Print vs. screen designs

Aspects used to design a print would differ from design a document on a screen. To illustrate, the author would use an example of a document from print and screen to compare.

The above shows an example of a newspaper article. Hiligoss & Howard (2002) suggest that the spacing in between lines should be even. As one can see from the above, each line is evenly spaced out which allows reader to have a constant flow of reading compared to having all the lines being clustered into groupings. Print uses newsprint which is easily identifiable through its texture and size compared to the article online where no paper was used. Therefore, that't what that defines a print document such as above. Often enough, print documents uses pull quotes to create a focal point at attract the readers to focus on the subject that the author wants to emphasize. As one can see from above, there are different focal points where one can focus on, the headline, sub heading as well as mini pull quotes all around the paper. 

This, on the other hand, is an example of a news article on the web. First and foremost, according to Morkes & Nielsen (1997) credibility is an important issue on the web. Since the web is free for everyone to use, it becomes a vast empty space where anyone can state one's opinion without going through licencing or any legal restrictions. Information should be able to be easily scanned. This in a sense not by using a conventional scanner but rather how fast a reader can pick up what the important points are within that article. Use of bullets as well as eye catching headliners and bolding of important information can help the reader scan through the article before actually reading it. Lastly, Morkes & Nielsen (1997) also states that readers like to read the conclusion and summary up front of the article. Rather than narrating the whole story as in the print newspaper, online papers should use concise story telling in order for the readers to get the gist of the story within 5 mins of reading the article. 

To conclude, one can see the differences between print and screen documents but there are certain similarities which does in fact begs the question of whether different principals should be applied for a piece of information that uses different medium to reach its targeted audience. 

Reference List

Hiligoss, S, Howard, T 2002, 'Visual Communication: A Writer's Guide,' Longman Publications, second edition, New york, viewed 13 April 2012, <http://www.ablongman.com/mycomplab_content/pdf/long_hilligoss.pdf>

Morkes, J, Nielsen, J 1997, 'Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web,' viewed 13 April 2012, <http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html>