Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Ten
Design
Principles
for
Online
Help
BY AMBER LANCASTER, Student Member
Texas Tech University Student Chapter
18
1.
When creating any interface, use textual design elements that facilitate the
reading process and avoid design features that complicate character recognition. Use fonts, kerning and leading,
and text colors that do not distract from
the texts message.
Use design features that help users
understand the hierarchical structure
of the information, such as sans serif
fonts for headings and subheadings and
serif fonts for body text. Avoid nontraditional font types, such as hand script
and calligraphy, because they increase
the time it takes users to recognize characters and read the text.
Display type in at least 12-point font
size, and allow users to adjust the size to
meet their preferences. This establishes
an initial font setting but allows flexibility
for users who may need to enlarge text
because of vision impairments or reduce
text to capitalize on screen space.
Use kerning to adjust the spacing
between letters that appear too tight or
too loose to prevent drawing attention
to the design and away from the conMay 2005
visual design
tent. Appropriate spacing between letters enhances aesthetic appeal and readability. Appropriate kerning will also
help prevent eye fatigue when reading
onscreen text.
Use 12-point leading to align text
evenly above and below the baseline and
to create approximately a single line
break between text lines. This creates
visual alignment at the bottom of the
letters and enhances readability.
2.
3.
19
visual design
sions to verify their understanding, to gain
a sense of competence, and to match
manual information against the system.
First-time users often rely on interactive
tutorials to carry out commands with the
computer system, as illustrated in Figure
4, the CorelDRAW 8 tutorial that shows
how to create a new graphic.
7.
8.
4.
5.
Excessive motion for invoking computer action may fatigue and annoy
users. Online help systems that require
excessive motion, such as moving the
cursor across numerous areas of the
screen to invoke computer action or system response, can become tiresome or
frustrating. To avoid fatiguing and
annoying users, place clickable items in
close proximity.
6.
9.
Develop context-sensitive
help.
visual design
Figure 4. CorelDRAW 8 tutorial.
10.
May 2005
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