An excellent print design will likely make a bad web design. Print interaction is easier because of the larger canvas size and more controlled layout.
It’s a fantastic experience to wander the halls of the Society for News Design (SND) annual meeting. Every wall is covered in full-page spreads from the most-designed newspapers worldwide. Although the book that reprints the award-winning pages is an excellent design resource, the physical presence and size of the full-size newsprint were overwhelming.
Newspaper designers have a vast canvas to work with. They can create striking designs that are intricate but also visually appealing. Newspapers have a much more significant impact than web pages, especially since the spread is visible in just a few seconds. Here’s the latest.
This page is an excellent example of what print can do: A large, high-resolution map sets up a story about Chile. It also serves as an information graphic for multiple data nuggets. The page has smaller drawings that show more data. There is still plenty of room for text, which is in high-resolution font and well integrated with graphics and headlines in a pleasing overall layout. This allows the eye to quickly move from overview to detail in just a fraction of a second.
Dimensionality
Dimensional is the standard for print design. A lot of attention is paid to the layout. Although the reader of print design can turn the page, the interplay between spreads is uncommon. Each view is usually a design unit that can be used to create a fixed-sized canvas. This is often the large canvas for designing posters or newspapers.
Web design, however, is both 1-dimensional and N-dimensional.
A web page is fundamentally a scrolling experience for the user instead of a canvas experience. Although a small amount of 2-dimensional layout can be achieved, more is needed to create preplanner expertise with a fixed spatial relationship among elements. Many users scroll before all parts are rendered. Different users scroll the page in various ways during their reading experience.
It is against HTML’s nature to place elements precisely on web pages. This can only be done for pages that can adjust to different sizes of windows. Therefore, 1-dimensional relationships between elements on a page are more important than 2-dimensional relationships (what’s earlier on the page and what’s later).
Navigation
Hypertext navigation is the heart of web design. The web is about moving around. The feel dominates the user experience when analysing a website’s look and feel. Doing is more memorable and has a more significant emotional impact than viewing.
Navigation in print mainly consists of page turning. This straightforward user interface is one of the significant advantages of printed media. Page turning is so simple that it is not considered a design element. Hypertext navigation, however, is an essential component of web design and requires decisions such as:
The remarkable appearance of links
How to describe where users can go and which links will take them there
Visualization of the current location
information architecture
Response time, resolution, and canvas size
The web is vastly faster than print in speed, image quality, and size. These differences aren’t fundamental. Will eventually be:
Bandwidth fast sufficient to download a webpage as quickly as you can flip through a newspaper
Sharp enough screen resolution to render type so clearly that the reading speed of screens is comparable to that of paper
Large screens that are the size of a newspaper spread – newspapers-sized screens are the limit. It may not be logical to increase the size of these screens.
These differences will continue for the next ten years and restrict web design. Fewer graphics, shorter graphics, more text (since it can be difficult to read online), less fancy typography (since the user needs to know what fonts they have installed), and less ambitious layouts.
Even if we have perfect hardware within ten years, limiting word count will still be necessary because users are more impatient online than ever and motivated to move on. Because mobile devices have smaller screens than our office screens, it will be essential to design web information that can be displayed on small canvas layouts.
There will likely be new screen management methods that are not window-based, making it possible to make the most of large displays. A larger display does not necessarily mean more oversized windows. However, some systems still promote maximization as the ultimate goal.
Multimedia, interactivity, and overlays
While print can be impressive with its high-impact visualizations, the web is more engaging because of the user interaction enabled by nonstate design elements. The web allows users to control the display of moving images and even allows them to use interactive widgets. Future web versions will allow alpha-channel blending to overlay multiple layers of information.
An interactive map of Chile is easily created using basic web technology. The user can click on any city or region to access a page that provides more information. Interactive visualizations that are more integrated allow for greater engagement. Pointing to objects will result in explanations and expansions of context. This can be done using overlays, pop-ups, voiceovers, or pop-ups. These highly interactive information graphics are not recommended for mainstream web pages. However, they can be used in specialized services.
Respect (no Relish ) the Differences
A great web design is more likely to be a great print design. There are so many differences that you need to use different design approaches to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of both media.
Print design principles are based on the eye moving over the information and focusing on the details.
Web design allows the user to move the information through scrolling and clicking; information relationships are expressed temporally in an interaction or user movement.
Differences in appearance and layout might be reduced by better hardware. More robust software will reduce the differences in interaction and user control. The current web design needs to be sufficiently interactive and use multimedia more. Finding a web animation with a purpose other than annoying the user is rare.
