Profile #5: High Content -- need to deliver specific content outweighs the need to motivate a particular response from users.

Many Web sites that fit this profile are primarily geared toward providing information about the organization and disseminating information within the organization, while establishing and maintaining a professional image in line with audience expectations for "well-designed" sites.

Use graphics to create a visual identity, and sustain that identity throughout the site.

Two successful strategies for meeting this guideline are to use small graphics and buttons to build site identity and to use a smaller "signature graphic" for lower level pages that can double as a button to return to the main page. It is important, however, to be sure that images used to establish identity convey an appropriate message about the organization and its site. Media models should be avoided if they do not match the identity wanted for the site. It is also important that designers use few enough colors in identity graphics that the site has an identifiable color scheme, and that the color scheme is sustained throughout the site. First Monday: The Peer-Reviewed Journal on the Internet is an excellent example of a High Content site that establishes and maintains a strong visual identity using very few colors and simple graphics.

Use a consistent layout for every page and respect standard conventions for simple grid-based page design.

The Indiana University - Bloomington Web site establishes a standard format at the top level of the site and maintains the same layout across every main page of the site, until users reach individual programs and departments.

Reduce visual noise by keeping the number of non-identity graphics small and the number of different text treatments few.

The Interface Research and Interest Group site uses a plain banner with a simple color change for each section of the site, and a straightforward list format for each main page.

The National Biological Survey uses several small graphics on the main page to project a professional, well-designed image, then restricts the number of additional images on the rest of it's content-laden pages. A large image like the one on their BRD Centers page is information-bearing and adds direct content-value to the page.

More examples ... KidSource OnLine

AMTEC 1997 Conference, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
Elizabeth Boling, Barbara Bichelmeyer, Kurt Squire, Sonny Kirkley
Indiana University
Last updated 1 June 1997
URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~iirg/RESEARCH/AMTEC97/profile5.html