What is "hypermedia? Most of us think of "being hyper" as being excessively, even uncontrollably active. We think of speed. In the case of "hypermedia" this is not quite accurate.
Hyper is derived from the Greek for "more than normal", excessive. When we speak of hypermedia, that's more in line with what is meant. Hypermedia allows us access to an excessive amount of options and media. But it means more than that as well.
Why is a speedometer a poor metaphor for hypermedia? A speedometer connotes linear travel. Hypermedia means not only being capable of accessing many media in excessive amounts, but, additionally and more importantly, mimicking the brain's ability to jump from one thought to another, and then back again.
That's what Web links allow us to do: go off on any one of a number of tangents with the option of returning. We can take any branch and then branch out from there. It is not linear.
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Hypermedia was originally more often referred to as "hypertext", but the word "text" is too limiting considering that the Web has the distinction of being able to deliver not only words, but images, sounds, and much more.
Take a moment to go to this link, travel down to about the 9th paragraph, where there is a quote introduced by the line : "It has been said that....". Read that paragraph. It is, I think, an apt description of what is meant by the term hypermedia. Top
One of the main goals of Web design is to cater to the needs and wishes of the viewer. The typical viewer of any particular Web page can be predicted, to varying degrees.
What the Web designer wants to do is to anticipate that viewer's probable thoughts and curiosities and then satisfy them, or at least address them. All this may also be tempered by commercial considerations, such as additionally attempting to get the viewer to buy, think, or do something we wish them to do. Top
Take a moment to look at this graphic which is intended to provoke thoughts such as: How many links should I have on a page? Where should I have my links go to? Why? Following is a list of what viewers want, explicitly or implicitly.
Once downloaded, how easy is it for people to use your site? How quickly will viewers leave your site if they don't understand it? The guru of Web site "usability" is Jakob Nielsen. I'd like you to scan the following articles of his about Web site design. It may open your eyes to the dire seriousness of making your site functional and usable. There are also tips on how to achieve those goals.
You are making your site so that other people can use it, aren't you? And you do want to make it easy for them to use and for them to want to hang around and return, don't you? Or do you just want to impress people? Determine your objectives first, then make certain you strive to attain them.
Usability is a discipline that is all to often ignored. I emphasize it so much because it is a vital part Web technology, and of a Web site's engineering and functionality: it is its human interface.
If you want to make money on the Web or use it as a vehicle to sway people's minds, or for whatever reason, the success or failure of your site will hinge on it's usability engineering as much or more than any other technical factor.
Usability must be a primary target of your work if you're doing almost any kind of Web work, whether you're in marketing, programming, visual design, or whatever. You want it to work and work well in every sense of the word. Top
To plan your Web site, perhaps the most important tools are the flowchart and storyboard. Here is where you plan your site before making any major commitments of time or money. Flow charts are just what you would expect, with the site's home page at the top and branching out downward into 2nd, 3rd, or more tiers of pages. It looks like an organization chart.
There are various tools available for this, the easiest being plain old pencil and paper. Some of the programs that can make flow charts are Visio for the PC and Claris Impact for Macs.
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint also have "text boxes" and line and arrow making tools in their drawing toolbars. These can be effectively used to create flow charts. Older versions of Office also included an applet called "MS Organization Chart" that is also suitable: you'll find it under Insert > Object (if it's there at all).
Storyboards for Web sites are not the same as in the film business. Instead of representing a chronological sequence of key images as they do in the film biz, these represent the different web pages: how they are to be designed and related. It's nonlinear and is used to represent design and navigation, not movement. In the case of Web animation or video, the traditional storyboard would come into play. Top
Take a minute to draw a rough depiction of what the home page for a local pet store ought to include and look like.
Care to guess how many server sites there are?
© 2004 Dan Vaughan
