13 weeks ago I began a new experience – creating a blog for IPD. The blog helped me to consider issues in publication and design and implications of media issues and new technologies.
Whilst I don’t think my writing style lends itself to be entertaining, blogging has given me a voice and an opportunity to raise points of interest without necessarily replying on a response. Email has made us all expect instantaneous response and when we don’t get it, we wonder if the addressee has in fact received our email. Blogging has been fun, posting and waiting, checking to see a response – not getting any but this doesn’t mean nobody has read the post just that somebody may have read the post and be considering their thoughts.
As a big fan of journal writing I can see where an anonymous blog could be used and could become part of my everyday life.
Thanks IPD for introducing me to the world of blogging – I’ll be a keen participator from here on I think!
Showing posts with label publication. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publication. Show all posts
Saturday, June 14, 2008
A Living Library – 9 June 2008
I came across a really interesting website which is a living library.
“Issuu is the place for online publications: Magazines, catalogs, documents, and stuff you'd normally find on print. It's the place where YOU become the publisher: Upload a document, it's fast, easy, and totally FREE. Find and comment on thousands of great publications. Join a living library, where anyone finds publications about anything and share them with friends”
http://issuu.com/
This looks like a great concept and looks to me like an extension to the idea of a blog. You can post your own designs and documents and have your friends, peers and even strangers comment on them. It is another form of collaboration and yet another example of how technology is encouraging ‘online’ communities.
In my professional career I think that the living library concept could be of value and could help to increase usability of the documents I may one day produce. It is a skill to step away from something you are so close to and put yourself in the shoes of your audience so, this site may be of assistance in doing this.
“Issuu is the place for online publications: Magazines, catalogs, documents, and stuff you'd normally find on print. It's the place where YOU become the publisher: Upload a document, it's fast, easy, and totally FREE. Find and comment on thousands of great publications. Join a living library, where anyone finds publications about anything and share them with friends”
http://issuu.com/
This looks like a great concept and looks to me like an extension to the idea of a blog. You can post your own designs and documents and have your friends, peers and even strangers comment on them. It is another form of collaboration and yet another example of how technology is encouraging ‘online’ communities.
In my professional career I think that the living library concept could be of value and could help to increase usability of the documents I may one day produce. It is a skill to step away from something you are so close to and put yourself in the shoes of your audience so, this site may be of assistance in doing this.
Readers need print despite migration online – 15 May 2008
I read with interest an article on The Age website regarding online readership surging while print editions are moving marginally up or down. The channels for proliferation of news have changed. Once the newspaper was the dominant source now there is radio, TV and more recently the internet.
It is important for news organizations to have a number of contact points in order to engage audiences. The older generation may tend to lean towards print news and specific TV news while the younger generation may in fact rely on websites for their news.
When presenting news on websites, it is important to consider online design principles and after reading the article Readers need print despite migration online, I considered the importance of following design principles to produce an effective news website.
Design principles guide readers through a text, increase interest, highlight areas of importance and provide an easy reading experience. Reep (2006) highlights principles including balance, proportion, sequence and consistency. These principles are important for web page design also as they create the overall ‘look’ of the website.
After reading this article I looked at the News.com website (www.news.com.au). I found that it followed the design principles. Consistency was achieved through the use of consistent typefaces and margins, the page is balanced with differently ‘weighted’ areas which draw your eye to the heavier weighted areas first, the page and elements within it are in proportion and the a logical reading sequence is maintained through the design to guide the reader through the page. Colour, images and contrast is also used well and overall it is a positive reading experience.
Given that the article says “Readers are developing an online habit at a galloping rate”, I think that web designers need to pay significant attention to the design principles when designing their news web pages.
http://business.theage.com.au/readers-need-print-despite-migration-online-20080515-2erp.html
http://www.news.com.au
Reep DC 2006, ‘Document design’, Technical writing: principles, strategies and readings, 6th edn, Pearson & Lonman, New York, Chapter 6, pp. 133-172
It is important for news organizations to have a number of contact points in order to engage audiences. The older generation may tend to lean towards print news and specific TV news while the younger generation may in fact rely on websites for their news.
When presenting news on websites, it is important to consider online design principles and after reading the article Readers need print despite migration online, I considered the importance of following design principles to produce an effective news website.
Design principles guide readers through a text, increase interest, highlight areas of importance and provide an easy reading experience. Reep (2006) highlights principles including balance, proportion, sequence and consistency. These principles are important for web page design also as they create the overall ‘look’ of the website.
After reading this article I looked at the News.com website (www.news.com.au). I found that it followed the design principles. Consistency was achieved through the use of consistent typefaces and margins, the page is balanced with differently ‘weighted’ areas which draw your eye to the heavier weighted areas first, the page and elements within it are in proportion and the a logical reading sequence is maintained through the design to guide the reader through the page. Colour, images and contrast is also used well and overall it is a positive reading experience.
Given that the article says “Readers are developing an online habit at a galloping rate”, I think that web designers need to pay significant attention to the design principles when designing their news web pages.
http://business.theage.com.au/readers-need-print-despite-migration-online-20080515-2erp.html
http://www.news.com.au
Reep DC 2006, ‘Document design’, Technical writing: principles, strategies and readings, 6th edn, Pearson & Lonman, New York, Chapter 6, pp. 133-172
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