Abstract
This all-day tutorial teaches how to create hypertext documents in HTML for
use with the World Wide Web, along with visual design principles to make such
documents pleasant and efficient conveyors of information.
Keywords:
Hypertext, Visual Design, Graphical Design, User Interface Design,
Mosaic, World-Wide Web
PURPOSE OF THE TUTORIAL
This all-day tutorial is designed to provide practical information for
creating effective hypertext documents for use with World Wide Web information
service clients such as Mosaic. Participants will learn both the technical
aspects of creating hypertext documents with HTML (the HyperText Markup
Language based on SGML), and setting up a Web server, as well as critical
visual design principles and techniques for effectively organizing
information and conveying it pleasingly and efficiently.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
The tutorial is aimed at engineers or designers who are building or
planning to build hypertext documents in HTML. No prior experience with
hypertext, HTML, Mosaic, or visual design is required.
TUTORIAL CONTENT
The first half of the tutorial is devoted to a brief introduction to
the Internet, the World Wide Web, HTML, and Mosaic, followed by an
extensive presentation of the mechanics of creating documents with HTML.
There is also a short discussion of how to set up and maintain a Web server.
The second half focuses on the visual design principles and methods used
to create effective hypertext documents, from the initial design requirements,
through the development of an organizational framework, to the layout and
formatting of information in multiple media (text, graphics, video, and audio).
TUTORIAL OUTLINE
I. Introduction to the Internet and the World Wide Web
II. Demonstration of HTML and WWW
III. HTML and Authoring HTML Documents
IV. Setting Up Your Own WWW Server
V. The Design Process: Determining Audience and Goals
VI. The Design Process: Determining Information Content and Scope
VII. The Design Process: Designing an Organizational Framework
VIII. The Design Process: Visual Design for HTML
IX. Design Evaluation
X. Summary and Question Period
TUTORIAL FORMAT
The format is that of a small workshop. Use of a portable workstation running
Mosaic and displaying on a Barco projector allows for vivid demonstration
not only of sample Mosaic information servers available, but also real-time
demonstration of HTML techniques and concrete examples of good and bad design.
In addition, two large and well-designed examples are examined in detail as
each step of the design process is explained.
To give participants an opportunity to practice what they have learned,
they will work in small groups to carry out the design process step by step
on a relevant design exercise: designing an HTML interface to the CHI '95
conference proceedings on CD-ROM.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Darrell Sano is an Interface Designer at Netscape Communications. He holds
an MFA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,
and has over eight years of professional design experience as well as work
on a variety of next-generation and real-world software products for SunSoft.
His work includes the WorldCupUSA94 and Sun Microsystems Mosaic servers.
He has taught visual design at the ACM CHI conference and is co-author of
the recently published book, Designing Visual Interfaces: Communication
Oriented Techniques.
Carl Meske is Internet Technical Program Manager in the Internetworking
Solutions Department at Sun Microsystems. In addition to his extensive
experience in information systems management, he has inspired and directed
the deployment of Mosaic throughout Sun Microsystems, and is a "Webmaster"
for Sun's external Web servers. He was the lead implementor for the
WorldCupUSA94 Web server, accessed by over three million people during
the world soccer championship competition.
Jarrett Rosenberg is a Human Interface Engineer at Sun Microsystems.
He holds a doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of
California at Berkeley, and has over a decade of experience in user interface
research and design, starting with Xerox PARC and work on the Xerox Star system.
He has conducted research on hypertext systems at HP Labs, and worked on the
design of OPEN LOOK at Sun. He also teaches tutorials on designing graphical
user interfaces.
