Download Legibility - WordPress.com

Kumiko Borman
WRIT 573 G-01 Writing and Designing for the Web
User-Centered Web Design
Clear navigation aids

Language




Use short sentences and simple structure.
Use ‘everyday’ words.
Use active voice, active verbs.
Avoid metaphors, humor, puns and idioms.
Every page have visible elements telling users what
page they are on, where they are in relation to other
Feedback and dialog
pages, and how to get to other pages.
 The users can visualize the site’s structure.
 Provide direct links
“Know thy user, and you
 No ‘dead-end’ pages.
to the person
are not thy user.”
 The basic links should be always present.
- Arnie Lund
running the site.
 Links should be descriptive.
 Be prepared to
 User should always be able to return to
respond to users’ inquiries and comments.
the home page.
“On the Internet, it's
Design integrity and stability
 Design an efficient hierarchy to minimize
survival of the
steps through pages.
 Build your site using the high editorial and
easiest....”
design standard to convince users.
Legibility
 Keep the interactive elements function
- Jakob Nielsen
 Use Sans serif fonts for body text.
properly.
 Italics, all-caps, ornamental fonts are hard
 Check your links and content so they remain relevant.
to read.
 Use High contrast between background and text.
Stability and consistency
 Block of text should be no longer than 50+ characters.
 Your interface metaphors should be simple, familiar,
Visual Design
and logical.
 Unfamiliar, unpredictable interface burden the user.
 Use graphics to illustrate, inform or aid navigation.
 Use conventional layout and navigation.
 Provide a clear and consistent graphic identity.
 Take a consistent approach to the layout of titles,
 Use small graphics for fast download.
footer, and navigation links.
 Use color conservatively.


Use ‘white space’ to visually organize the page.
Group like elements together.
Kumiko Borman
WRIT 573 G-01 Writing and Designing for the Web
Bibliography
Interface Design: User-centered design . (n.d.). Retrieved from Web Style Guide: http://www.webstyleguide.com/interface/usercentered.html
Katz-Haas, R. (1998). Ten Guidelines for User-Centered Web Design. Usability Interface , Vol 5, No.1.
Nielsen, J. (2000). Designing Web Usability. Indianapolis: New Riders Publishing.
Our Approach. (2008). Retrieved from Usability & Accessibility Center Michigan State University :
http://usability.msu.edu/approach.aspx
Redish, J. (2007). Letting Go of the Words - Writing Web Content that Works. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
User-centered design. (2008). Retrieved from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usercentered_design
User-Centered Design and Web Development. (n.d.). Retrieved from Society for Technical Communication (STC):
http://www.stcsig.org/usability/topics/articles/ucd%20_web_devel.html
What is User-Centered Design: About Usability: UPA Resources. (2006). Retrieved from Usability Professionals' Association:
http://www.upassoc.org/usability_resources/about_usability/what_is_ucd.html
Zeldman, J. (2003). designing with web standards. Berkeley: New Riders Publishing.