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Section 2: User Experience

Audience Definition (3 Scenarios)
Cindy is an American graduate student doing her dissertation on Black style and its political significance. She plans to include a chapter which concerns hair. Cindy comes across the Hairnet site and finds out about the research Mariame Kaba has done on the topic, as well as the research Donna Kakonge is doing. She jots down the names as people to email in future with research questions. As well, she receives an impressive list of resources for her dissertation, that include a summary of the materials. Right there on the web she is able to make an instant order for books and videos that will be useful to her research. As well, she continues her web research by checking out the recommended sites from Hairnet: other hair web links.
Arnold is a journalist for the Toronto Star. He is doing a story on the oldest living hairdresser for the Life section of the Saturday edition. In a pre-interview with the woman, (Mrs. Barnett), she goes on at length about the political significance of hair for Black people. Arnold, who is balding with blonde hair, does not understand how hair could be such a big deal. He turns to the internet for some understanding and finds just that with Salon Utopia. Through a historical analysis of the significance of Black hair, as well as information about all the lawsuits which have taken place for Black women and their employers because of their hair, he begins to understand. This is all information coming from the research of Mariame Kaba and Donna Kakonge. He now feels more prepared for his interview with Mrs. Barnett.
Dr. Mary Douglass is a professor at Dalhousie University who is looking to implement a new cross-referenced course for Black Canadian studies and women’s studies at the undergraduate level. She is particularly interested in issues around beauty and the politics of it for all women, but Black women in particular. Being computer literate, she spends a lot of her time doing her own research on the web, or she assigns it to her assistants. One afternoon in her office, she punches in hair in a search engine while she tucks her own once curly now straight Black hair behind her ear. She finds Salon Utopia and it helps her structure her new course.

Competitive Analysis
General Site Features blacksalons.com www.afrohair.com/ digitalsojourn.org/river.html
Site Design (1-10) 9 8 6
Navigation (1-10) 7 9 6
Bookmarkable URLs Yes Yes No
Layout (1-10) 7 8 7
Look and Feel (1-10) 8 8 7
Advertising Allowed Yes Yes Yes
Personalization/Personal Start Pages - - -
E-mail Newsletter No No Yes
*Techonology VB Script Animated Gif -

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