Transcript Metaphors, Graphics and Labels

Information Architecture & Design
• Week 8 Schedule
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Research Papers Due Today
Labels and Metaphors
Other Readings
Research Topic Presentations
Labeling Systems
• Labels are More Than Link Descriptors
• Convey the Structure and Purpose of the
Web Site
• Describe in the Language of the (Analyzed)
User(s) (But Not All Jargon)
• Differentiate Each Topic
• Imply Hierarchy
- News – Tech News – Computing News –
Macintosh News
• Nouns and Verbs (Mixed & Consistency)
• Reading Behavior
Varieties of Labels
• Contextual Links
• Headings
- Text
- Narrative Help
• Navigation System Choices
- Toolbars & Navigation Bars
- Application Functionality
• Index Terms
- Searching (Results)
- Browsing
• Graphics (Iconic)
- Maps
- Images
• Email Subject Lines
Rosenfeld p 80
Labels in Use
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A-Z Indexes (“Term Rotate” and Flatten)
Thesaurus of Labels (and Relationships)
Narrowing the Possibilities of Use
Examine All the Labels at End of Tech-Independent
Design
Consistent with Headings and <TITLE>
Bookmark Uniqueness
Work With Your Content (Content Analysis – Use
Search & Evaluate Results)
Card Sorting to Determine Structure and
Metaphors/Themes
Dates, Times, Sizes, Rankings & Categories Too
Good Labels
• Go Unnoticed
• Use Size and Color for Hierarchy
• Follow Consistent Graphical & Textual
Representation
• Describe and are Parallel to Other Labels
• Metaphorically Correct
• Use Rollover Text
• Communicates Part of the Structure of the Site (The
Name of the Label is like the Name of the Page it
Links to)
• Notes If It Breaks The Browsing Metaphor (another
Window via Links)
Bad Labelling Exampls
• Typos & Misspellings (See Above!)
• Too Much Text or Extraneous That Really Doesn’t
Tell You Anything About The Link That Makes You
Less Likely To Understand The Link And Actually
May Take More Time To Interpret Than Actually
Clicking On The Link Name
• TOO MUCH UPPERCASE TEXT THAT IS MORE
ARDUOUS TO READ AND COMPREHEND
• Links in Color
• “Click Here”
• Are Too Numerous
• Are Too Cute
Metaphors
• What Does the Web “Look” Like To You?
• What Does an Individual Web Site “Look”
Link To You?
• How Do You Integrate with Labels?
• How Does Metaphor Affect Memory of a Site
(during use and after a visit)?
• Always a Physical Space (Movement)?
- Information Highway
- Maps
- “Explorer” & “Navigator” (Opera?)
• How Do People Describe a Web Site Visit?
Maglio & Matlock (1998)
• Great Bibliography
• Users Remembered Little of Site Visits
- Anchor Points - Key Nodes that lead to Target Information
- Personal Routines – What Worked Before Will Work Now (!)
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Consistently Among Web Sites
Consistency Among Search Engines
Bad User Habits Continue
Bad Design Conventions Continue
- Language of Web Site Use
• Visiting
• Went…
- Talk Aloud Protocols When Studying Web Use
- Users Conceptualize Themselves Moving
TOWARD Information, not Information Being
BROUGHT to Them.
Maglio & Matlock (1998) 2
• Metaphor and Thought
- Lakoff and Johnson
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Not Only a Literary Device (in Study)
Linguistic Analysis
Cognitive Analysis
Trends and Metaphors of the Times
- Clockwork to Computers
• “Image Schemata”
- Pre-conceptual structures from our embodied experience
- Habits and Assumptions in terms of understanding
Maglio & Matlock (1998) 3
• Language Use on the Web
- Outside & Inside Actions
• System Actions
- Click, Scroll, Type
• Move
- Go, Follow
• Computer Assistance
- Display, Bring Up
• Information Action
- Look For, Search, Browse
• Individual Process
- Look, See
• Physical Motion Most Common
- What about the Browser? (Agency)
- What about Other Users? (Collaboration)