Layout
The final item I want to touch upon in this brief paper is layout. The rule is
simple. If you have to make a mistake with respect to how much information on a
screen or page, always err on the side of putting too little. That is, it is
far better to have less information than too much. Having a lot of "white
space" is appealing to the eye. Other issues relate to how our eyes are
used to reading. Material, whether written or graphic, should be scanned from
the top left to the bottom right. If you have a display in which something is added
to the screen above where the eye is focused, you run the risk of the reader
not seeing the addition. This top left to bottom right design rule is simple
and effective. I urge you to look at Web sites to see if they conform or go
against this rule. If they violate the rule, does this cause you any problems?
Finally, in terms of layout for the Web, you have to decide whether to break
large amounts of information into separate screens or to use a scroll bar that
the reader must manipulate to see all that you have offered. Both have benefits
and drawbacks. Try both.
In this assignment for this week, you must format this text for printing. Use
your word processor to do that using fonts that you think work well. In the
second part of the assignment, break the text into chunks that could be put on
the Web. I do not want you to put it on the Web itself, but just use your Word
Processor to create simulated screens. I want you to calculate how much
material should be on each screen and break up the text accordingly.