Hook, Line & Thinker newsletter, published by Troutdream Graphics - Vol. 1, No. 7 - October, 2002

The Web is not Print

It is interesting to go back and look at the early TV shows. Some shows were followed radio show formats they superceded. Even today, shows like Letterman are direct descendants of radio format. Other shows featured drama as live stage productions captured by two or three fixed cameras. Over time, TV directors expanded the boundaries of the new medium and developed new formats to take advantage of its unique capabilities.

The Web is repeating the same history. It's a new medium, but sites are being produced largely by designers with a background in print. So we see Web sites that are forced into conventions of print.

Print designers are faced with design expectations specific to their industry: They have access to a wide variety of fonts; they can design a page that is the same for everyone who sees it. Once ink is on paper, it is set – the location and size of every element is fixed, the color, texture and weight of the paper is fixed. It is a completely consistent product. Budgets usually limit the choice of color, so they become adept at creating layouts with only one or two colors. Pages are designed to catch the eye of a reader as he flips through a magazine: Large graphics consume no more resources than any other element on the page.

The Web turns all that upside down. Color is free but font are limited. Graphics appear on the page well after the text. Most importantly, the page is NOT the same for everyone who sees it. Every monitor displays colors differently. Fonts aren't consistent: You may specify a certain font, but the viewer will see it only if he has the same font installed on his system. Font sizes vary widely – Macs and PCs display fonts at different sizes and users' PCs alter font sizes according to defaults and user preferences. Suddenly that consistent image you were used to in print is out the window.

If you approach the Web as another form of print, you will be endlessly frustrated. But if you can make the leap to see that it is a completely new medium, you can begin to see the advantages of the very features that are lacking in print.

• Text styles are not uncontrollable, they're flexible: Pages can be designed to allow viewers to access your information more easily and in a way that works for them.
• Page layouts are not fixed, they're fluid: Information can be customized to appeal to different audiences. Content can be updated quickly and inexpensively. Layouts can expand or contract to work well on different size monitors.
• Big, eye-catching graphics are not just inadvisable, they're unnecessary: The user has already decided to view your page before he ever sees a single element on it. Use your graphics to highlight navigation and guide the user to important information instead.
• You don't control the user's experience, he does: The user decides how and in what order to view information on your site. If you understand this, then you understand one of the greatest strengths of the Web.

Don't worry that the Web can't do everything that the old media could do. It's as different from print as TV is from radio. When we embrace the differences and stretch the boundaries of our imaginations we can learn the unique strengths of a NEW medium.

If you have a web-related question, drop me a line. If I don't know the answer, I'll find out.

You can find other articles and past issues of this newsletter at http://www.troutdream.com/stories.html

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