The way audience read online and printing is very different.
According to Kress and van Leeuwen(1998), print media focus more on its text(multimodality), with more academic based texts and structures. Prints usually play around with words as people tend to read prints more thoroughly as compared to a webpage. However, overly-structured grammar is not encouraged for online media as readers tend to scan through the text rather than actually reading (Nielsen,1997).
It is also noted that a print controls the way the information is presented to the readers. When designing print media, there is a logical sequence where we know what they've read previously, and what they're going to read next. We can write from introduction to conclusion and carefully build arguments. With chronological orders, framing, logical cues and many more to control the way the information is presented.
According Nielsen (1997), people tend to scan through a web page as compared to a print. Thus, text, colours, and titles are all very important elements into capturing the reader’s attention. Online media has to be concise, scannable and objective (Morkes & Nielsen, 1997). In designing for web, we should highlight keywords, use sub-headings, one idea per paragraph and a more concise shorter word count stating the most important information. This is because online content has no 'control' over what the audience has to read. Print content controls what the audience is reading and what they are going to read whereas online content allows the audience to be the active.
Being online makes the media experience more interactive for the consumer, something which is a barrier presented by the print medium. As there’s no place for comments, it is very difficult to interact through a print magazine. Letters to the editor are screened before they are printed; there’s no guarantee that all voices are heard. On the other hand, being online it is obviously more successful in generating discussions and feedbacks by commenting on the posts. The web also involves a greater level of interactivity due to multimedia such as images, audio and video. You can also share the article with your friends using the 'share' button via websites such as Facebook, Twitter, tumblr etc.
The information displayed online should be split into multiple hyperlinked pages so the reader can pick and choose from their preference. Serif fonts are generally easy to read and are used for lengthy paragraphs such as in print publications. Sans serif fonts however, are used more often online as it is easier to read off a brightly lit computer screen.
Above, you can see an example of both the print and online version of National Geographic's 'Under Paris' issue. Overall, the online media is concise and straight to the point, leaving lots of room for the reader to choose what they want to read. Whereas the print media leaves little space for choice and are more controlled.
References:
Nielsen, J, 1997. How Users Read on the Web, viewed 14th May 2011, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
Morkes, J & Nielsen, J 1997, Concise, Scannable and Objective: How To Write For The Web, Useit.com, viewed 14th May 2011, http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html
Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, ‘Front pages: the critical analysis of newspaper layout’, in Approaches to media discourse, eds Bell, A & Garrett, P, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 186-219.
National Geographic, viewed 14 May 2011, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/
Image Source: National Geographic
According to Kress and van Leeuwen(1998), print media focus more on its text(multimodality), with more academic based texts and structures. Prints usually play around with words as people tend to read prints more thoroughly as compared to a webpage. However, overly-structured grammar is not encouraged for online media as readers tend to scan through the text rather than actually reading (Nielsen,1997).
It is also noted that a print controls the way the information is presented to the readers. When designing print media, there is a logical sequence where we know what they've read previously, and what they're going to read next. We can write from introduction to conclusion and carefully build arguments. With chronological orders, framing, logical cues and many more to control the way the information is presented.
According Nielsen (1997), people tend to scan through a web page as compared to a print. Thus, text, colours, and titles are all very important elements into capturing the reader’s attention. Online media has to be concise, scannable and objective (Morkes & Nielsen, 1997). In designing for web, we should highlight keywords, use sub-headings, one idea per paragraph and a more concise shorter word count stating the most important information. This is because online content has no 'control' over what the audience has to read. Print content controls what the audience is reading and what they are going to read whereas online content allows the audience to be the active.
Being online makes the media experience more interactive for the consumer, something which is a barrier presented by the print medium. As there’s no place for comments, it is very difficult to interact through a print magazine. Letters to the editor are screened before they are printed; there’s no guarantee that all voices are heard. On the other hand, being online it is obviously more successful in generating discussions and feedbacks by commenting on the posts. The web also involves a greater level of interactivity due to multimedia such as images, audio and video. You can also share the article with your friends using the 'share' button via websites such as Facebook, Twitter, tumblr etc.
The information displayed online should be split into multiple hyperlinked pages so the reader can pick and choose from their preference. Serif fonts are generally easy to read and are used for lengthy paragraphs such as in print publications. Sans serif fonts however, are used more often online as it is easier to read off a brightly lit computer screen.
National Geographic 'Under Paris' Print Version
National Geographic 'Under Paris' Online Version
Above, you can see an example of both the print and online version of National Geographic's 'Under Paris' issue. Overall, the online media is concise and straight to the point, leaving lots of room for the reader to choose what they want to read. Whereas the print media leaves little space for choice and are more controlled.
References:
Nielsen, J, 1997. How Users Read on the Web, viewed 14th May 2011, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html
Morkes, J & Nielsen, J 1997, Concise, Scannable and Objective: How To Write For The Web, Useit.com, viewed 14th May 2011, http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html
Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, ‘Front pages: the critical analysis of newspaper layout’, in Approaches to media discourse, eds Bell, A & Garrett, P, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 186-219.
National Geographic, viewed 14 May 2011, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/
Image Source: National Geographic
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