Week 5 Log 1: How we really use the web

What I find interesting about this reading is how our brain only sees what we want to see. Seeking out the information that we are looking for is a process of fast elimination. Scanning through a web page for what we are seeking can be done much faster and more easily when the hierarchy is clear and the noise level is low. It tends to be a problem of both design and what the designer thinks the user is actually looking at the page for. People tend to scan and only see what they want to. 

Having a clear hierarchy can help; ie, when a page is designed to have the most general and important information large, and on the top of the page. Also, the noise level is all the superfluous design elements and text that need not be placed all on the same page. To quote for the reading, "I think the answer is simple: If your audience is going to act like you're designing billboards, then design great billboards." - I think that the author is basically saying to dumb it down for web users. But I don't believe that the web is a place for that. The web is much deeper than that, and to say that one must dumb down design is to lower expectations for the web, the designer and the user. Maybe this means a new type of design thought process - To re-think how we design for the web. New technologies and interface will make this possible, as we move forward to the future of technology as a means of communication.