| dc.description.abstract | One of the most important skills for almost everyone to have in the next decade and beyond will be those that allow us to create valuable, compelling, and empowering information and experiences for others (Shedroff, 1994).
Informatics was traditionally concerned with hardware and software, algorithms and programming languages. While those issues remain important, there is a relatively new area of interest for informaticians internet. Internet user interface brings into focus the need for structuring information as well as the visual aspect of how is this information displayed. And this is the meeting point of two previously disjoint worlds the world of informatics and the world of sensory perceptions: visual art, graphic design and audio design.
From my own experience and that of my fellow informatics students, we are usually content if what we make looks nice, but we have no concern for the effect our visual design and structure might have on users. We have no way of knowing that our visual-language may convey a message that is in direct confrontation, and working against, our intended message. In their article Visual Representation and the Web (Karabeg&Akkøk, 2004a), authors point out that while we are trained in writing, grammar and spelling at school, we do not learn very much about making images work for our purpose, or about the impact images have on us. Another problem might be, that everything concerning colours and layout is considered as art, and therefore not scientific and not objective, therefore not the subject of studies at the scientific field of informatics.
In my opinion it is crucial to learn how to make the different visual entities of a web-site, like typography, colour, animations and pictures, work together in order to convey the right end-message to the user.
The whole culture is becoming increasingly visual. And visual literacy and intelligence are needed skills. I believe that informaticians, in particular those concerned with user interface and internet, should develop these skills. We have to understand and utilise to our advantage the visual language. This thesis is a step in that direction. | nor |