Chapter 4 of Cohen and Rosenzweig’s Digital History discusses how to design a website, and the challenges and problems that present themselves to web developers.  As our class embarks on the creation of our Omeka exhibit this chapter will help us design a visually pleasing, yet informative Omeka project.  The chapter discusses things that website developers need to consider, such as readability and layout.  The website has to be approachable and easily understood by the audience.  Cohen and Rosenzweig discuss design principles that I would never have thought about.  They argue that the text on a website needs to be similar to how we read a book.  Our brain can only process so much, and the 8 to 16 words per line that most books offer is the best way to keep the text of your website from being too overwhelming to your audience.  I doubt I will ever design a website on my own, but this chapter makes you think about the websites that you visit every day.  I have been to plenty of history websites, and some of the best ones have the same principles that Cohen and Rosenzweig talk about in this chapter.    

I am not a web person or particularly creative.  Designing an Omeka exhibit presents a challenge to someone who has never done it before.  Me and my partner’s project on the 1937 flood will translate well to a Omeka exhibit I think.  The University Archives has a collection of fantastic photos from the flood, many of which detail the areas the oral interviews discuss.  Our Omeka page that we design will have a nice compliment of photos and historical knowledge to back them up. 

Ellis Cassity