Principles of Web design

This is a conceptually rich book that teaches web design skills and offers practical guidance within a coherent framework of information-design principles and hypertext theory. With a very clear yet trim writing style and over 150 illustrations, this book offers a broad range of discussion items. An emphasis on intellectually challenging questions call for review and synthesis, problem solving, and the focused examination of Websites. A set of 30 "Quick Start" design principles enables readers to begin working on a project. Explanation of copyright issues include public domain content, fair use, and related issues. Emphasis on usability testing and other forms of evaluation teach the importance of involving users in the design process and help plan and conduct basic usability tests. For those interested in multimedia and web design.

• Foreword p. xix
• Preface p. xxi
• 1 Understanding the Web: A Designer's View p. 1
• Introduction p. 1
• The Capabilities of the World Wide Web p. 1
• Interactive Multimedia on CDs and DVDs p. 4
• The Purposes and Genres of Websites p. 5
• Important Terms and Concepts p. 9
• A Very Brief History of the World Wide Web p. 12
• 2 Planning the Project p. 25
• Introduction p. 25
• Formulating Your Purpose p. 25
• Analyzing and Adapting to Your Audience p. 28
• Reviewing Other Websites p. 31
• Choosing a Business Model p. 32
• Establishing Working Relationships with the Appropriate People p. 33
• Determining and Dealing with Project Constraints p. 33
• Establishing a Theme and Style--Plus Concept Sketches p. 36
• Planning Content and Content Acquisition p. 38
• Planning for Ample Evaluation and Performing Early Evaluations p. 41
• Profile: Points West Kayak Tours p. 42
• Project Documentation and Reporting p. 44
• 3 Designing and Building the Project p. 49
• Introduction p. 49
• The Design Phase p. 50
• The Building Phase p. 66
• People and Their Roles p. 70
• Profile: Points West Kayak Tours p. 74
• 4 Using Content Types Effectively p. 83
• Introduction p. 83
• Text p. 84
• Graphics p. 87
• Animation p. 91
• Video p. 93
• Audio p. 94
• Complex Combinations of Content Types p. 96
• Profile: Points West Kayak Tours p. 99
• 5 Societal Implications and Ethical Choices p. 103
• Introduction p. 103
• Power and Control p. 104
• The Web as a Communications Medium p. 110
• Long-Term Societal Implications p. 115
• 6 Hypertext Theory and Node-Link Diagrams p. 123
• Introduction p. 123
• The Navigation Paradigm p. 124
• Nodes p. 126
• Graph Theory and a Preview of Hypermedia Information Structures p. 128
• Links and Linking p. 128
• Nodes and Links as Dialog p. 132
• The Navigational Interface and Situation Awareness p. 133
• Node-Link Diagrams p. 137
• 7 Hierarchies and Organizing Content p. 148
• Introduction p. 148
• The Prevalence and Usefulness of Hierarchies p. 148
• Three Kinds of Hierarchies p. 149
• Special Purpose Links: Upward Links, Links to Utility Pages, and Links for Spotlighting Key Content p. 158
• Organizing Content into a Hierarchy p. 162
• 8 The Navigational Interface p. 173
• Introduction p. 173
• Revealing Structure at the Home Page p. 173
• Revealing Structure at the Second Level p. 180
• Revealing Structure at the Third Level and Below p. 183
• Special Techniques for the Navigational Interface p. 187
• The Browser Interface and Multiple Windows p. 190
• Websites as Online Computing Environments p. 192
• Website Help p. 196
• 9 Designing Effective Links p. 202
• Introduction p. 202
• Make Clear "What's Hot and What's Not" p. 202
• Design Web Pages So That Users Will Encounter and Notice Links p. 206
• Ensure That Links Are Easy to Scan and Read p. 206
• Ensure That All Links Clearly Indicate Their Destinations p. 209
• User Testing of Links and Navigation p. 214
• 10 Writing for the Web p. 220
• Introduction p. 220
• Writing for a "Non-Sticky" Medium p. 220
• Writing Audio Discourse p. 222
• Writing for a Non-Linear Environment p. 223
• 11 Graphic Design p. 241
• Introduction p. 241
• Aesthetic Appeal on the Web p. 242
• Uses of Line, Shape, and Color p. 243
• Designing Screen Text p. 248
• Expressing Theme with Style and Mood p. 250
• Seven Principles of Composition p. 255
• Page Layout p. 263
• Profile: The Starfish Cafe p. 267
• 12 Site Maps, Search, and Indexes p. 276
• Introduction p. 276
• Site Maps p. 276
• The Search Feature p. 282
• Indexes on the Web p. 296
• 13 Non-Hierarchical Information Structures p. 305
• Introduction p. 305
• The Linear Structure p. 306
• The Multipath Structure p. 308
• The Matrix Structure p. 314
• The Web-Like Structure p. 321
• Conclusion: Finding the Right Information Structure p. 326
• Appendix A Twenty-Five Guidelines for Getting Started p. 333
• 1. Define your purpose p. 333
• 2. Define and analyze your audience p. 333
• 3. Define your theme. Let purpose, audience, and theme guide your design decisions p. 334
• 4. Review other websites, looking for useful ideas about design and implementation. Do not, however, copy design ideas blindly and do not violate copyright law p. 334
• 5. If you are working in a team, value the team and contribute effectively. Maintain good ties with other people who are important to the project p. 334
• 6. Plan carefully so you don't miss your schedule or wind up with an unfinished website p. 335
• 7. Choose the most appropriate content types: text, graphics, animation, video, and audio p. 335
• 8. Envision your website as a hierarchy p. 335
• 9. Employ different kinds of links to give your users navigational freedom p. 336
• 10. Organize the content of your website p. 337
• 11. Before building your website, create successively more complete versions of your design. Use them to evaluate your design p. 339
• 12. Design the home page p. 340
• 13. Design the interior pages p. 341
• 14. Apply user interface guidelines when designing the interface for online computing functions p. 341
• 15. Design your links carefully so they lead users reliably to their destinations p. 342
• 16. Be careful about using icons p. 342
• 17. Add relevant links to other websites p. 342
• 18. Avoid excessive text, especially on the home page. Strive for high-quality writing that will motivate your audience to continue reading p. 343
• 19. Write for a non-linear environment p. 343
• 20. Pay attention to the visual aspects of text. Keep in mind that the screen is different from the page p. 343
• 21. Enhance the appearance of your website through graphic design p. 344
• 22. Employ the graphic design principles of composition on your Web pages p. 344
• 23. Consider a non-hierarchical structure for your website or a portion of the site p. 346
• 24. Add a site map to your website p. 346
• 25. Add a Search feature to your website p. 346
• Appendix B An Introduction to Copyright Law p. 348
• The Basic Idea: Most Content Is Someone's Intellectual Property p. 348
• Ideas That Can't Be Copyrighted p. 349
• Content in the Public Domain p. 349
• Creating Your Own Content p. 349
• Licensing and Purchasing Content p. 350
• Fair Use and Permissions p. 350
• Copyright and Plagarism p. 351
• Other Restrictions p. 351
• Sources for More Information p. 351
• Appendix C Project Reports p. 353
• The Inception and Planning of the Asthma Horizons Northwest Website p. 353
• The Design Phase of Asthma Horizons Northwest p. 362
• The Building Phase p. 363
• Appendix D Implementation Resources p. 365
• Authoring, Programming, and Scripting p. 365
• Graphics p. 367
• Animation, Video, and Audio p. 368
• Credits p. 370
• Index p. 371