THE WOUNDED HEART CONFERENCE

Sexual abuse is a problem that affects many men and women. The wounded heart conference is an event aiming to address the multitude of issues stemming from a sexually traumatic event in ones life.

At first glance, upon visiting the conference, the website draws the viewers attention to a heart in the sand. This indicates the wounded heart conference main goal, to show that healing is possible, and that the wounds from sexual trauma can be erased as if cool gentle waves washed over the wounded heart making all the pain vanish.

This might be the case if the trauma is dealt with properly. The site got me interested in the event, but not excited enough to register. If I were a victim of sexual abuse, it probably would get me excited. Drawing attention to this topic however is in and of itself important, however, but this is not enough to get someone to register.

The information on the wounded heart conference is presented nicely on the website, allowing for greater user interactivity than with the paper. When reading a poster about the conference, you simply absorb the information. Reading the website allows one to get more details on the conference, and then have the option of registering for the event if one so chooses.

The transition from the information page to the registration process is smooth and natural when clicking on the link. However, while overall, the design is perfect and simple, and, just enough information is presented to get one interested in the event, there is a fundamental error in the registration process.

This is one design element that I would incorporate into the site if I was responsible for the web design would be to have a link to the Conference Registration Forms page at the bottom of the text. If I were a user who was not certain of attendance when making the first click on the inbound link to the information page, I would want to read through the text first. Reading and scrolling to the bottom of the page, I might decide that the event is of interest to me, however, without a link to the registration page at the bottom of the information page, I would not be inclined to attend if after reading the information page.

A design flaw on the Conference Registration Forms page itself is that the fill in the blank boxes are not at the very top of the page. The event information should be at the bottom. If people are going to register, they will already have a clear idea as to where and when the event is since this information is well placed on the initial information page.

Go visit the wounded heart conference site and see for yourself, however, since truth is always in the eye of the beholder.