|
|
"Confusion and clutter are failures of design, not attributes of information."
Edward R. Tufte, Envisioning Information
Abstract
Graphic design is about communicating. It can enhance a communications effort or it
can interfere. In the established world of print, the interference may be minimized given that
the user is very familiar with the interface (paper, words, read left-to-right, top-to-bottom in
western cultures). However, graphic design on a web site can easily hinder the
communications effort, particularly if it results in a change in the interface familiar to the user. Drawing
on research from psychologists and communications professionals, this presentation examines
the effectiveness of design, from a usability perspective.
Presented at WWW6 - Santa Clara, California
HTML Writer's Guild Pre-Conference Session
Monday 7 April 1997
Kathy E. Gill, HWG Governing Board member
An Adobe Acrobat version is available for printing. Use of this paper
for noncommercial purposes is permitted if used in total and attribution
is retained. A note to the author
would be appreciated.
PDF Version (65K)
This paper is part of the Tips & Tools portion of the dotParagon web site.
dotParagon Home |||
Tips & Tools Index
|
