Print vs. Web Design.

Fundamentally, elements that distinguish between print and online design are dimensionality, navigation, interactivity, multimodality, and layout (Miller 2008).

Print publication's dual dimensionality enables it to contain maximum information.

Web design, unlike print design, is not dual-dimensional. This is because of the scrolling versus canvas experience faced by online and print readers respectively (Nielsen 1999). Web design cannot incorporate too much dual-dimensionality because different readers scroll at different speed rate and might not absorb everything presented at certain fragments of the screen.

Nielsen (2006) explains that our reading path on the web follow the F-shape pattern, perhaps due to the scrolling experience. Online readers usually read horizontally longer than the second time and the rest of the reading path will be vertical and just a scan-through.

Nielsen's theory: F-shape pattern of reading on the web.

Due to the different modes, our literacy and attention varies on print and online media. Kress and van Leeuwen said that the combination of movement and sound (multimodality) in online publications have created a new form of literacy (Walsh 2006). Thus our understanding of the content relies more on visual, animation and sound rather than on words, like what we do when we read printed publications. Salience is what captures our attention first and most, and is dependent on visual cues (Kress et al. 1998). Therefore it is not surprising that we tend to look at the multimedia features first and then go on to read the article.

References

1. Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, Front Pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout, viewed 11 November 2008, http://blackboard7.taylors.edu.my/courses/1/0807COMM1043TML0017/content/_1340675_1/Kress_gunther.pdf?bsession=211003&bsession_str=session_id=211003,user_id_pk1=225689,user_id_sos_id_pk2=1,one_time_token=11003,user_id_pk1=225689,user_id_sos_id_pk2=1,one_time_token=.

2. Miller, E 2008, Designing for Print vs. the Web, About Graphic Design, viewed 11 November 2008, http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/printvsweb/a/print_vs_web.htm.

3. Nielsen, J 2006, F-Shaped Pattern for Reading Web Content, Use It, viewed 11 November 2008, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html.

4. Nielsen, J 1999, Differences between Print Design and Web Design, Use It, viewed 11 November 2008, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html.

5. 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, p.24 -37.