Heavy Content Web Sites: Sources of Information

modified from http://ijhcs.open.ac.uk/shneiderman/shneiderman-nf.html

Information may be an index to other websites or it may be original material. Carefully polished individual life histories (Figure 4) and impressive organizational annual reports are becoming common as expectations and designer experience increases.

Figure 4: Life history of the photographer David Seymour ("Chim") with a time line showing eight segments of his work. Presented by the International Center of Photography in New York, NY. [http://www.icp.org/chim/chim2.html]

As commercial usage increases, elegant product catalogs, eye-catching advertisements, and lively newsletters will become the norm. Commercial and scientific publishers will join newspapers (Figure 5) and magazines in providing access to information while exploring the opportunities for feedback to editors, discussions with authors, and reader interest groups.

Figure 5: New York Times on-line, creating a condensed page layout to fit the typical home user. [http://www.nytimes.com]

Digital libraries of many varieties are appearing (Figure 6), but full recognition of their distinct benefits and design features is emerging more slowly. Entertainment websites are growing as fast as the audience gets online.

Figure 6: Perseus digital library, contains ancient Greek texts in original and English forms with maps, photos, architectural plans, vases, coins, etc., for students and researchers. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu]