Scribd
Upload
27 views12 pages

COM 205 Multimedia Applications: St. Joseph's College Fall 2003

This document discusses basic guidelines for designing effective multimedia applications. It recommends considering your audience and available technologies when designing. Some key design principles covered include using speed, simplicity, clarity, consistency, ease of use and navigation. Graphics and animations should be used judiciously and enhance the message without being distracting. The document provides specific tips in each of these areas and recommends several online resources for additional design guidance.

Uploaded by

santhosh3749
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
27 views12 pages

COM 205 Multimedia Applications: St. Joseph's College Fall 2003

This document discusses basic guidelines for designing effective multimedia applications. It recommends considering your audience and available technologies when designing. Some key design principles covered include using speed, simplicity, clarity, consistency, ease of use and navigation. Graphics and animations should be used judiciously and enhance the message without being distracting. The document provides specific tips in each of these areas and recommends several online resources for additional design guidance.

Uploaded by

santhosh3749
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 12

COM 205

Multimedia Applications
St. Joseph’s College
Fall 2003
Basic Software Design
Consider your audience
• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• How?
Technology
• Connection- 14.4K modems/ fast T1
– Don’t over use graphics – too slow
• Monitor size
– Put most important info at top of page
– Don’t clutter screen
– Don’t cause too much scrolling
• Browsers available
– Netscape
– Internet Explorer
• Plug-ins
Some Design Issues
• Speed ( of loading)
• Simplicity ( say more with less…)
• Clarity
• Consistency
• Easy of use
• Ease of navigation
• “Bells and Whistles”
Speed
• Should load quickly
• Choose text and graphics wisely
– Not too many bitmaps!
• Balance text and graphics
• Design for the disabled or those without
graphics
– Use ALT tag in HTML
– Blind will hear description of image with
synthesized speech
– Some may choose not to load graphics and
can still understand the message
Simplicity and Clarity
• Use basic layout and themes
• Use only a few colors and fonts
• Choose clear consistent icons with
universal meaning
• Include no more than 5 to 7 items on
a menu
Consistency
• Provide and overview/summary
screen
• Each link and page should have the
same “look and feel”where possible
• Use same colors for hotlinks, etc…
Ease of Use
• Easy to read text and font size
• Use text appropriate to your
audience
• Provide sense of “where you are”
• Check for dead ends- pages without
links
• Use good navigational controls
Ease of Navigation
• Provide navigational controls
– ( back, next, home, top, bottom)
• Button bars are often helpful
– Include common links on each page
• Home
• Email
• Back, etc.
“Bells and Whistles”
• Animation should be meaningful not
distracting
• Don’t go over board- one screen is
not meant to contain ALL you know
or have learned
• Use special effects where they
enhance your message…
Interesting Resources
• Web Page Design Guides
– http://info.med.yale.edu/caim/manual
– http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/design/?tw=design
– http://www.killersites.com
• Virtual Computer Library
– http://www.utexas.edu/computer/vcl/www.html
• Animation
– http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/multimedia/
animation/tutorials/tutorial1.html

You might also like