This task will help you with your research for assignments one and two and will help you to think about text design for web pages.
Jacob Nielsen’s site www.useit.com is a useful resource for finding information on Web Usability. Check out the site now and find the Alertbox columns from 1995-2007.
Use the site to track down the following:
How people read on the Web (October 1, 1997)
Answer these questions:
Do people read more quickly or slowly when reading from screens?
How much more quickly or slowly?
What sort of things might you incorporate into your web site to help people read more easily? (There are plenty on clues in the column to help you) Make a list of at least 5.
What is the “inverted pyramid” idea?
Do Users Like Scrolling?
What is the current thinking on scrolling? There is a clue AT THE END of the section in inverted pyramids.
More about text
Have a look at Nielsen’s content guidelines, how did he measure the effect of improved writing on the web? List some of the measures he used.
Typefaces
Have a look at the section on Typefaces from the Yale Style Guide. What typefaces look good on screen?
Should you combine different typefaces in the same document?
Which typefaces are good for long chunks of text? Why?
What is the difference between a serif and a sans serif typeface?
Browse the other sections under Typography in the same chapter and make some notes about Type Size, Case and Emphasis