Designing for print media versus designing for the web can be a completely different experience. To better understand these differences, the two can be compared in major topic areas: types of media, audience, layout, color and technology.
In print, we have to try and get our audience to stay on a page long enough to get a marketing message across. Often then not we are faced with a limited area in which to achieve this, such as a one-page magazine ad. In some cases trying to catch their attention with a book magazine cover or the first page of a brochure is a task. Print design allows us to deal with a product physically, so properties such as texture and shape helps in achieving our design goals.
On the web, we generally have to keep our audience on a specific website for the longest period of time . The amount of pages to work with can be unlimited, by entertaining the audience with snippets of content to entice them into clicking further, it prolongs the surfing time. Direct navigation buttons that leads into other pages of the site plays an important part. Both print and web design require clear and effective layout. In both, the overall goal is the same as we use elements of design (shapes, lines, colors, type, etc) to present content to the audience.
The reason i reckon why advertising online is such a miracle worker for most business owners is the fact that creating an online advertisement is much easier and time saving than a print advertisement. Every minute spent doing traditional marketing campaigns are time wasting when it comes to getting prospective clients for businesses. On the other hand, not everybody can have access to a computer, let alone an internet connection. Despite the proliferation that technological finds and equipment has made our lives easier and less stressful, some people are still reliant on the age-old, time tested stability of the paper to get information, as well as to write one for later reference. There are still instances and situations when a print flyers is better than an online advertisement. For one thing, we can always reach those that are averse to the life of technology. In addition, targeted clients can always keep flyers printing items for later reading or use. And you don’t need electricity and a modem to be able to read flyers printing message. While the traditional marketing medium still attracts a lot of traders and entrepreneurs, it just goes to show that not everything can be had online. Paper and print flyers can still work its wonders when it comes to providing prospective clients with useful information. In fact, traditional print media still makes many clients feel comfortable.
Image Source : Adrian Hughes, 123RF
Reference : Nielsen, J, 1999, Differences Between Print Design and Web Design, useit.com, viewed 16 Sep 2008
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