Design Differences Between Print and Web

Jakob Nielson wrote in 1999 about the differences between Print and Web Design and states that the differences are in the design of dimensionality, navigation, response time, resolution, canvas size, multimedia, interactivity and overlays.

He says “Respect the Differences”, and states that anything that is good as a design is more than likely to fail as a web design. The differences between the two medium are great and one must approach the design differently for each medium, focusing on utilizing the strengths of each while minimizing the weaknesses.

In print, the design is 2-dimensional with the focus on the text layout. For web, the design is both 1-dimensional and N-dimensional with the focus on the scrolling experience.

Taking the Asian Wall Street Journal (AWSJ) and its online counterpart as an example, we can clearly see that what Nielson states is true.

To navigate the online AWSJ for news, I would have to scroll up and down the page and click the various links to gain access to other pages and stories. Response times in getting news varies, depending on your Internet connection speed, computer and server response. The print publication, on the other hand, gives you the instantaneous response you would like, with just a flip of the page. Furthermore, the online canvas size is limited to the screen size, unlike print, which gives designers the freedom of a broadsheet to be creative with.

Screenshot of the AWSJ

Comparing the online AWSJ to the print version, it is very natural for my eyes to be drawn to the top leftmost corner of the page (main picture) and then to scan down looking at the next biggest headline and again downwards, completing the N-dimensional process. In order for me to “navigate” around the newspapers, turning of the pages is required. Despite print’s ability to outshine the web in terms of response time, canvas size and resolution, it lacks the interactivity and multimedia features the web can boast of.

WSJ Print version                                      WSJ Print version with N-Dimension

In this advanced digital media age, those features are required to engage and keep readers interested.

References  

Nielsen, J, 1999, Differences Between Print Design and Web Design, viewed 21 February 2011, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html>