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Why web and print design differ
Mass-produced print media were well established more than 500 years ago, along with the conventions of the print interface — principles of design, typography, page composition, and the arrangement of sequential pages.
By any practical standard, web design is little more than a decade old. The development of the electronic interface is older — but not by much. And although many design principles — such as the benefits of proportion and clarity — apply equally to web and print, others do not.
This is because the environment in which the web communicates differs greatly from that of print. Computer screens offer access to intensities and frequencies of light not normally found in nature, where light almost always enters the eye after reflecting off of something else. While that can offer exciting possibilities, it also means the web is more fatiguing to the eye than print.
As a result, a web site’s design needs to lead readers easily to the site’s most important features before the fatigue factor sets in. Put as much information as you want to in your web site — hard-disk space is a lot cheaper than paper. But “information” implies organization (otherwise it’s “raw data”). And organization is the key to good web design.
Return to web design, or the aesthetics page.