Chapter 7 Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia

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Chapter 7 Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia
Part 2

• Dr. Robert S. Tannenbaum
• Director, Academic Computing Services
• University of Kentucky
• rst_at_pop.uky.edu

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Designing for Interactivity
Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia Chapter
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Historical accident has kept programmers in
control of a field in which most of them have no
aptitude the artistic integration of the
mechanisms they work with. It is nice that
engineers and programmers and software executives
have found a new form of creativity in which to
find a sense of personal fulfillment. It is just
unfortunate that they have to inflict the results
on users. (Nelson, 1990)
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Design Rules for Graphic and Screen Design
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• Practice restraint (especially good advice for
  designers in the memory-intensive and
  bandwidth-hungry world of multimedia)
• Concentrate on proportion
• Achieve a balance between consistency and
  contrast
• Always pay attention to detail (Parker,
  1993)

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Design Rules for Graphic and Screen Design
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Lesters (1995) Design Concepts

• Contrast
• Balance
• Rhythm
• Unity
• These and other suggestions are merely that
  suggestions. They retain a suggestion status
  because the talented designer knows that he or
  she can break the rules and still achieve
  effective or perhaps even superior designs. The
  key is mastering all the elements before one
  begins taking license with them.

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The more time spent on planning, the better.
A storyboard is an excellent planning tool.
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Keep Screen Content Simple and Clear
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Designing for Interactivity
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Keep Screen Content Simple and Clear
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Designing for Interactivity
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Simpler, Less-Cluttered Design is More Effective
Poor use of Margins and White Space
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Simpler, Less-Cluttered Design is More Effective
Good use of Margins and White Space
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Designing for Interactivity
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Simpler, Less-Cluttered Design is More Effective
Disorganized Textual Material
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Designing for Interactivity
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Simpler, Less-Cluttered Design is More Effective
Organize Textual Material Left-to-right, Top-
to bottom
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Employ Consistent Layouts for
Related Materials
Dont Change Formats in the Midst of a Concept
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Use Uncluttered Images
The police car in the top image has no
relevance in a presentation on playgrounds.
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Designing for Interactivity
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An image should not distract from the
main Message on the screen
Obtrusive images
Unobtrusive images
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Designing for Interactivity
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Use Effective Cropping and Image Placement
Most trees and part of the building
cropped, emphasizing the student
Uncropped image
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Designing for Interactivity
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Edit Text for Clarity
Too cryptic
Clear and understandable
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Designing for Interactivity
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Distracting
Clear
Limit the Number of Fonts and Type Sizes
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Designing for Interactivity
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Use Simple, Clear Fonts
Distracting
Clear
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Designing for Interactivity
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Avoid Hyphenation and Underlines
Underlined and hyphenated
Clear
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Designing for Interactivity
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Avoid Excessive and Improper Use of Color

• Limit colors to three or fewer
• Use a plain, contrasting background
• Use bright colors for foreground
• Use pale colors for background
• Be sure colors will appear correctly on the
  users screen
• Avoid clashing colors

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Designing for Interactivity
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Use Dark Type on a Light Background
Easier to read
Harder to read
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Chapter 7 Theoretical Foundations of Multimedia

• Dr. Robert S. Tannenbaum
• Director, Academic Computing Services
• University of Kentucky
• rst_at_pop.uky.edu