This article describes the evolution of computer interface research issues from text-based interface design guidelines to more complex issues, including media selection, interface design, and visual design. This research is then integrated into the Analysis-based Message Design (AMD) process. The AMD process divides the interface design process…

The design of systems, including digital libraries, is often inspired by what technology makes possible. In user-centered design, design emphasizes users, their tasks and needs. The majority of current digital libraries are not designed for children. For digital libraries to be popular with children, they need to be fun and easy-to-use. This paper…

This paper presents an academic World Wide Web authoring tool called AutoHTML. This tool, a work in progress, is designed to allow the novice user the ability to construct high level Web pages with a consistent look and feel. The system works with a standard Web browser without the addition of component plug-ins. Additional HTML meta-tags are…

Dynamic discussions have begun to emerge concerning style of presentation on world wide web sites. Some hypertext markup language (HTML) designers seek an intimate and chatty ambience, while others want to project a more professional image. Evaluators see many sites as overdecorated and indecipherable. This paper offers suggestions on selecting…

State-of-the-art computers being used today for instructional multimedia products have monitors capable of displaying millions of different colors. Designers are given virtually unlimited control over the factors that govern the display of these colors. This paper examines how color is displayed on computer monitors and interrelationships with how…

With no standards governing their creation, a variety of formats are being used for World Wide Web homepages. Some are well organized, present their information clearly, and work with multiple browsers. Others, however, are slow to load, function poorly with some Web browsing software, and are so badly structured that they are very difficult to…

This paper compares and discusses the results from two user studies of interactive television (ITV) with a total of 50 subjects. The interfaces of two different ITV information services were studied: one with a place-like interface rich in graphics, animation and audio, and the other a simple interface with text and still images. In the first…

Presents a new technique for information access based on a combination of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and conceptual structures as modeled in relational concept analysis. Describes a graphical interface that allows access of spatial, hierarchical, and linear data in a common manner; discusses its features and limits. (Author/AEF)

As information delivery systems on the Internet increasingly evolve into World Wide Web browsers, understanding key graphical elements of the browser interface is critical to the design of effective information display and access tools. Image maps are one such element, and this document describes a pilot study that collected, reviewed, and…

This paper examines the main issues in hypermedia navigation, proposes research questions, and suggests a methodology for resolving those questions. The paper begins with an overview of navigation and a discussion of design issues in hypermedia databases, including being lost in hyperspace, the use of hypermaps, proper balance between links and…

The most common use of computers in distance education is in the preparation of a visual image that is somehow transmitted to students. This paper addresses some design considerations for computer-produced visual displays that are intended for either local or distant audiences. Advice is offered on all three basic components of information…

The development of potentially powerful computer-based tools within rich learning environments is hampered by the constraints of delivery systems (specifically low-resolution, low-real estate displays). In designing a World Wide Web-based tool for manipulating time-based information, the authors have encountered a lack of guidelines or empirical…

The study investigated the elements of font size and line spacing in World Wide Web menus for both a scrolled and not scrolled condition with a sample of undergraduate university students. Subjects were 185 students enrolled in 13 section of educational technology preservice teacher courses at the University of Northern Colorado. Students were…

There are several approaches a World Wide Web site designer considers in developing a menu structure. One consideration is the content of the menus (what choices are available to the user). Another consideration is the physical layout of the menu structure. The physical layout of a menu may be described as being one of at least three different…

Using a participatory approach, 11 middle school children created paper prototypes for Web search engines. The prototypes were analyzed in relation to content-related spaces, specific spaces, general spaces, instruction spaces, and other spaces. Children's comments about the purposes of the interfaces were analyzed in terms of functionality and…