Online information is unique in its outreach. It can be viewed and read by anyone, anywhere in the world. Catering for this diversity requires a specific awareness of contexts and users, and a particular set of information design techniques. This colloquium describes some of the issues involved in preparing content for online users

1. Rosário Durão Center for Comparative Studies, University of Lisbon CEC / CEAUL Designing information for online users.Numbers. Profiles. Techniques. Colloquium University of Lisbon, Faculty of Letters March 3, 2011 – 6:00-8:00 pm – Room 5.2

2. 2 Center for Comparative Studies, Univ. of Lisbon Center for English Studies of the University of Lisbon Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Post Doctoral Grant ref. SFRH/BPD/43227/2008) acknowledgements

3. I – NUMBERS Characteristics of online information Interfaces Users II – PROFILES Personas III – TECHNIQUES Worst and best practices Objectives of interface design 3 Contents

4. Interface components Designing information Designing information for online users Implications of “meaning” and universality 4 Contents

5. “The dream behind the Web is of a common information space in which we communicate by sharing information. Its universality is essential: the fact that a hypertext link can point to anything, be it personal, local or global, be it draft or highly polished.” Tim Berners-Lee, 7 Maio, 1998 5

6. NUMBERS I 6

7. I. NUMBERSCharacteristics of online information What is online information? What is the purpose of online information? How does online information work? 7

8. I. NUMBERSCharacteristics of online information What is online information? A tool A predominantly visualmedium An artifact characterized by modular content An artifact where “Content is king!” 8 Sources: Galitz 4-5; Horton 1990

9. I. NUMBERSCharacteristics of online information What is the purpose of online information? To “satisfy the user’s needs, capabilities, and limitations in the most effective way possible.” 9 Source: (trad.) Galitz 4

10. I. NUMBERSCharacteristics of online information How does online information work? Engineers, manufacturers, authors, designers, and professional communicators produce material and graphic interafaces that “people can see, hear, touch, talk to, or otherwise understand or direct.” For most people, there is only the interface. 10 Source: Galitz, 4-5

11. I. NUMBERSCharacteristics of online information What type of interfaces? For what users? To do what? Where? How? 11

12. I. NUMBERSCharacteristics of online information What type of interfaces? 12

13. I. NUMBERSInterfaces Alternative input devices (keyboards, trackballs, touch screens, sip-and-puff devices, head daubers) Light emitting devices, touch typing devices,eye trackers Braille displays and embossers Speech recognition, speech synthethizers … 13

14. I. NUMBERSUsers For what users? Everyone Age Disability Culture Language Technological factors 14

15. Age Increasing life expectancy Decreasing fertility I. NUMBERSUsers 15 Source: United Nations 2001

16. I. NUMBERSUsers 16 Source: United Nations 2001; : CIA, The World Factbook; Moreira s/d

17. Implications of age Aging and work Aging and technologies Active population 40+ = 48% of active population (>68 million) (US 2003) Active population 45+: 69% plans to continue working after 65 (same job, another job, new career, own business) (US 2003) Active population with current computer skills retires later -> training I. NUMBERSUsers 17 Source: Charness 2008; Mosner 2003

18. Disability Concept Communicative (hearing, seeing, speaking difficulty/impossibility) Mental (learning difficulty; Alzheimer, ADD, autism, senility …) Physical (difficulty in walking 1 km, going up the stairs, holding objects, getting in and out of bed; using a cane, walker; arthritis, fractures; cancer; heart problems, paralysis (including cerebral) …) I. NUMBERSUsers 18 Source: Americans With Disabilities: 2005, Census Bureau

19. Disability rates by age (UK 2000-2001) I. NUMBERSUsers 19 Source: Charness e Jastrzembski 2009

20. Disability rates, by type, and age (US) Disability rates, by type, and age (PT) (6/100 - c. 642.000) I. NUMBERSUsers 20 Sources: National Health Interview Survey on Disability 1995-1995; Gonçalves 2001

21. Implications Disability and technologies I. NUMBERSUsers 21 “Many disabled people use extra gadgets to help them use the Web … Many, many other people who don’t necessarily define themselves as having a disability (such as older people) just soldier on without any assistance, peering at low-contrast, unscalable, 10-point type or trying to click tiny radio buttons on order forms.” “Technological advances offer the promise of compensating for some of these declines, enabling older adults to lead not just longer, but healthier and more productive, lives.” Source: Lawson 2006; Charness 2008

22. Disability and work I. NUMBERSUsers 22 Source: Brault 2008

23. Culture Importance “When users browse the Web pages, they will unconsciously apply their cultural preferences to evaluate the design of Web pages.” I. NUMBERSUsers 23 Source: Sun 2001; Baack e Singh 2007

24. Communication context High vs. Low context culture (HCC vs. LCC) Individualist vs. Collectivist culture (IC vs. CC) HCC. Endogroup culture, inference (Japanese, Chinese, Arab, Latin-American) LCC. Exogroup culture, explicit (Scandinavia, Germany) (Edward T. Hall) IC. Independence, little social cohesion (US, France, Germany, Canada)CC.Strong social bonds, group loyalty (Japan, Mexico, Greece) (Geert Hofstede) I. NUMBERSUsers 24 Source: Hoft 1995

25. Social organization High vs. Low power distance (HPD vs. LPD) Satus by adscription vs. By achievement (SAd vs. SAc) HPD. Fear of talking to people that are hierarchically superior (Latin-America, Asia, Africa) LPD. Interaction of heterogeneous groups (US, UK, Denmark, New Zealand, Israel) (Geert Hofstede) SAd. Tradition (Russia, Japan, Belgium, Spain, France) SAc. Individual goals, competence (Norway, US, UK, Canada) (FonsTrompenaars) I. NUMBERSUsers 25 Source: Hoft 1995

26. Concept of time Polychronic vs. Monochronic time (PT vs. MT) PT. Simultaneous and co-occurring time: schedules as objectives, lifelong relationships, simultaneous tasks, distractions and interruptions (Middle Eastern, Latin-American, and Mediterranean cultures) MT. Sequential and linear time: planning and scheduling, importance of work, brief relationships (time is money), one task at a time (cultures from North of Europe) (Edward T. Hall) I. NUMBERSUsers 26 Source: Honold 1999

27. Chinese and German cultural concepts of learning I. NUMBERSUsers 27 Source: Honold 1999

28. Language Language(s) I. NUMBERSUsers 28 Source: International World Stats 2010

29. Literacy Type % I. NUMBERSUsers 29 Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

30. Technological factors Connection type Connection speed and reliability I. NUMBERSUsers 30 Sources: Henry 2006; ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators Database

31. Type of equipment Age of equipment I. NUMBERSUsers 31 Sources: Henry 2006; Zickuh 2001; CIA, The World Factbook

32. To do what? Computers Cell phones Talk to friends and other people Access the Internet View information, make choices and decisions Make transactions, and check bank statements Make appointments, hold meetings... Study and do research Send and receive email, messages, photos, documents… Take photographs Play games, listen to music, watch movies … I. NUMBERSUsers 32

33. Where? Anywhere in the world, in any context or situation Locale Context/situation I. NUMBERSUsers 33

34. I. NUMBERSUsers 34

35. I. NUMBERSUsers 35 How? Evaluate and make decisions Identify Decide Manipulate Collect “MAXIM People will spend many, many hours staringat your screens.” concerning the need or task needs and tasks how to do a task or find what we want the keyboard, mouse, etc. to select an item from a list, press a command, enter data in text boxes... the data and content we need, and exclude those we do not need Source: Galitz 2007

36. Aesthetics and emotions Aesthetic decision: 50 milliseconds (1/20 second); rarely changes Attractive = easy, confidence, good; favorable to problem solvingNot attractive = rejection I. NUMBERSUsers 36 Sources: Norman 2003; Lindgaard 2006; van der Geest e van Dongelen 2009

37. PROFILES II 37

38. 38 Imagine the personas in the next 14 profiles were real people, with real needs, activities, and expectations, living in real cities and villages. At this precise moment, all these ‘people’ could be viewingthis same page.

39. Abel Student – 12 Abel lives in the city of Beira, in Mozambique. Abel goes to middle school. He also helps his mother in the fields and takes care of his younger brother and sister. His native language is Cyiao, his second language Portuguese. There are no computers at school, but his family has a cell phone. When it’s his turn to use it, Abel uses the phone to study, check the results of the football games, and take photographs. Whenever someone else asks him to use the phone, he proudly hands it over to them. I want to be an engineer, so I have to be very good at Math, Portuguese and English – and the apps help me do that. I wish there were more images on the screen. II. PROFILESPersonas 39 Source: Vodaphone 2005

40. Florine Student – 15 Florine is in high school, but she does not like to study. She lives with her parents outside Brussels. Florine sings in a band. She loves technologies. She uses her Macs (Pro, Pad, Phone, and Pod) to be constantly in contact with her friends, listen to music, update the band’s website, and promote their songs on YouTube. My Macs are my freedom. The Internet my extension – except when I went to Madeira. That really … me off! II. PROFILESPersonas 40 Source: Norman 2011

41. César Mechanic – 26 César lives in São Paulo, Brazil. He bought a new computer 6 years ago, which he uses to play games and listen to music. But he prefers his cell phone. You see, he’s more of a people person. He loves to be with his friends, and most of all his girlfriend. I like a good story. I can’t stand waiting for things to happen on the computer. When something’s taking too long, I switch to another site. When I find something interesting, I use the keyboard to move around – it’s faster. II. PROFILESPersonas 41 Source: Thatcher 1999

42. Noha lives in Alexandria, Egypt. She speaks Arabic, and some English, French, and German. She divides her days between her family, and work. She is a religious person. She sympathizes with the democratic party. Noha uses the Internet every day at work. At home, she uses it to buy things for the family and talk to her friends. The internet is very important for my research. To log data, and search for information. The laboratory where I work subscribes many journals, mostly in English. I read English well, but I need to speak it better. Much better. I want to go to the States to do a postdoc. And I need to write, and publish my own articles in well-known peer-reviewed journals. نهى Noha Researcher – 29 II. PROFILESPersonas 42

43. Duarte Businessperson – 33 Duarte is from Lisbon, Portugal. He speaks English very well. Duarte likes radical sports. Two years ago, he founded his own nanotechnology company, and he’s already selling his products to Asian countries, the States, and other European countries. He has 3 cell phones, and two laptops, one in the office. The other one is always with him. The company is growing fast – and this is just the beginning. I’m looking for a good webdesigner, someone that can make the website appealing to all the markets. II. PROFILESPersonas 43

44. 馮慧靈 | 冯慧灵 | Feng Huiling Manager – 38 Feng Huiling lives in Shanghai, China. She is very friendly, though reserved. She lives in small, simple apartment with her husband and daughter. She goes to work by bicycle every day. Feng Huiling is the manager of a restaurant in China. It is a very demanding job, requiring great effort and dedication on her part. There is nothing about the restaurant management business that she does not know. The restaurant has one computer, that everybody uses. I asked my friend to make a site for the restaurant with a garden on the first page, not a ‘desktop’. It will be full of information. I like gardens. I like images and a lot of color, specially red. It’s my favorite. II. PROFILESPersonas 44 Sources: Lo e Gong 2005; International Business Cultures

45. Greg Writer – 42 Greg lives in the the States, in the small city of Ames. When he was 28, Greg had an accident that left him paralyzed from the neck down. He is married and has three children. He has a large network of friends, including the doctors, nurses, and other people that take care of him, but he likes to be as independent as possible. He is writing a book about his life, by himself on the computer. I want to try the new sip-and-puff pen Maria told me about. A Portuguese man invented it, I believe, and he’s the only one selling it. Have to check out his website. II. PROFILESPersonas 45

46. Luís Clerk– 45 Luís is from Barcelos, in Portugal. He works as a clerk in an import-export company. Luís has photosensitive epilepsy. He finds it difficult to distinguish images on the screen, in spite of wearing glasses (which takes off when taking photographs). I like my colleagues, and the work I do. But I can’t distinguish the colors and letters well. If only I had a bigger screen … but the situation is so bad, I don’t dare ask the boss for one. When I retire, I might start my own business. Probably a webdesign company, but for people with disabilities. We badly need one in Portugal. I’ll never forget the day when I wanted to get my son a surfboard, but the letters were so small I could hardly see them, and the navigation was a total disaster. In any other place, I would have taken them to court. II. PROFILESPersonas 46

47. Irina lives in Moscow, Russia. She is a library assistant at Moscow State University. The university became fully automated recently, but Irina found it easy to adapt because of the various training courses the university provided. A few months ago, she needed a consultant in customer service, and could not find one. I suddently realized I could be the one to start a consulting firm and give courses in customer service. So I began searching the Internet. I saw what other people were doing in other countries, and I sent them emails and spoke with them. I learned a lot about starting a business. II. PROFILESPersonas Ирина | Irina Library assistant – 48 47

48. Esteban Farmer – 53 Esteban has a farm, about 300 miles from the city of Chihuahua, in Mexico. Esteban lives with his large family, for whose well-being he feels totally responsible. He plants corn and soy. He does organic farming. He has been so successful that farmers from India and Africa often come to his farm to learn about his methods and results. The new technologies help me keep up-to-date on my field, and talk to my family when I’m away. I don’tlikepagesthat are toocrowded. Theydistract me fromwhat I needto do. II. PROFILESPersonas 48

49. Helga International Professional Communicator – 56 Helga owns an international professional communication company, with offices in Frankfurt, New York, and Tokyo. She was born in Wiesbaden. Her husband is Portuguese. Helga hates wasting time and words. She believes in the value of clear, concise, objective writing. She plans everything to the last detail. I don’t have time to waste. And neither do users. Web interfaces have to be adapted to the different cultures and nationalities, but also to the more universal factors of perception and cognition. I have rheumatism in my hands. Some days it’s a bit difficult to use a mouse. II. PROFILESPersonas 49 Source: Kostelnick 1995

50. सुरेश| Suresh Craftsman – 65 Suresh lives in Panaji, the capital of Goa, in India. Suresh makes handicrafts that are sold all over the world, gaining him a good income. His native languages are Konkani and Hindi. He also knows how to speak English and Portuguese. Suresh is very agileand energetic. He has a computer at home that he uses to talk to people wanting to buy his work. The problem are the languages. In India, no one wants to buy my work. In Europe, the States, and other places, they do. I don’t know how to write English. And I can only write a little Portuguese. My grandchildren taught me how to speak to people through the computer, instead of writing. Like this, I don’t even need an intermediary. I sell my work directly to the clients. II. PROFILESPersonas 50

51. Margaret Retired – 75 Margaret is from New Zealand. Margaret has some motor difficulties. She recently fractured her hip bone, and is recovering from the surgery. She is married and lives with her husband in a large house and grounds, a few miles away from Auckland. She has a desktop computer, a mobile phone, and an iPad. For some time now, she’s been using the computer for daily tasks, like making doctor appointments, checking her bank statements, and doing shopping. I’m quite used to doing things online. And I don’t mind paying more for a computer that is the exact match for my needs. The iPad, for instance, has been a great help lately. II. PROFILESPersonas 51 Source: Wright et al 2008

52. Joaquina Retired – 85 Joaquina lives in the small village of Quelfes, in the Algarve, Portugal. Joaquina is retired. She had two years’ schooling when she was young. She has difficulty reading and writing because she spent all her life in the same out-of-the-way village in the hills. Joaquina is a wonderful storyteller. Every day, at the end of the day, she sits on a bench in front of her house, thinking about this and that, and chatting to anyone going by. Now eveybody’s got a cell phone and a computer. I don’t understand any of that. The other day, I heard the government wants us to do everything on the Internet. I live by myself, and have a small pension. My neighbors too – we’re all on the same boat. I don’t know what I’m going to do… Nothing, I suppose… II. PROFILESPersonas 52

53. TECHNIQUES III 53

54. Worst practices http://www.cm-lisboa.pt/ http://www.impetusunderwear.com/ Best practices http://www.clarity2010.com/ http://www.universaldesign.ie/ III. TECHNIQUESWorst and best practices 54

55. Reduce visual effort intellectual effort resourting to memory motor activity  Easeof use Minimize or eliminate tasks and instructions related to the equipments’ internal functioning  Invisibilityof the interface 55 III. TECHNIQUESObjectives of interface design Source: Galitz 2007

56. Every Element Control Alternativetext Information chunk Emphasis Color Graphic Animation Message User reply NEEDS to help users attain their objective(s) make sense for each user  cultural-semantic 56 III. TECHNIQUESInterface components Source: Galitz 2007

57. Figure/ground contrast Legible and scalable font Clear and correct, short and descriptive titles Information in chunks Clear and simple language Clear and consistent navigation Good color selection Good image selection Simple, pertinent, and clearly identified graphics and tables Pertinent hyperlinks Style sheets (css) Alternative text for images, audio and video Alternative pages Captions for audio and video III. TECHNIQUESDesigning information 57 Source: Charness 2007; Mosner 2003; Wright 2004; Thatcher 2006

58. 58 … adapted to …

59. Corporation Brand Profitability… Type of corporation (Inter)national operating strategy Type of market Type of product/servicve Users Language(s) Learning style Communication style Visual literacy Technological literacy Computer literacy Equipment and interfaces III. TECHNIQUESDesigning information for online users 59 Source: Hoft 1995

60. III. TECHNIQUESImplications of “meaning” and universality 60 Create for differentiated users and equipament Adapt for universal reception and the situation of companies and organizations in the world (translate – localize – design afresh) Test with representative and differentiated users inrepresentative and differentiated situations and contexts with representative and differentiated equipament and interfaces = a new approach

61. REFERENCES 61

62. REFERENCES Baack, Daniel W., Nitish Singh (2007). Culture and web communications. Journal of Business Research, 60(3): 181-188. Brault, Matthew W. (2008). Current Population Reports. Americans With Disabilities: 2005. Household Economic Studies. U.S.CensusBureau. Charness, Neil (2008). Technology as multiplier effect for an aging workforce. In Social structures and aging individuals: Continuing challenges. Eds. D. Warner Schaie, and Ronald P. Abeles. New York: Springer. Charness, Neil, and Tiffany Jastrzembski (2009). Gerontechnology. In Future interaction design II. Eds. Pertti Saariluoma, Hannakaisa Isomäki. London: Springer-Verlag London. CIA, The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ 62

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65. REFERENCES Lindgaard, et al (2006). Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression. Behaviour & Information technology, 25(2), 115-126. Lo, Panqun Gong (2005). Cultural impact on the design of e-commerce websites: Part I – site format and layout, Issues in Information Systems, 6(2): 182-188. Moreira, Maria de Fátima Carvalho (s/d). O Envelhecimento da População e o seu Impacto na Habitação. Prospectiva Até 2050. Tese de mestrado, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Instituto Superior de Estatística e Gestão de Informação. Mosner, Ellen (2003). The convergence of the aging workforce and accessible technology. The implications for commerce, business and policy. Microsoft Corporation, and Age Light. 65

66. REFERENCES Norman, Don (2011). I Have Seen the Future and I Am Opposed. Core77 design magazine & resource. http://www.core77.com/blog/columns/i_have_seen_the_future_and_i_am_opposed_18532.asp Norman, Donald (2004). Emotional Design. Why we love (or hate) everyday things. New York: Basic Books. Sun, Huatong (2001). Building a culturally-competent corporate web site: an exploratory study of cultural markers in multilingual web design. Proceedings SIGDOC '01 Proceedings of the 19th annual international conference on Computer documentation. ACM 66

67. REFERENCES United Nations (2001). World Population Ageing: 1950-2050. United Nations Publications. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/ U.S. Census Bureau (2008). Americans With Disabilities: 2005. Household economic studies. U.S. Department of Commerce. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-117.pdf Thatcher, Jim et al. (2006). Web accessibility. Web standards and regulatory compliance. Berkeley, CA: Apress. Types of Assistive Technology Products. Microsoft. http://www.microsoft.com/enable/at/types.aspx 67

68. REFERENCES UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2010). Adult and youth literacy: Global trends in gender parity. UNESCO Institute for Statistics. van der Geest , Thea, Raymond van Dongelen (2009). What is beautiful is useful – visual appeal and expected information quality. IPCC 2009 International Professional Communication Conference. IEEE Professional Communication Society. Vodaphone (2005). Africa: The impact of mobile phones. The Vodaphone Policy Paper Series, 2. Wright, P., Belt, S., Soroka, A. J., Pham, D. T., Dimov, S., DeRoure, D. C., et al. (2008). Cognitive support for older people from multimedia options. In: The 6th International Conference of the International Society for Gerontechnology (ISG 08), June 2008, Pisa, Italy, p. 241. 68

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70. 70 Thank you! www.rosariodurao.net