Monday, September 27, 2010
Font!
I actually really enjoyed the general principles of this week's reading. While most of the reading was about two different research experiments, the importance of font was prevalent. I really enjoy utilizing fonts to help tell a story or affect the design of a document. The article talked about how each font has its own personality and offers something different. I totally agree with this. Each document has a perfect font to help it convey a message. Some people just stick with the basic or default fonts available, but I think it is important to play around with what you can do with fonts.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Page Design
Woah! What a chapter! While the information was very beneficial to page design, there was a lot to get through. And it was also occasionally hard to get past the dated-ness of the book. The year 2000 doesn't seem like that long ago, but a lot has changed with the internet in the last 10 years.
Neilsen's main focus of page design was the keep it simple. Over use of anything is going to deter the user. People want to quickly find the information they are looking for. Neilsen says to keep extra graphics to a minimum, because they will cause pages to load slower. If a page takes longer than 10 seconds to load, the user is less likely to continue using that page.
A major point in this chapter was to design a page so that it is compatible with various monitor sizes and devices. Some people are going to be using a 19" screen while others may only have 5" worth of screen. The webpage has to be able to display properly for both users.
Neilsen's main focus of page design was the keep it simple. Over use of anything is going to deter the user. People want to quickly find the information they are looking for. Neilsen says to keep extra graphics to a minimum, because they will cause pages to load slower. If a page takes longer than 10 seconds to load, the user is less likely to continue using that page.
A major point in this chapter was to design a page so that it is compatible with various monitor sizes and devices. Some people are going to be using a 19" screen while others may only have 5" worth of screen. The webpage has to be able to display properly for both users.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Web vs Print Writing
Seven Key Elements to Web Writing (according to Judy Gregory)
1. Structure and design are concerns for web writers
2. Write no more than 50% of what you would write for print
3. Write for scannability
4. The Web encourages restless reading
5. Split information into coherent chunks
6. Web writers can't predict where their readers will start
7. Readers "pull" the information they need from the Web
Gregory's article shared the guidelines of writing for Web and print. Instead of basing the guidelines on the specific medium, she talks about focusing on the audience and shaping the material to fit their needs. While Web writing and print writing have differences, they aren't entirely different. Print writing has some aspects of the web writing and vice versa.
The reason that these two writings have to be different is because of the audience. Readers of Web writing are usually hurried and want to find specific information. Most print readers are reading for leisure and want to enjoy what they are reading. Web writing is more strenuous so writers want to make the process quick.
The one point I found most interesting was that reading online is anywhere from 20-30% slower than print. I actually prefer reading online sometimes. I believe that I read quicker from the Web than from print. I do, however, get bored after reading long chunks of text like the text said.
1. Structure and design are concerns for web writers
2. Write no more than 50% of what you would write for print
3. Write for scannability
4. The Web encourages restless reading
5. Split information into coherent chunks
6. Web writers can't predict where their readers will start
7. Readers "pull" the information they need from the Web
Gregory's article shared the guidelines of writing for Web and print. Instead of basing the guidelines on the specific medium, she talks about focusing on the audience and shaping the material to fit their needs. While Web writing and print writing have differences, they aren't entirely different. Print writing has some aspects of the web writing and vice versa.
The reason that these two writings have to be different is because of the audience. Readers of Web writing are usually hurried and want to find specific information. Most print readers are reading for leisure and want to enjoy what they are reading. Web writing is more strenuous so writers want to make the process quick.
The one point I found most interesting was that reading online is anywhere from 20-30% slower than print. I actually prefer reading online sometimes. I believe that I read quicker from the Web than from print. I do, however, get bored after reading long chunks of text like the text said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)