Explanation

The underlying idea for the article redesign is to allow the reader to create his own text of the stem cell discovery. The Washington Post article was broken up into six major sections corresponding to the main topics discussed: the discovery, uses, researchers, ethics, embryo research ban, and the future. The reader is given the option to peruse the sections in any order he wishes to. Another objective is to allow the user to navigate the site easily.

The initial page of the redesign states the article’s headline, byline, and a brief summary. There is a dominant picture of an incarnation of a stem cell intended to peak the reader’s interest. One might see the picture and choose to read on to find out what the picture is. This image map has links to all the major sections arranged around it. The circular arrangement of links gives no priority to any portion of the article and allows the reader to choose where he wants to go next. The division of the various sections also serves to entertain the reader in his quest for knowledge. Instead of giving explanations of each section, only major headings are given to bring out the reader’s curiosity. After reading some sections, a reader can piece the information together in his head and come up with his own interpretation of the information. Supplemental facts were included with the article to give the reader a better understanding of the biological vocabulary and a context to place the article in.

The consistent design of each page, excluding the main one, provides the reader with ease of navigation. The vertical bar is located on the left of each page with the major sections listed. This is also an index of the information available. Clicking on the link for research ban will bring up an index of the subsections that relate to it such as its history. The idea of association is incorporated into some parts of the article. Some words related with other parts of the article are linked to that part. The links do not alienate the reader. Rather, they bring him into the text because he has to interact with the page in order to retrieve additional information.