently viewed items, your recent searches and browsing history, and an option to continue shopping which features some things you might be interested in based on customers who bought things that you've viewed and what they also bought. At the very bottom of the page are some more links under the categories of "Get to Know Us," "Make Money with Us," and "Let Us Help You." Beneath those, is the Amazon logo and different stores for different countries and different Amazon affiliates (Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, Amazon Windowshop, AmazonWireless, Askville, Endless, IMDb, ShopBop, Warehouse Deals by Amazon, Conditions of Use, and Privacy Notice). If you navigate to another page, there are more options along the menu bar at the top for your convenience that refer to the specific category you are in. There is also a breadcrumb trail to show exactly where you started your search all the way to where you are now, so that you can easily backtrack and go down a different path.

I think Amazon.com makes it very easy to find exactly what you're looking for fairly quickly and due to the way it breaks up information, I think it really helps the viewer get the most from the site that he or she possibly can. It may not be the most attractive site, but it's simple and user-friendly.

Arts & Entertainment Website: PBS Kids

http://pbskids.org/

PBS Kids is an entertainment website geared towards young children via their parents. The design is organic and bright and the site's navigation is very easy to follow. There's lots to see and do on this site, but the quantity is not overwhelming and it is very organized.

At the top, the navigation is simple and includes "TV Times," "Search," and "Help." If you click on the TV Times link, it brings you to a new page where you can plug in where you live. There is a big arrow pointing back in the header to take you back to the main page. Other than that, there is no main navigation bar, though there are links at the bottom if you prefer to navigate that way. If you continue through the prompts to see the program listings, you will notice that the site leads you through the process very painlessly. I think this is meant so that kids can learn to use the internet with their parents because of the way it is set up.

Back on the main PBS Kids website, there are a few characters in circles. Each of these characters, as well as the ones in the wheel, can be clicked on and that will take you to the character or TV show's sub-site where there are different games and activities. There are a few little fish

that swim around in the blue section of the home page, presumably to keep a child's interest, which is an interesting use of Flash. If you go after a fish with your cursor, it swims away. Sound is also a feature of this site, which means that this site can be aimed at pre-readers. Additionally on the PBS Kids home page, there are four colored links for games, music, and coloring. "Coloring" features printables and online coloring specifically from a featured group of characters from the PBS Kids shows. In other words, when you go to "Coloring," and you might click on one of the four categories, you might be directed to the "Coloring" section of Barney's website. The "Music" link features music videos, karaoke, and other show-specific music offerings. The "Games" link features show-specific games.

The only bad thing is that when you are on a subpage, there are only three links instead of the original four (video is missing). Again, there are four featured games, but the circles underneath contain characters from all the PBS Kids shows and if you click on a character, a list of their specific games will come up. The only bad thing about this, is if you click on Buster, Buster has a lot of games, so they go down the page in a disorganized, unfriendly, and unattractive manner like something went wrong in the layout process. Frankly, I'm surprised that this kind of thing wouldn't have been caught, given the need for simplicity and ease of use throughout this website. At the bottom of the PBS Kids home page, there is a link to "All Shows" a small banner ad for PBS Kids Island, and a changing features list from PBS Kids (games and activities) and other PBS partners, like PBS Parents and PBS Teachers.

Overall, I think the PBS Kids website is quite friendly in both design layout and usability. I think it is a great source of clean, interactive learning and fun for kids that can also help teach them how to use the internet. However, in my personal opinion (call me old-fashioned), kids this young should not be using the internet yet.

Education Website: Beaver Area School District

http://www.basd.k12.pa.us/

Beaver Area School District is the school I attended for middle and high school, so I'm pretty familiar with what goes on at the actual school. As I was leaving high school, the district decided to update and completely redesign their website. Generally this is a good decision because it means being more current and user-friendly. The site looks attractive for the most part, but the ease-of-use significantly decreased with the revamp, though I see they are working to resolve some of the issues.

The logo of Beaver Area School District had been changing for years, but they finally decided on a nice clean logo for the website that they now use for everything. The page layout is appealing for the most part because all the main features are shown above the fold. Anything the viewer needs to scroll to see is just a continuation of what is above the fold. There are a lot of links at the top and though I like the setup of the ones in the boxes, I'm not fond of the ones above that including "Sodexho, MySchoolAccount, Moodle, PowerSchool, HighSchoolSports, and Jobs." I think it would've been easier to add a link to a page with student resources so that the students might actually visit the site to learn things. However, I believe Beaver Area School District's target audience consists of parents and community members. Back to the links, I think the top links distract from the main links and they're also not aligned with the others. The next thing is the huge expanse of maroon that holds a few words and an image. The block of color isn't being used as effectively as it could be and in the end, there's a lot of empty space in it. The "News" section is prominent and it is scrollable. To the left of the "News" section is a biography of Beaver Area and the schools. At the bottom, kind of slapped on, is a section to subscribe to the Beaver Area School District Newsletter, which could definitely look more attractive.

As little as a few months ago, the faculty and staff listing could be found only under a link entitled "Extraordinary People & Lifelong Relationships." How anyone could possibly find anything on the Beaver Area School District site with links so vague is a good question. That's probably why they changed them to be a bit more descriptive, actually. Now the link for faculty and staff is actually a link in the top row, titled "Faculty & Staff." If you click on that, however, the headline on the page still says "Extraordinary People & Lifelong Relationships," so I think that needs to be updated. This banner is more like the one on the home page should be because it doesn't waste any space. This main page is very short, almost to the point of looking cramped because everything is up at the top. In the main area is a short paragraph about teachers and the relationships they have with the students. To the left are three links: Main Page, Administration Bios, and Faculty. If you click on "Faculty," you notice a page shift as the new page loads. The list of faculty members is in a table with categories of (from left to right): First, Last, Bldg, Department, and Email Address. The names of the teachers are alphabetized by last name, but this is in the second column, so it is awkward to search. "Main Page" takes you back to the faculty and staff subpage.

Beaver Area School District is definitely not a bad website, but it could use a little bit of designer TLC to grow to its full potential.

Websites That Suck: UMX Lanyards

http://www.lanyardsupply.com/

The UMX Lanyard Factory website is the worst designed website I have seen in a while. There's not a clear banner and there is so much text at the top of the page that it's hard to find what the business is called. On your journey to find the title of the site, your eyes are assaulted with all of the different colors. Above the fold alone there is: red, burgundy, green, blue, yellow, black, purple, light green, and pink. Oddly enough, there seems to be only one or two typefaces being used, though there are sporadic additions of bold and italic too. There are a lot of links and they're all blue, which just adds another color. The site is absolutely chaotic to look at and could probably burn your retinas if you were a frequent visitor to UMX Lanyard Factory.

As for site organization, UMX Lanyards pretty much fails at that too. There are multiple pages, but no navigation bar to tell the viewer what pages are available. Somehow (I don't know what I clicked on) I found the pricing page. That page is no different and no better organized, unless you count that there are horrible looking tables containing pricing information. I suppose that could be a form of organization, but really, it's the only one this site has. What I find hysterically funny is that Section A (I don't know why they label by section, though it could be because the pages are so ferociously long) boasts: "Special Offer - More Selection - Less $$$. Combine 14 Colors or 21 Eye-Catching Themes. To Get Price Break! Just Pick Any Favorite Colors! No Minimum Order!" I know this is supposed to be talking about selecting and purchasing lanyards, but honestly, I think it refers to their website! If you click on the "Lanyards" link, it gets you back to the home page. The information is presented in tables, bulleted lists, and link-laden paragraphs.

Honestly, I don't know how long I could go on about how atrocious this website is. I could probably go on forever because I'm not sure there is a single redeeming aspect about it. If you take one look at UMX Lanyards, you will see that the site is in absolute DIRE need of a redesign before the site is responsible for serious injury!

Company Website: Boeing

http://www.boeing.com

The company website I chose to analyze is Boeing.com. Boeing is the leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes and military aircraft and has expressed leadership in aerospace and innovation. To be honest, their website looks a little corporate. That's not a bad thing, but I think it could use a little more life or intensity, given what the company does.

The banner, for example, is pretty lifeless. The logo is simplistic, but has abstract qualities and I think it works well enough. The images Boeing uses are amazing and definitely attention-getting. These images are definitely the life of the website. However, the text on the images definitely interferes with the impact of the picture and there is text on the majority of the pictures (which change at random each time you visit the home page). The links at the top of the page are grouped kind of oddly, but all the links hav

e rollovers, which is a nice feature and they are themed colors as opposed to default blue and purple. The pictures on the home page link to different areas on the website. There is also a list of "Quick Links" at the left and a few important (and different as opposed to repeat) links at the bottom, including contact us, which is user friendly. The site also features a section at the top right that allows the user to login and select a country and language. It also lists the stock and its last update at the top right. There are two search bars per page (except for the home page). One searches the section you're currently in and the other is a global search of the website. Both bars are fairly small, but especially the one that searches the current section.

The only bad thing is that the "Quick Links" on the left don't match the style of the links on the left when you navigate to a subpage and the links on the subpages are nicer. They have more appealing rollovers, though the kerning of the type needs help and the way the drop-downs on some of the links work is not exactly user-friendly. If a link has an arrow next to it, you must click the arrow and the entire page reloads to provide a few links under the category. Because of the cramped space for the links and the shadow between the links and the main page area, Boeing looks like it uses frames, but after a quick glance at the source code, I didn't see any indication of them. Additionally, if they used frames, the whole page wouldn't have to reload for the sub-links to appear. The link to the home page is in the bar beneath the rest of the links at the top of the page. It is a breadcrumb system because it lists where you have been on the site starting with the home page and going down through the pages you visited in order to get to the current page. After further exploration, I realized the whole banner ad contains alternate text telling you to click the Boeing logo to return to the home page. It was interesting that they would put that much emphasis on it.

All in all, I would say Boeing needs a little help in the design department, but it's far from some of the worst sites I have seen. The site is organized and fairly easy to navigate and the imagery is stunning, which provides a good impression to the average user.

Grassroots Website: Save the Plastic Bag

http://savetheplasticbag.com/ReadContent461.aspx

An example of a Grassroots website is Save The Plastic Bag.com. A Grassroots website is a site that provides links and information on a certain topic. It would most closely resemble a blog. This website compares paper, plastic, and reusable bags. There are many stories and articles about different subtopics relating to different bagging materials and issues. Along the side are many links to articles about the different types of bags and issues associated with them.

The logo for the Save The Plastic Bag.com is interesting and understandable. However, the type is rather generic and the spaces between the words may make it difficult for some people to find the site because they may want to add the spaces into the address when they type it in if they are not familiar with internet protocol. The page is centered in the browser window, which is nice because then it doesn't matter what size your browser window comes up, the page won't look awkward. The banner picture reinforces w

hat the site is about. The first article that you see is "The People Have Spoken! 53% Say No to Bag Tax." This gets the viewers attention very quickly and intrigues them to see what other kind of support and facts are on this site. Throughout the site there are links to news articles and information graphics like polls, which help reinforce the website's position. Pictures and comics are featured on the main page: graphics that will help reinforce the points being made.

Each article on the main page has a thick black box around it. This helps separate the posts, but it also overwhelms the page. The large list of links on the left is also likely to overwhelm the viewer because it looks as if it should be a sort of main navigation bar, but few of the article titles are indicative or explanative of what the article is actually about. If you look closely, you will notice that the list of links box does not match up with the search box on the left side. If you look at the bottom, there i

s a small blue box to "finish" the link box. However, this blue box is moved in from the left side of the page a bit to match up with the links box and there is a bit of space between the links box and the blue box at the bottom. This same thing needs to then happen with the top blue box. There is also a massive section for a search bar above the links under the logo on the left side. The search bar itself is not a monstrosity, but the huge blue box around it makes it look like it is. Additionally, there is a "Home" link at the top of that

blue box and there is also a "Home" link right below the blue box. Either one of these is needed, but not both within such a small area. Upon further exploration, the text at the top of the blue box (that contains the search feature) shows the viewer where he is within the site. However, it is repetitive a large majority of the time, and is thus not needed. The list of links do have rollover colors, which is nice, and it is the dark blue-gray that the site uses. Though, as I analyzed this, I realized that the blue-grays are not all the same. For example, the logo is much more blue than the search box.

If you click on an article, let's say "Litigation," you see a picture and an article. Some text is highlighted in red, which makes it almost painful to read because the text is bold already. There are many links within this article. Each links to an online PDF. After scrolling to the bottom of the page, there is a helpful "Back to top" link. However, this "Back to top" link is only featured on some of the article pages, which makes it lack consistency.

Overall, Save The Plastic Bag.com has a blog-like feel to it with much more useful information than your typical blog. There are lots of articles with insightful information and many useful links as well. While the site is in need of some helpful redesign, it is very informative.

Nonprofit Website: Women's Center of Beaver County

http://www.womenscenterbc.org/

An example of a nonprofit website is the Beaver County Women's Center website. Unfortunately, due to the hard economic times, the shelter is receiving fewer donations and has had to cut corners. I'm assuming this is one reason why their website may not be the best. However, I think it's very important that a women's shelter has a website as well as phone contact because it reaches a large number of women who may need help across socioeconomic boundaries. Because the people that come to this site probably either need help themselves or are looking to help someone they know, it is extremely important that this site is well-organized, easy to use, and user-friendly. Unfortunately, that's not exactly the case.

The logo for the Women's Center is good, but the type needs work. The whole web page is centered on the browser window, which is nice. However, it's all set up in a visible table, which is fairly ugly, and the placement of the logo is off a bit. The type and table background on the home page seem to have a purple theme, which is a nice female-friendly color that isn't the stereotypical pink. The type on the page is rather plain, as are the links.

The Women's Center site is in desperate need of a structured hierarchy, in terms of text and layout as well as in terms of links. I think it is appropriate that the mission statement be below the banner on the home page because it is important that people know right away what the Women's Center does and believes in. After navigating around the site a bit, I believe there are three to four main pages in the site. You might think the list of links at the left brings up a new page with each link, but that is not the case. Each box of the table represents a page and the information goes in order by category down the page. I will say, one nice thing is that after each category (going down the page), there is a link to go back to the top of the page. There is also a "Women's Center Home" link at the bottom of each page.

Some necessary solutions I see for this site include a more friendly layout and theme, updated type, updated logo, and the organization and update of links. I would make the background either a friendly setting or color or put some stock photos (actual photos could prove dangerous, and even with stock photos, many precautions will still need to be taken) on the home page to show the caring nature that the Women's Center is based upon. Right now, everything is so bland, it looks like a disorganized (because of the inconsistencies and type) institution. The layout needs to be extremely structured and detailed so that a woman in need of help can quickly get on to the website in the few precious moments she may have and find exactly what she needs to save her. She likely doesn't have time to look around and browse. Specific links, most likely drop-down so the viewer can see subcategories before going to the new page, will help organize the site and cut the amount of time a viewer spends looking for information. The link headings would need to have encompassing names, but also clear names, in order for the viewer to find exactly what she needs. The phone numbers that are listed under "Numbers to Call For Help" really need to be alphabetized at the least for ease of use. I also think their "Wish List" should be featured prominently for people who can afford to donate items to the shelter. The type on the site needs a hierarchy assigned to it and it needs to be consistent. The links could look friendlier as well. As I said earlier, I think the type in the logo needs a bit of work. Also, while I like the idea behind the logo, I think its execution could be stronger.

Typically, nonprofit groups don't necessarily have the best looking or most useful websites because they are tight on funding and they focus the money they are given at the people they help. However, the site for the Women's Center needs to be one of the exceptions. It has to be updated so that it can help all the people that need the Women's Center.

AIGA: My Favorite Website

www.aiga.org/

One of my favorite websites is the AIGA website. I use this website to host a portfolio of my work, which can be viewed here. Over the summer I visited the AIGA website approximately two to three times a week. I looked at events, job openings, and spent time updating my portfolio. If I am updating my portfolio, I can spend about an hour on the site at one time. When school is in session, I don't have as much time to spend doing extra things, so I visit the AIGA site much less frequently. I visit AIGA probably every other week to check out events and make sure my job status is still listed as "seeking employment." I do need to spend some time uploading new work samples, though. Basically, my time spent on the site is dependent on how much time I have to be on it and how much I need to interact with the site (such as uploading pieces to my portfolio).

The AIGA banner features artwork that is changed per refresh of the page. There are two sets of links at the top. The topmost set features sections titled "About," "Membership," "Competitions," "News," "Jobs & Community," and "Login." The other set features the following sections: "Inspiration," "Professional Resources," "Education," "Design & Business," "Society & Environment," and "Writing." The main left side of the page features articles, recently commented-upon articles, and the most popular articles. Beneath that, there is a section entitled "AIGA Design Jobs" where you can create or edit your portfolio, find a job, or even hire a designer. Also featured are four recently updated member profiles listed. Beneath the job section is the "AIGA Design Archives" and a list (and links) of calendar events with links to view all the AIGA events, download the iCal listings for AIGA events, or subscribe via RSS. On the right section of the page is part of the AIGA mission statement, which links to the entire statement. Below that is a search AIGA bar and featured AIGA chapters. Next is a news section which you can subscribe to via RSS feeds (which you can do with events too). Underneath is a section for official AIGA sponsors.

The AIGA website seems to have a cornucopia of links, but they are well organized and easy to navigate through because they are well categorized. There are also individual pages for the different chapters, which is very useful. The way the AIGA website is laid out reminds me of a news mosaic website. There is a lot of information and thus a lot of words on the page that have to be dealt with in the design process. The overall feel of the website is sleek and modern with a bit of artistic flair.

Kansas City, Missouri Self-Service Government Website

www.kcmo.org/kcmo.nsf/web/home?opendocument

The Kansas City, Missouri website is an example of a self-service government site. It offers information about the city and is useful to residents of the city as well as newcomers to the area. Design-

wise, however, the website is lacking in several aspects. To start, the main page is left aligned so there is a vast amount of white space to the right of the main page design. If only that were the biggest design faux pas on the site!

Another thing that immediately jumps out is the list of links under the banner. On the home page, "Employment" and "Mayor/Council" are not in the light blue banner, but rather half under it and thus ghastly misaligned. If you navigate to the "Contact Us" page, all the links along the top of the page are misaligned except for "Contact Us" and "Visitors." The misalignment is not only a visual turn-off, but it also makes the links extremely hard to read because they are located on a shadow line that transfers into a darker blue than the link banner. This next issue is not technically something that is wrong with the site, but rather a personal opinion about ease of use. If you go to another page on the Kansas City website, the link to the home page is on the far right (and down on that line where you can't read it). In a self-service government site, I wouldn't necessarily expect the banner to link back to the home page, though it would be nice and an easy fix, but I also think the home page shouldn't be buried at the right where it is the last thing a viewer sees.

The banner in itself has a lot more potential. The cityscape is classic, so even though it's boring and you can't tell that it's Kansas City, Missouri and it shows nothing about life in Kansas City, it's all right. It's the sun and the gradient that disturb me more than the image choice. The sun is clearly fake and clearly used to highlight "City of Kansas City Missouri," specifically the Kansas City part. There really isn't a reason for the use of the gradient other than it gets the viewer's eye to travel across the banner from light to dark. The "City of" and "Missouri" text is a shade of gray that is close to getting lost in the whiter shades of the gradient. The "Kansas City" text is a shade of blue with what looks to be some bevel and embossing effects, which make some parts darker blue and some parts lighter blue. Perhaps they thought this and the gradient went together...it's a shame they're different shades of blue entirely. In fact, I don't think any, save maybe one or two, shades of blue on this website match.

The box under the banner that displays the date and forecasts is a clashing neon blue. The text inside this box is a mixture of serif and sans serif and the seriffed type, especially, is too tiny to read. If nothing else, I would make the text in the banner sans serif, but increasing the size a bit will only help readability. Mysteriously, under that is a brown line, followed by the light blue box that contains the links, which is inexplicably beveled and embossed. On the left is a small search bar with a list of quick links to important things found on the site, including a site directory. The middle of the page features a section on city news with several articles and links. This section is white and has a cropped upper right corner (as opposed to everything else that is rectangular) and a drop shadow. Under that layer is another rectangular blue layer, also with a drop shadow. On the right section, in another rectangle with a gradient, there are more helpful links. However, these links are not related in topic and I'm not sure why you would put them all in one place. At the top of the column, in brackets, reads "Text Version," which is just another site map like the one at the top of the column on the left side.

There are many other things that could be improved upon within the Kansas City site, but the topics I have covered are the things that I objected to most upon first perusal of the site.