I came upon this reading Thorney Fallis' blog. The Ottawa Hospital created an online version of their 2008-2009 annual report.
I thought it was really well done and it brings up the notion of how communications are changing. I'm a proponent that content is king - which is to say that creating compelling content is the first priority. Once you have great content, then how you disseminate it is your next important step.
I think organizations creating Web access to content are ahead of the curve. I don't think the demand by key stakeholders is huge yet and I think most still prefer the basics of print or pdf - basically inclusive packages that don't require a lot of clicking to view content. One of the draw backs of Web content is the amount of navigating it requires the user to participate in. Sounds a bit trite, but people are quick to walk away from something that requires click after click to view content.
Not to mention that I'm noticing that as we all spend more and more time in front of a computer that people are less than excited to spend even more time doing so. There's a reason people still read newspapers in their paper form or books in their paperback form. We can only stand being in front of a monitor for so long.
That said, cutting your teeth on digital content is not a bad thing as there are many people who will appreciate the easy and eye-pleasing access to information. And all of the graphic design, writing and structural design of your Web initiative is easily ported to print, killing two birds with one stone.
My view is that digital content will become the mainstay when portable access and high definition (ie. won't strain your eyes) access become ubiquitous. If you can imagine a world where everyone had an iPad you can begin to imagine a world where digital content becomes king. Which should be a boon to graphic designers around the world, who will be in greater demand than ever before.
I thought it was really well done and it brings up the notion of how communications are changing. I'm a proponent that content is king - which is to say that creating compelling content is the first priority. Once you have great content, then how you disseminate it is your next important step.
I think organizations creating Web access to content are ahead of the curve. I don't think the demand by key stakeholders is huge yet and I think most still prefer the basics of print or pdf - basically inclusive packages that don't require a lot of clicking to view content. One of the draw backs of Web content is the amount of navigating it requires the user to participate in. Sounds a bit trite, but people are quick to walk away from something that requires click after click to view content.
Not to mention that I'm noticing that as we all spend more and more time in front of a computer that people are less than excited to spend even more time doing so. There's a reason people still read newspapers in their paper form or books in their paperback form. We can only stand being in front of a monitor for so long.
That said, cutting your teeth on digital content is not a bad thing as there are many people who will appreciate the easy and eye-pleasing access to information. And all of the graphic design, writing and structural design of your Web initiative is easily ported to print, killing two birds with one stone.
My view is that digital content will become the mainstay when portable access and high definition (ie. won't strain your eyes) access become ubiquitous. If you can imagine a world where everyone had an iPad you can begin to imagine a world where digital content becomes king. Which should be a boon to graphic designers around the world, who will be in greater demand than ever before.
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