Table of Contents
1. Understanding the Web: A Designer's View
2. Planning the Project
3. Designing and Building the Project
4. Using the Content Types Effectively
5. Societal Implications and Ethical Choices
6. Hypertext Theory and Node-Link Diagrams
7. Hierarchies and Organizing Content
8. The Navigational Interface
9. Designing Effective Links
10. Writing for the Web
11. Graphic Design
12. Site Maps, Search, and Indexes
13. Non-Hierarchial Information Structures
Appendix A: Twenty-Five Guidelines for Getting Started
Appendix B: An Introduction to Copyright Law
Appendix C: Project Reports
Appendix D: Implementation Resources
A Review of Principles of Web Design
During the past decade, the WWW has established itself as a form of communication (at least for the technologically privileged) that is both permanent and yet constantly redefining itself. The general perception of what is communication has changed and new words and concepts—the Internet, intranet, e-mail and instant messaging, and electronic boards—have shaped our expectations of space, time, distance and urgency. Students no longer use libraries for research and are at a loss when, as sometimes occur, the connection goes down. They seem incapable of retrieving information that is not "online". Normally polite people get irate if you don't instantly respond to their e-mail messages. Editing processes are streamlined and people far from home think nothing of catching up on the local news via computer. Businesses set up writers with state of the art equipment instead of establishing satellite offices. Sophisticated users (and their numbers are growing) understand that the world is just a click away and they want it now.
David K. Farkas and Jean B. Farkas
Series editor: Sam Dragga
Longman Allyn & Bacon Series in Technical Communication, 2002
ISBN: 0-205-30291-2 $46.00 pp.378Reviewed by Sheila F.T. Sandapen
Neumann College
The recently published Principles of Web Design expands on the concept of Web as a communication medium and explores the impact the Web as on us culturally and individually. In the preface, the authors freely admit that their purpose is to put the Web "within a broad cultural context" because by doing so, we can better understand the nature of the Web and learn how to promote good content, purpose and design. Authored by David K. and Jean B. Farkas, this book is accessible and thought provoking and brings up some interesting questions on linear vs. nonlinear information, ethics and our social responsibility toward the web. It is a good read for anyone seeking to understand how and why the Web affects our everyday lives. New designers, managers, programmers and students of human nature will find this book a good primer on the nature of the web. It is not, however, a suitable book for the novice who is attempting his first Web page and needs tips on the nuts and bolts. (Although said novice would be well served to read the first three chapters on how to plan, design and build a Web site.)
The book approaches Web design in three broad categories: design and implementation (analyzing your audience, determining your purpose, design structure and content lists); the broader text of a Web site (cultural and social implications, hypermedia information structures and the hierarchy of developing content); and the aesthetics of the Web site (effective links, writing and graphic design). Each chapter is linked to supplementary online content that provides updated content, colored graphs and a New/Cool stuff section. A set of review questions are also included at the end of each chapter that should make for interesting discussion in the classroom.
Good design, argues the authors, hinges on the understanding the nature of the Web and how it is being perceived by the end user. However, with this understanding comes responsibility. As a communication medium, the Web offers the end user more than television, radio, DVDs, movies (shown in the theater) because it defined by the following characteristics:
- A global reach. While there is no guarantee that if you "build it, they will come" sites are accessible by anyone with an Internet connection. Thus, argue the authors, the designer has a responsibility to define the audience and cater to their needs. Some corporate sites and more culturally sensitive designers already do this by offering content in multiple languages.
- Interactivity. The Web is not linear and the end user is able to choose her own navigational path through the content. So different paths must be built to ensure that the end user remains oriented to the message of the site.
- Support for multiple content type. The joy of the Web is that it may contain both static text—graphics and text—as well as non static content—animation, video and sound. Used judiciously, such "extras" can both attract and retain users as well as enhance the site's purpose. It is up to the designer to make these decisions and implement wisely. It is not enough to add features because the technology allows for it.
- Support for transactions. Buying online: the ultimate interactivity. More and more users are becoming comfortable with this concept but the challenge for the ecommerce designers lies in building a site that supplies a need, and ultimately remains viable and secure. This is a concept that many companies are still struggling with but the potential is there.
- Online computing functions. In addition to producing content, a Web site can include desktop publishing functions such as forms, spreadsheets, calculators, providing the user with more functionality and making the site a more personal experience.
- Support for active social spaces. A typical hyperlink is a one-way dialog. We click and are taken to the information. However, the Web is also capable of being two-way dialog in the form of e-mail, message boards and live chat areas. The authors appreciate that this communication eliminates physical barriers and allows for communication to occur where before it would not. They fail to mention however, that while space and the idea of being "alone" has been eliminated, it opens up the possibility of role playing—where a person joins a community under a false identity.
- Support for system adaptivity, user customization, and site-wide modification. The Web is not by nature static. Through the cookies and other tools the designer of a site can customize the site to the end user to provide maximum convenience and ease of use. One site that delivers on this idea is Amazon.com. An Amazon buyer/user when she logs on is acknowledged by name and is offered new titles based on previous purposes. She can buy titles without having to repeatedly enter her credit card and shipping information and even keep "wish lists" or a personal registry of items that friends and relatives can access.
