One striking and effective element on the Medecins Sans Frontieres’ web site is the use of large colourful, occasionally changing images; images that are highlighted by the minimal colour used elsewhere on the site. Humans absorb the information in images quicker that they would with words, therefore by implementing this strategy users can accurately and quickly navigate the site. In addition images evoke emotions, engaging the user. Medecins Sans Frontieres’ have used very small file sized .jpgs which allow the user quick access.
Another element that the MSF has used to its advantage is in designing a site where the layout is familiar to online users, a feature that is essential for a rich user experience. The logo is placed to the top left hand side, the information about the organisation is on the left, the interactive elements for the user to access are located on the right hand side of the page, the most recent news is located left of the centre and the search feature is top right. A handy design feature on secondary pages, is the menu to the left which allows you to choose another subcategory without going back a page. One element that is repeated more than once is the ‘donate’ link, which appears on the left menu, the user menu and on the bottom centre of page. Although a little overdone, it is the element the organization wants the user to access.
One criticism of the navigation is the number of very similar areas that could be combined into one section. For example, in the ‘from the field’ section the ‘field blogs’ could be amalgamated with ‘letters from the field’. Overall, however, the MSF navigation works effectively and the simple grey nondescript background with the #ff0000 red used sparingly to highlight important information, gives an understated yet professional finish to the site.