by Denny
Lancaster Copyright � 2005 by Denny Lancaster. All rights
reserved.
A discussion in
an award-producer forum about a concern in a significant
number of award presenters' award criteria -- "Does the
production make good use of white space?" or words to that
effect -- prompted research and this article.
The question addresses several other concerns, such as white
space usage in the rendering of web pages (HTML), the layout
of a web page, the mechanics of web page rendering,
differences in gender perception of online viewing, and the
learning experience which may result.
Brain Functions
Proficient performance (learning and comprehension) is
achieved with a number of key factors, one of which is
pattern recognition. Holyoak (1991) proposed a
contingency hypothesis for experts in which they learn and
perform in whatever way is most efficient. Although most of
our readers would not consider themselves an expert, the way
the brain processes information in men and women is quite
different, at least where the anatomy of the brain is
concerned. [1]
While men think more with their gray
matter, and women think more with the white, this does not
affect intellectual performance but may help explain
differences of opinion as to the question of what is good
use of white space.
Through an emerging body of recovery techniques and
procedures for those who are addicted to alcohol and other
substances, we also think we know that an answer to the
question of what is good use of white space is affected by
biological factors and levels of chemicals in the brain,
learned experiences which are permanently stored in brain
receptors, and environmental factors in which we learn
vicariously by following those around us to do (or not do)
what they do, and then practicing these behaviors until we
"learn" them. [2]
User Interface Update has reviewed and summarized
most of the usability-related research since 1983, which we
shall discuss briefly after an introduction to making an
assessment of our web productions.
Impressions of
what we see and read online are not just first
impressions, but occur at each stage of our viewing
experiences based upon what we have learned previously,
our environmental and biological factors, and (we think)
differences in how we process information and learn
depending on our gender. In stages, our brains assess web page speed, look, feel, information, functionality, accessibility,
"stickability" (ability to keep the viewer on the site) and consistency.
[3]
For most, this process seems
to be easy or an unconscious effort, depending upon pattern
recognition which is permanently stored in our brain.
While all of the usability-related research summarized in
Usability News relates directly or indirectly to white
space, there are several noted below which have a greater
impact within the awards community and upon those who build
web pages for fun and or pleasure:
Eye-tracking studies show that users tend to look first at
text, not images, by a nearly two-to-one margin;
Put the most important information on a
web page at the top center, because
that text will be seen first. The text at the bottom of a
page is rarely
seen;
Use larger point or scale sizes, sans serif fonts,
and side panels for
links, because users will investigate areas outside the
center when searching for the first time or
for a specific link;
Design for a screen resolution of 800-by-600 pixels.
At present, that
is the dominant resolution of users;
Do a design which encourages either linking or successful
searching of the site on the
first attempt. About 60% will continue to browse the
site (only 20% of
"searchers" continue to browse), and "linkers" are three
times more likely to
find related (valuable) information;
For those who
need to read text from small displays, do a design which uses
20-point text presented at speeds of about 250 words per
minute on RSVP-based
displays.
While the conclusions above may be well known,
there are others
that are
worthy of your consideration. Usability News is a must-read for the serious
award presenter or web page producer. [4]
White Space Studies
All of us are familiar with
color theory definitions,
concepts, and design
practices such as color harmony, color context and so forth,
and how they create subconscious reactions in the end user, if by no
other means than through
our own experiences. However, a study conducted by Usability
News' Barbara
Chaparro, J. Ryan Baker, A. Dawn Shaikh, Spring Hull, and
Laurie Brady may not be so familiar. The study
concludes that manipulation of
the margin white space affects both reading speed and comprehension, and
results in lower
satisfaction with the layout and perceived eyestrain when
paired with no
margins. Interestingly, 47% percent of participants
chose the margins present,
optimal leading layout as their favorite, while 50% chose
the no-margin, sub-optimal leading layout.
A
different study by Michael Bernard examines user
expectations and the location of web objects on web pages.
The study suggests that white space
probably does not
matter, and questions the "Nielsenization" of the web.
[5]
Perl programs and shell scripts, PL/SQL and other
programming languages are said
to be the driving forces which initially enable a visitor
to decide whether to
visit a particular web site or not. It should come as no
surprise that good
programmers use good programming style to ensure that their
source code is
easily read and understood, in order to
communicate the author's intentions.
The beginning of the program or script is very important. A
quick review of the
first dozen lines or so should provide the reader with
certain critical pieces
of information that will help to interpret or modify the
code. Liberal and
logical use of white space is one of the most effective ways
of making
programs and scripts more readable, by manipulating amount of
space between words, between lines, and between groups
of lines. Perhaps we
may learn from good programming practices and have a greater
appreciation as to
how these works compliment the development of our web pages.
[6]
Footnotes
[1] Richard Haier, Professor
of Psychology, University of California-Irvine.
Back to the text [2] The Addicted Brain,
by Steven E. Hyman. Back to the
text [3] Web Inn, South Africa.
Back to the text [4] Bob Bailey, Ph.D., Chief Scientist for HFI, provides a
year-end list of dos
and don'ts that are supported by recent research.
Back to the text [5] An empirical work with Baker, Chaparro and Fernandez.
Back to the text [6] Jim Skrentny and Deb Deppeler, University of Wisconsin,
1999-2002.
Denny
Lancaster was chairperson of the Heartland Golden
Heart Award (now inactive); evaluator for three years
with the Award of Excellence; mentor and evaluator
for The Site Fights for six years.
He is the father of four children, a tax attorney, a
certified webmaster through online courses and a MCI (master
certified instructor) in ten disciplines. He
established the Talking Hands Award because of his
love of "special children." The Talking Hands Award
has been in continuous operation since 1986.
Additional Internet activities include Validation Advisor
for Award Sites!, of which he has been a member since
1999, and Director of Memberships for APEX.
