Draft of Instructions to go from the Mountainlair to Stansbury Hall

BEGIN AT THE MOUNTAINLAIR

Step 1: Walk straight across the street.

WARNING! Watch out for traffic. Cars are likely to stop, but you always want to be on the safe side.

Step 2: Walk through the brick paved area towards the steps.
Step 3: Go down both sets of stairs going toward Armstrong Hall.
Step 4: Open the right door to Armstrong Hall.
Step 5: Walk down the steps.
Step 6: Open the right hand door inside of Armstrong Hall.
Step 7: Walk stright across the hallway to the set of double doors.
Step 8: Go through the right hand door.
Step 9: Descend the stairway one floor.
Step 10: Go through the doorway and turn right.
Step 11: Walk down the hallway to the doors that go outside.
Step 12: Turn right once outside.
Step 13: Descend the staircase.
Step 14: Walk across the flat walkway, following it as it turns to the right.
Step 15: Turn left at the bridge that passes over Beechurst.
Step 16: Walk over the bridge toward Stansbury Hall.

YOU HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT YOUR DESTINATION

This is our brief plan for the illustrations.

This is our plan for the site architecture and navigation

The main thing we kept in mind when mapping this project out was “think linear.” While there are many different ways to get from the Mountainlair to Stansbury Hall, there is only one direction to travel. With this as the basis, we decided to include one page for each step in the directions, each with its own picture. The user will click on the part of the picture (which would have text over top of it declaring where to click to advance a step) to proceed to the next page; say, down a flight of stairs, around a corner, or across a bridge. Some steps in the process will have multiple places to click, because they are forks in the road; however, regardless of the route the user chooses, they will end up in Stansbury at the end. There is no way to get lost, because the user will identify the picture on the web, see the exact picture in real life, and go where the text on the page indicates.

On each page, in addition to a link to advance to the next step, there will be [at least] two other links: one to return to the previous step, and one to return to the Mountainlair (which will essentially be the home page). These “helper” links, in addition to the linear aspect of our site’s construction, will give the user a chance to rethink their decisions or start anew should things get confusing. This also makes our group different from many others; while there is only one real set of linear instructions to, say, do laundry or tie your shoes, our page will present the user with multiple options of how to proceed – with the option to return to the homepage or previous step to reconsider their choice if need be.

This is our current plan for the design patterns

Changes in Midstream
Even though the outcome will still be the same, the user will be able to change his path to the destination many times throughout the steps. This way the user can find alternate routes in case he feels like one way has too many steps or may be too crowded with other students.

Intriguing Branches
Since the site will be used for West Virginia University students, a few links to other pages or WVU buildings would be appropriate. Each route that the user chooses will most likely involve passing by another University building that houses classes or important offices. These links will be easy to find and navigate, but will not take away from the main focus of finding a way to get to Stansbury