Print Design vs. Web Design
In his article, Jakob Neilson discusses the differences between print design and web design. According to him, the four main differences are in the following areas: Dimensionality, Navigation, Response Time, Resolution, and Canvas Size, and Multimedia, Interactivity, and Overlays.
| Print Design |
Web Design |
| A 2-dimensional, "canvas experience," with a lot of attention on layout |
A 1-dimensional and N-dimensional experience, as well as a "scrolling experience" |
| Navigation is turning the page - not a design element |
Hypertext navigation is important because "moving around is what the web is all about" |
| Superior in speed, image quality, and space (until technology advances) |
Inferior in speed, image quality, and space, so use few and small graphics, short and plain text, and plain layouts |
| Uses "high-impact visualization," but no interaction with the reader |
Superior due to user engagement; allows users to "manipulate interactive widgets" |
Respect the Differences
“Anything that is a great print design is likely to be a lousy web design” (Neilson).
The basic difference between the two is that print design is based on the eyes looking over the information, and web design is based on allowing the hands to move the information.
While Print design is sophisticated, web design is “impoverished” because too many sites attempt a level of excellence that works in print, but isn’t adequate for web design. |
