http://tc.eserver.org/authors/Will-Harris,_Daniel A bibliography of works by Will Harris, Daniel in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Will-Harris,_Daniel http://tc.eserver.org/25900.html http://tc.eserver.org/25900.html It doesn't matter how dazzling your Web site looks if you don't have good, clear copy that appeals to your readers' basic desires--and is easy to read. http://tc.eserver.org/25898.html http://tc.eserver.org/25898.html While you may never consciously notice the typefaces used on a Web page, they subconsciously affect the way you feel about the page. http://tc.eserver.org/25899.html http://tc.eserver.org/25899.html Writing for the web is really not that much different than writing for print. But you have to remember that since it can be more difficult to read on-screen, you have to take special care to make it easier on your readers. http://tc.eserver.org/22685.html http://tc.eserver.org/22685.html Design is subjective: You can't please all of the people all of the time. http://tc.eserver.org/22683.html http://tc.eserver.org/22683.html Good sites don't start in a web creation program, they start in your head. Before you even touch your web software, you need to get in touch with the reasons why you want to build a site and what you want it to accomplish. http://tc.eserver.org/22684.html http://tc.eserver.org/22684.html It's easy to forget how much work goes into a Web site (or anything for that matter). You look at it, it looks slick and professional, and you just go about your business. That's the way it should be, but when you start to build your own sites, you have to 'stop and smell the pixels,' start to look at a site in a different, deeper way. To help you see the process that goes on behind a site (specifically this one), I kept a record of how this site started and the various stages it went through in organization, content, and design to get to what you see today. http://tc.eserver.org/22665.html http://tc.eserver.org/22665.html Which comes first, the concept or the artwork? The assumption has always been that you first figure out the concept, then find the art to fit. But even if we leave many things in our life unquestioned--design shouldn't be one of them. http://tc.eserver.org/22679.html http://tc.eserver.org/22679.html It doesn't matter how many hours of video and megabytes of graphics can be stuffed onto a silver platter, typefaces still serve an essential function that can't be duplicated by other means--transmitting complex intellectual and emotional messages in a very concise and precise way. http://tc.eserver.org/22682.html http://tc.eserver.org/22682.html I like bit-mapped screen fonts. In fact, I prefer old-fashioned bit-mapped screen fonts to anything that ATM, TrueType, or Speedo can throw up on the screen. If we're expected to read documents on screen, we need better type than they can offer. http://tc.eserver.org/22661.html http://tc.eserver.org/22661.html If a ligature falls in a paragraph and no one notices, does it make a sound? Or an impression? When people are no longer aware of old 'standard' typographic conventions and they've lost their meaning, does it make them archaic? http://tc.eserver.org/22660.html http://tc.eserver.org/22660.html Type is important because it's an unconscious persuader. It attracts attention, sets the style and tone of a document, colors how readers interpret the words, and defines the feeling of the page--usually without the reader recognizing a particular typeface. http://tc.eserver.org/22666.html http://tc.eserver.org/22666.html You're seeing red. They're seeing orange. Not the same, is it? More often than not, color on the web is approximate. So how do you choose colors that are going to work best? Are you forever stuck with the old 216 color 'web-safe' colors? Is there technology that ensures what you see is what your visitors get? http://tc.eserver.org/22664.html http://tc.eserver.org/22664.html So you want to add graphics to your site, but you don't know where to get them? Well—first you have to learn that you can't just take graphics off someone else's site unless you want to go directly to Jail, do not pass go, and do not get $200 (though your Lawyer will get at least that per hour). http://tc.eserver.org/22662.html http://tc.eserver.org/22662.html I'm working with a client now who just wants to start. He won't stop to ask himself what he really wants to get out of the site, what his visitors will want to get, or even list the items that he must have on the home page. If he doesn't stop and think about it clearly, he will end up with an ineffectual site that satisfies no-one. http://tc.eserver.org/22663.html http://tc.eserver.org/22663.html Pundits say people don't read on the web. Baloney. You're reading this, aren't you? Don't be fooled into nothing but bullet points. People will read a lot, you just need to know how to write for them, and how to make your words easy to read. http://tc.eserver.org/22636.html http://tc.eserver.org/22636.html Almost everything we know in the world can be described in just 26 letters--isn't that amazing? Yet this most visible art--which we all see all around us each day--has long been invisible in most people's minds. Part of this was intentional-- because the content, not the type, is the message. With type, the media is not the message. But type also adds to everything we read in subliminal and powerful ways, and Typofile is about people who love type, and why.