Leave a path onward
A page that answers the question and then stops is a room with the lights on and the door shut. Daniel Ziedins leaves a path onward from Hamilton, Ontario: the live work, the next note, or the person.
Answer, then offer the next door
A clear page can still strand someone. They learn what AGENT SIX33 is, or what a status label means, and then the page ends as if the visit were complete. The visit is complete only when they can tell where to go next.
A path onward is a specific door: the live domain, a related case study, the note that explains the reasoning, or the person who built it. Daniel Ziedins treats that door as part of the page, written from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
The door has to be true. A link to a launch that is still Building should say so. A link to the person should go to DanielZiedins.com, where the biography and the way to get in touch actually live.
Put one path in the first screen
People decide whether to continue before they reach the footer. The first screen of a case study should carry the live domain and a way into the note that explains the work. The first screen of a note should carry the author and a way back to the projects it names.
OVIPeps can be entered at Ovipeps.ca. The case study can be entered from the note. The note can be entered from the case study. Three doors, one story, and none of them require a scavenger hunt through the archive.
If you publish your own work, choose the one next step you most want a stranger to take, and put it where they can see it without scrolling. Then add the others lower down, for the person who is still reading.
Let the path continue after the click
A good door opens onto another page that also has a door. The case study leads to the live site and to a field note. The field note leads to the projects it mentions and to the newer or older essay. The personal site leads back to the work when the question is about a project.
Arrow keys, a topic filter, and a share card are paths too. They help a person move without losing the author, the city, or the name of the work. Daniel Ziedins (DanielZiedins.com) signs the notes so the path never becomes anonymous.
Leave a path onward. A finished answer with nowhere to go is a closed room. An answer with a true next step is an invitation.
Questions people ask
What is a path onward?
The next true step after the page has answered its question. On danielziedins.design that is usually the live site, a related project, another field note, or Daniel Ziedins (DanielZiedins.com).
Where should the live link sit?
Where a person can see it before they finish the story. The case study names the domain in the first screen. The field note names the projects it mentions and the older or newer note beside it.
Who writes this, and from where?
Daniel Ziedins (DanielZiedins.com), from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The biography stays on DanielZiedins.com. The paths through the work stay on danielziedins.design.