Lupton: text and its relation to the web

Interestingly enough, I had trouble finding a website that I use commonly that is also highly interactive. Granted, I do use social networking sites like Facebook on a regular basis but I feel that is an instance where the user is conveying the message to others, not so much the website conveying the message to the user. Yes, there are tons of ads and applications that are arguably ways the website is trying to convey messages but I consider these secondary. One website that I use multiple times a day and is actually my default homepage is SportsIllustrated.com. 

This site can be highly interactive, but is very text heavy. There are tons of articles, picture galleries, and videos for users to peruse but again, I feel that it misses the objective. An interesting point if you visit the website are the different text layouts. A page that tries to cover so much makes good use of the techniques described by Lupton such as clear section hierarchies and different justifications for type.

Naturally, my next step was to pick a random letter and type it into my Safari web bar to see what the first pre-programed website is that Apple produces. D. At the very top of the list proved a very helpful website: Disney.com. Talk about an interactive website. The first thing you see when you enter the page is a streaming video of a new movie or show they are trying to promote. In this case it was an old movie, Toy Story, with a new twist, 3-D. 

This website plays on many different aspects commonly described as interactive and also key things that Lupton mentions. Firstly, there is minimal text on the screen and much of what is there is more of an iconic name or brand. The site is heavily picture oriented with very bright colors making it hard not to be eye catching at the very least. One thing the site does very well and is mentioned by Lupton is the use of icons. Across the top of the page there are different category headings such as games, videos, etc. but to go along with those headings are icons such as a video game controller, and a "play" button among other things. I think that this website is well geared toward the modern Internet user as it is accessible and entertaining. 

As far as our current media culture, I think the Disney site adequately shows what is in store for the future, for better or worse. Personally, most of my reading whether it be news or aimless articles, is done on the Internet. To see the loss of text, I personally think would be a bad thing. That being said however, most people want to be able to get the same information through reading less and I think the greater accessibility of these sites and the more graphic oriented they are furthers this goal. Many sites, if not already like this, are headed in this direction I think. 

Lupton: Text

Having read the second chapter of Lupton's book, 'Thinking of Type', I find myself learning so much more about text than I ever have although I've been writing/typing practically my whole life! Like typography, I took text for granted and never once gave thought about spacing, letter kerning and punctuation. While I have always thought that that was how text worked, Lupton states in her book that, 'Typography made text into a thing, a material object with known dimensions and fixed locations.'

Throughout the chapter, there were two particular things that I paid more attention to. Firstly, I found myself agreeing to Lupton when she wrote that one of design's most humane function is to help readers avoid reading. Most of us are accustomed to organizing our written/typed work like putting an indent to create a new paragraph or capitalizing and bolding the section headers. Like many books, I used to think that the purpose of doing so was to enhance the readability of the written word but now I agree completely with Lupton - these text functions actually help us navigate our way around the body of the text to pick up the content we want to read.

The next thing that greatly interested me was when Lupton proposed the question, 'Why, for example, are readers on the Web less patient than readers of the print?' This question leads me to the idea that people read more printed material than they do on the Web. If this is the case, then I have to disagree with Lupton. I find myself reading more on the Web than reading printed material. I feel that while it is more convenient to have printed materials in my hands, reading online material keeps me focused. I find that online materials are more interesting because online sites usually have more pictures or hyperlinks that will direct me to other interesting sites. Although going online puts people in a 'search mode', I feel that people do not necessarily disregard their 'processing mode'. After all, what is the point of finding something if one does not process the meaning of it?

Overall, not only did I enjoy reading the chapter and the thoughts that arose from reading it, but I loved the examples she gave particularly about the alignment of text because that gives me more ideas about how to align my text according to the purpose I am trying to achieve. This time, my text will be aligned as justified to give my blog post a clean structured look, and you can tell me if it works or not!