---Jakob Neilson’s article “Differences Between Print Design and Web Design” offers a glimmer of hope for the future of web design in its redeeming quality of navigation.
Neilson’s analysis of web designing seems wishful, yet pessimistic. He is clearly struck by the awe-inspiring visual effect of print design and overwhelmed by the rich history it offers. He has hope that some day, web designers will rise to the challenge and create virtual text worthy to compete with the printed word. Thankfully, he does see great potential in the possibilities of the future.As he outlines the differences between the 2 mediums, print design is clearly favored.
Print Design |
Web Design |
| Print is a 2-dimensional medium. Text, pictures and objects are related by their locations on the page. | Web pages are a 1-diminsional medium. Text, pictures and objects are related by their chronology on the screen. |
| Planning a newspaper spread is a detailed art. Everyone sees the same thing and you can manipulate that. | Little pre-planning occurs on a web page since you cannot assume the size of the screen, nor that every image will appear. |
| Designers have a canvas with which to work | Designers are still designing with a crude medium. |
| Your eyes walk across a printed page. | Your mind can explore a web page. |
The final point is what gives hope to the future of web design: the possibility of navigation.
- Readers are given the opportunity to interact with the text and come away with a memorable experience.
- The reading experience is customized to the individual readers — they can learn as much or as little about a topic as they like.
- Web readers are, by nature, impatient. They can easily navigate a web site quickly, unlike many printed pages.
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