Don't Make Me Read!

• Louisa Lambregts, Learning and Teaching Services

Tips for Making Web and Learning

Materials Impactful

Don’t Make Me Read!

Don’t Make Me Read! Creating Web Content With Impact

Louisa Lambregts, Learning and Teaching Services

How do we process web information? Visual design of information

• Text formatting

• Layout

• Show vs Tell

Usability and Accessibility Plain Language Key design decisions

Topics

What ? Why ? Who ?

What do we want to say? Why do we want to say it? Who are we saying it to?

Less is better.

Have a strong purpose and to follow that to the end.

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/form_vs_function/

From Don’t Make Me Think : A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability Steve Krug

From Don’t Make Me Think : A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability Steve Krug

How Do Review Web Information

Web Behaviours

Scan rather than read

Impatient

Pause at “first reasonable option”

Web Behaviours

Visual scanning moves from general perception of contrast through to finer levels of attention. Last step is reading of headers.

Reading online can be sore on the eyes.

Not to mention, people do not read on

the web –they scan the text. Now, more

than ever, it is easy for all our electronic

correspondence to be misunderstood if

we are reading to get the gist of things.

We are overloaded with information. It

is easier to understand pictures than it is

to read a written descriptions. What can

we do to get our messages across better?

Don’t Make Me Read!

Louisa Lambregts, Learning and Teaching Services

Tips for Making Web and Learning Materials Impactful

Attempt #1

• Louisa Lambregts, Learning and Teaching Services

Tips for Making Web and Learning

Materials Impactful

Don’t Make Me Read!

Don’t Make Me Read! Creating Web Content With Impact

Louisa Lambregts, Learning and Teaching Services

Text as graphical elements Optimize for visual scanning White space Alignment Pattern and repetition Contrast and focus Consistency

Visual Design

Graphic design is visual information

management using the tools of layout,

typography, and illustration to lead the

reader's eye through the page. http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/7-page-design/3-visual-

design.html

What is Graphic Design?

Graphic design is

• visual information management

• uses layout, typography, and illustration

• leads the reader's eye through the page.

Paraphrased from: http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/7-page-design/3-visual-design.html

Graphic design is

visual information management using the tools of layout, typography, and illustration to lead the reader's eye through the page.

http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/7-page-design/3-visual-design.html

Balance, Unity and Focus

Balance, Unity and Focus

Chunking and White Space

Line Spacing

[Type a quote from the document Or the summary of an interesting point. You can position the text box anywhere in the document. Use the Text Box Tools tab to change the formatting .]

Be Aware of Graphic Distractions

http://www.webdesignhelper.co.uk/design_elements/ design_theory/design_theory8/design_theory8.shtml

A Little Bit About Typography

Serif Sans-Serif

Times Roman Arial

Georgia Century Gothic

Web-friendly

Content separate from presentation Style sheets Use formatting elements for their true function – not for styling Use bold and italics for emphasis, not styling Use header styles – avoid manual font sizing

Formatting and Accessibility

Use styles and headers for visual hierarchy Adjust line and paragraph spacing Reserve underlines for hyperlinks Add links within content to additional information Use bold and italics for emphasis, not styling Left-align paragraphs rather than centre them

Formatting Tips

Formatting Tips

Writing

From: http://www.bloggingprweb.com/effective-press-release-format-inverted-pyramid

Plain language use Inverted pyramid Use active language Avoid passive voice unless the a polite tone is required

When the process of freeing a vehicle that has been stuck results in ruts or holes, the operator will fill the rut or hole created by such activity before removing the vehicle from the immediate area.

Writing Example #1

Result If you make a hole while freeing a stuck vehicle, you must fill the hole before you drive away.

Writing Examples #1

In response to the concerns, the NCAA announced that the baseball rules committee will recommend a maximum batted-ball exit velocity of 93 mph and a change in the size and weight specs of non-wooden bats beginning with the 1999 season.

Writing Example #2

Result NCAA Suggests Batting Changes Growing concerns over size and weights of bats resulted in the following changes starting with the 1999 season:

• Batted-ball exit speed maximum of 93 mph

• Change in size and weight specifications for non wooden bats

Writing Examples #1

Vigorous writing is concise.

A sentence should contain no unnecessary

words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences,

for the same reason that a drawing should

have no unnecessary lines and a machine

no unnecessary parts.

William Strunk Jr., in Elements of Style

Resources

http://louisaedtech.pbworks.com On the right sidebar, go to: “Kaleidoscope Session” and “Don’t Make Me Read”.

Questions?

Contact Me!

Louisa Lambregts Twitter #lambrel X-6012

[email protected]