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Copyright © 1999 by Bonnie Skaalid |
According to Schwier & Misanchuk [5], research on line length is contradictory, with recommendations (emanating from the print medium) ranging from 35 - 75 characters per line. 35
character line: 75
character line: In terms of CRT research, two studies reported that longer lines were better [1, 3] while another suggested that a rule of thumb is "text is read more efficiently when presented in a dense manner" [2, p. 26]. Misanchuk, Schwier & Boling [4] suggest that worrying about line length may be a moot point in terms of the web since users have the opportunity themselves to regulate the length of lines.
[1] Grabinger, R. S. (1993). Computer Screen Design: Viewer Judgments. Educational Technology, Research and Development , 41(2), 35-73. [2] Hooper, S., and Hannafin, M. J. (1986). Variables affecting the legibility of computer generated text. Journal of Instructional Development, 9 , 22-29. [3] Kolers, P.A., Duchnicky, R.L., & Ferguson, D.C. (1981). Eye movement measurement of readability of CRT displays. Human Factors, 23 , 517-527. [4] Misanchuk, E., Schwier, R. & Boling, E. (in press). Visual design for instructional multimedia. [5] Schwier, R., & Misanchuk, E. (1993) Interactive multimedia instruction . Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications, Inc. Screen
Research: [Screen
Grid and Layout
[
[Line
Length]
[Screen
Density]
[Font
Selection &
Leading]
[Icons,
Buttons, &
Menus][Color] Page
Design:[Multimedia
& Web Page Design
Principles]
[Screen
Design
Research]
[Screen
Resolution &
Size]
[Writing
Style] Main
Level: [Home
Page]
[Design
Theory][Site
Design]
[Page
Design]
[MultiMedia]
[Teacher
Resources]
[Table
of
Contents] |
