Text Meets Design

2007-09-05 10:32 | 06. Characteristics of Web Texts

After a four weeks summer break I will continue with a topic that matters much to me and to the work of our design agency. This posting is all about the relevance of Web design issues for text production, for which I will present three reasons, leading to a Web designs credo that we follow day by day.

Generally, Web sites differentiate from other media according to the following characteristics:

Firstly, they are multi-semiotic, that is, they usually combine textual information with several other semiotic forms, such as graphics, videos, animations, or sound effects.
Secondly, Web site content is virtual, which means accessing the information is only possible by using computer systems and screens.
Thirdly, they are interactive, i.e. accessing Web sites is independent of time, and the user is free to select the kind, the amount, and the quality of the information that is given, freely following his or her very own interests and needs.

It is the art of matching these characteristics by means of planning, programming, designing, and authoring that finally achieves effective communication on the Web.

Programming (software engineering) is a central topic on the field of Web development, but since the programming code is not considered in the definitions of text by contemporary linguistics¹, such issues shall be left out of this discussion.

Design, however, must be seen as exceedingly relevant, not only to Web development in general, but also to the production of Web texts. Among many aspects that could be reflected on, this is mainly for three reasons, which shall be explained in the following.

The first reason is that, through a computer screen, one cannot perceive all the contents of the Web site as a whole, the same as one could by holding a book in one’s hands, feeling its weight, being able to leaf it through. The field of view through a screen is limited, whereas in print, “the user is focused on the entire set of information” (Nielsen et al. 1998). Therefore, a designer must offer possibilities for orientation and navigation on the screen; but he must also create a useful paging in order to allow consistent use of textual elements (see Kana et al. (2003); see also Nielsen et al. 1998). Moreover, appropriate room for any other type of content will be required on a Web site; pictures, shopping carts, forums, chat rooms, etc. need to be integrated into a site’s information architecture. This is what (interface) design means on the Web; thus, design is much more than artwork.

The second reason for the exceeding relevance of Web design for text production can be derived from the communicative dilemma of written texts. A user who visits a Web site for the very first time cannot know much about the company or the details he can expect. If there was nothing but text on that home page, he would have to read all the texts first before he would get a clue. As already explained in an earlier posting, written text can only work if the context of the intended communication is given in the text. On the Web, according to Kana et al. (2003), the design can provide this context, at least to a certain extent. In fact, the layout of a Web site, the visual idea of the whole, provides a leitmotiv for the perception of other (textual) contents. It is the very first instance in opening the communicative process with the user; only afterwards, the visitor will become aware of short text occurrences, such as the logo, the slogan, headlines, or navigation. Some moments later, the user may take notice of a tagline, of corporate news or other content, too. Therefore, the design plays an important communicative role; it arranges the discourse with the user who then may get the information provided by texts sooner.

The third reason why design must be seen as exceedingly relevant to the production of Web texts again refers to having texts in different languages, in order to meet the demands of international users. According to Nielsen (2000), German texts for instance take about 30 percent more of the length required by English texts (see also Wagner 2002). The problem is not that a page’s layout must be adjusted to accommodate either shorter or longer text flows, since this is usually done automatically on the Web²; the main issue is not to ‘overdesign’ Web pages that may contain texts of different languages “to the extent that the page will not work if some words are pushed around or if some table cells become a little wider” ( Nielsen 2000, p 318). The designer’s responsibility for preparing usable and thus effective textual communication is then obvious again.

In any case, having a well thought-out design gives an image of credibility³, it establishes the whole project as a “professionally run operation” ( Nielsen 2000, p 92). And as we have learned, design is not only a question of attraction and credibility. With a good design, the features of discourse may at least be clear, and the texts can work the way they are intended to.

The three points that I have made here also indicate that conception and design come first in the process of Web site development. It is the content that must align with the design, whereas the design must fit into the conception, not the other way around. As I am writing this text in my word-processing program – these programs have usually been made for printing the outcome – the text continues on a new page once a page ends, the paper will simply comprise as many pages as I write. So would a book. In print, design of text means making changes to the text layout after writing has been finished in order to meet the requirements of clearness and structure. On the Web, the design dictates a text’s length, its structure, and even its message. Whereas the designer is responsible for providing Web-conformed paging, the Web author is asked to fill these small spaces with informative and succinct text. All this can be described by a simple formula for any Web production: “Content follows form of function.” ( Kana et al. 2003, p 37)

¹ This does not necessarily mean that programming languages could not be analysed by means of linguistics, for they have been invented by human beings just as any other language, too. The only difference may be that those languages cannot wholly be described phonetically, for they also consist of special characters. However, such efforts may not be confused with the field of computational linguistics that is mainly concerned with computer-based speech synthesis and recognition (see O’Grady et al. 1996).

² Of course, clearly limited text occurrences, such as button or menus, must be designed with certain flexibility to also accommodate longer words; the same accounts for headlines.

³ In fact, Morkes & Nielsen (1997) found out that “credibility is important for Web users, since it is unclear who is behind information on the Web and whether a page can be trusted” (Nielsen 1997). Nielsen also explains in his short summary of the findings within his Alertbox article from October 1, 1997, that credibility can be increased – among other means – by high quality graphics and good writing.

Text Meets Design

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