Screen vs. print document design

The layout of both screen and print are different as in screen, most start from left to right whereas in print it varies. Writing structures in screen

may be a little less formal compared to writing in print. This is because in screen there may be bond between the writer and the reader hence a little less formality and different writing patterns may increase the preferences of reading on screen. Taken for example, my weblog layout is arranged as so the contents come from the left then only a sidebar on the right and my writing structure is formal as this is an assignment.

Quote from Hilligos and Howard (2002), “One of the principal differences between designing for the screen is that web designers have far less control over what the user actually sees”. According to Bear (2011), there are 5 considerations in designing for print and web design namely typography, graphics, colors, navigation and page composition. However I would only select the first three.

While designing for print, typography is important as it is encouraged to use serif fonts. San-serif fonts are those without the end strokes where it would be more difficult to read as it does not create spaces in between alphabets. For screen, both serif fonts and san-serif fonts may be as I have in my weblog.

Image obtained from http://www.tcd.ie/CAPSL/TIC/accessible-info/word/font-styles.php

Graphics and colors are essential as it helps ease an individual to look at the white spaces. White spaces helps create the illusion of a loose article as compared to if print were to change into a screen format. As the internet has a wide capacity of storage, more graphics and colors can be added without having to cost extra and taking up unnecessary spaces.

References:

1. Bear, J.H., (2011), Print Design vs. Web Design: Similarities and Differences in Print and Web Deisgn, [Online]. Available from: http://desktoppub.about.com/od/transitionprintweb/tp/Print_Design_vs_Web_Design.htm. [Accessed 25 August 2011].

2. Hilligos, S., Howard, T., (2002), Visual Communication: A Writer’s Guide. Second Edition. New York, Longman.

3. Trinity Inclusive Curriculum, (2011), Font Style: How to Ensure Accessible Font Styles. [Picture Format]. Available from: http://www.tcd.ie/CAPSL/TIC/accessible-info/word/font-styles.php [Accessed 25 August 2011].