« Greenwich Dream Time - Full Article | Main | Vacation »
March 06, 2005
How Semiotic Analysis helps to plan web pages, sites, and blogs.
“The important goal of a website is communication, and metaphor is a significant component of successful communication using a computer interface, and yet it does not appear to have been adopted.”
Grant Sherson The Relevance of Semiotics to the Internet: How Web Designers use Metaphors in Web Development
When creating and planning webpages, sites, and blogs, it is essential to keep in mind the ways audiences understand the signs. Iconic Metaphors are helpful in the process.
We store signs and metaphors in our minds and can apply their meanings effectively when prompted. For example, two browsers Netscape and Explorer both use similar interface designs that make good use of metaphors.
• Both use ‘home’ buttons to take the user back to their homepage.
• Both us a stop symbol to allow the user to stop a page from loading.
• Both use colorful moving icons to show the user that a page is loading.
However, the interface design between websites and blogs is not always this similar and does not always effectively use iconic metaphors. This is to be expected on some level as different sites and blogs strive to be unique. However, the lack of memorable metaphors slows down communication while the user is forced to learn another set of buttons or tries to remember the sites metaphors.
Webpages within the same site and blogs should be homogeneous. The repetitive use of metaphors within a site reminds the user where the and helps to create better communication between the site and the user.
Posted by arosenst at March 6, 2005 11:53 AM