Designing for print versus designing for online

Printing was said to have been invented in China during the Tang dynasty, and the innovation was later further developed in Europe.  At that time, printing was purely functional; there were no room for design and aesthetics.  Over the centuries, art flourished as standards became higher, and technology was spawned.  Art became a science and aesthetics gradually crept into our lives and stayed on permanently. No matter what new invention it may be, design will be there to see it through.

As much as the content of print and online mediums are the same, they have vast differences when it comes to the design.  In the comparison between the print and online publications, the latter platform seems to be more favourable because of the convenience and cost-saving benefits. However, print has been around long enough to not be threatened by the online media, but it is imperative to keep up with times. Print publications will need to have an online presence. 

How a publisher comes to conclude if they want to shift from print to an online platform, or to expand the publication via an interactive web site, they will need to understand the differences between the two mediums. 

Parker (2003, p. 288) argues that advantages of website distribution far out-weights conventional brochures.  Besides having no minimum printing requirements, flexibility and promptness of information updating, the distribution can be done also immediately.   

Design Elements - Print vs Online

 

Design: Font and Readability 

The design process changes when conceptualising for print and online.  The designer will need to understand the differences in order to create an effective webpage.  Walsh (2006, p. 24) discusses the 'paradigm shift' as we progress into an era and environment 'filled with visual, electronic and digital texts' to enhance our education.  She explains that when reading print-based texts, the visual sense is usually tactile and attention is paid to typographical arrangement, formatting, layout, font and punctuation.  Reading off an online site, however, involves not only the tactile sense, but also the visual, hearing and kinaesthetic perceptions.  The visual style is based on choice and arrangement of medium, angles, colour, graphics, animation, windows, frames, menu board and hyperlinks (Walsh 2006, p. 35).  

Nielsen (1997) observes that people rarely read web pages word-for-word; they scan the page instead.  He suggests using the following methods to make text scannable since 79% of users scan any new pages they come across: 
- To highlight keywords 
- To employ meaningful sub-headings 
- To use bullet points 
- Only one idea per paragraph 
- Write more with less words 
- Follow the inverted pyramid format  

Print mediums usually have more fun with the design aspects.  Photos, pull-quotes can be enlarged to accentuate the emphasis or have the images spread across two pages.  The online platform has a little flexibility with their font selection and design.  Having a complex design would mean having to obtain more advanced software or technology, which would then pass on the inconveniences to the readers.  Higher resolution pictures would also translate to taking a longer time to download the pages, causing the readers to exit the page in frustration.  
Parker (2003, p. 270) also argues that reading online is far more difficult that reading a printed document because of the different way the reader's eyes encounter the message.
   

References:

Nielson, J 1997, 'How users read on the web', viewed 20 May, 2010, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html> 

Parker, RC 2003, Looking good in print, Paraglyph Press, Scottsdale, Ariz. 

Walsh, M 2006, 'The textual shift: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian journal of language and literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37. 


Image Source: Vogue

The Blogging Phenomenon

If I were to ask anyone if they "blogged" about 8 years ago, I would have met with a resounding "YES" or "which planet have you been on?" all round.  It is an undeniable fact that technology moves at an alarming rate; new ideas become obsolete the moment newer, fresher, more marketable and, dare I say, more gimmicky, sites are created.  But one thing for sure, the very fact that you are reading this, proves that blogging has passed the 'novelty test'.      

Perhaps, I jumped into the blogging bandwagon "too little too late".  Even with the advent of new technologies like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, My Space, I cannot help but marvel at the appeal of blogging and its durability that keeps it thriving till now.  

Once upon a time, people wrote their daily observations into a book called a diary.  Today, people share their personal experiences, observations and even knowledge on online journals and weblogs.  Weblogs, or blogs as they are affectionately called, are frequently updated websites, usually personal, with commentary, records and links.  These tools help people communicate, across countries and time.  People use blogs to express their feelings, theories, thoughts and ideas and to reach out to others.  While their manifestations may not reach their intended audiences immediately, it is almost guaranteed that their views will be read, or chanced upon one day.  

Blogs are quick and simple to set up.  As if it cannot get any easier, some blog hosts, like Blogger, for example, even linked up with Google to make 'cyber-life' a one-stop process.  And now with smart-phones, blogging can now be brought into our pockets, our purses and well, virtually anywhere!  The growth of blogging is apparent, even in Singapore.  When you have The Straits Times, the local most-read and respectable broadsheet, creating a "blog" section in their Internet edition, blogging has made a mark in the radar.   

With all things, even blogs have its pros and cons.  Bloggers who post personal entries use this as a medium to communicate with, and in some cases educate, their friends and audiences.  But one of the biggest issue is posting too much personal information or “saying” something in one of their posts, which they may come to regret later. 

We all know the speed of internet and how fast news can spread like a bushfire in this medium.  While reports in the newspapers will always be a day late, blogging allows the content to be released immediately as soon as the 'post' button is clicked.  
Blogs work well also because its posts can be labelled or 'tagged'.  With this, the copious amount of information will be filtered, so the readers only need to select what they are interested in.      

There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of blogging, but ultimately it is up to the user to weight and decide if this is something that they would benefit from.  Blogs, if used correctly, are a great way to communicate and experience the Web. 

Image Source: www.blogger.com (Blogger); 
                      www.wordpress.org/about/logos (Wordpress)

The One with the Hellos!

Hi and welcome!

This is my very first web log, and as the title of my blog suggests, I stumbled into creating this blog, thus, The Accidental Blogger.

The birth of this blog came about as part of an assignment in the course of my studies.  But since we're here, let us enjoy the journey together - the joys of discovering a totally new medium (to me), and all its benefits and its shortcomings!

Over the weeks, I will be discussing the blogging phenomenon, the issues and effects of media and electronic publishing on our community, new forms of media publishing, and design considerations for online publishing.

More specifically, the aim of this blog will be to provide an informative online resource that is relevant to both media or communication students and professionals.

Do leave your comments, opinions and questions on the issues raised by my posts, to stimulate discussions and debates.  After all, a one-way blog does seem pretty boring, doesn't it?

Till the next one, cheers!