Re: OT: Azurian.

Hi Lars,

On Wed, 29 Oct 2008, Lars Finsen wrote:
>
> I am reasonably happy with the basic Azurian nominal morphology now,
> and have uploaded it to:
> http://www.ortygia.no/uriania/azuriansk-substantiv-eng.html
>
> I have given the page some basic embellishment as well. Is it any
> good, or will it ruin my pages if I apply it to them in general? Some
> feedback, please.
>
> LEF
  _____

The morphology is, IMO, unexceptionable.

As to the "embellishment", I take it you mean the
visual style, with these aspects:
 - bold headings in two sizes,
 - mid-grey background,
 - black foreground text,
 - reversed (bright yellow text on darker green) table headers?

The bold headings and their sizes work quite well.

The mid-grey background is, IMO, considerably darker than makes
for comfortable reading.  I would suggest you lighten it quite
a lot, thereby increasing the visual contrast and making it much
easier for (especially older) human (*) eyes to read.

(*) Can't say what Klingons, Vulcans, elfs, fairies or hobbits
might make of it.  To say nothing of trolls; there, I've said it.

As for reversed text, even in the small amounts used in your
table headers, the general advice I've read over the years is -
don't do it!  Seems that a large proportion of readers skip right
past it; if they do become aware of it, they find it harder to
read; but if they don't, it adds to a general perception that the
text is confusing or difficult.

I saw from your website that you work as a (mostly technical)
translator.  In the past, I've had occasion to assist and train
many of my colleagues in technical writing skills.  One of those
skills is a basic understanding the physiology of perception,
which helps in designing presentation forms that communicate more
effectively.  For example:

 - a minimum text size of 11 points works best;
 - high contrast between text and background increases clarity;
 - reversed text is poorly understood and assimilated;
 - except in very short communications, two or three columns of
normal-size text on an A4 page or screen are much easier to read
than full-width lines.  (This is because the reader can scan the
text with a single "fixation" (or glance) per line, rather than
the two or more that a wider line demands.)

Other aspects of readability to consider include:
 - shorter sentences are usually better than long ones;
 - simple sentences are usually better than complex ones;
 - lists and bullet points are easy to read;
 - since the active voice identifies the actor, it gives a clearer
picture of the action than the passive voice might;
 - use only abbreviations and acronyms your audience will know
 - prune unnecessary adjectives.

Though I've seen very little written specifically on readability
of websites, it is subject to physiological and perceptual con-
straints similar to those that apply to print.  Last Tuesday, my
eye was taken by a web ad for a website design business called
"Clean and Fast".  Their website is worth a look:
http://www.cleanandfast.co.uk/website_design_dorset.html

Hope this helps!

I'm all agog waiting to learn more about the language of the
Valley of Muna: is it a true isolate?  Or is it perhaps a distant
relative of a Finnic language like Livonian?  Time (or Lars) will
tell ...


Regards,
Yahya
  _____

Yahya Abdal-Aziz

Convener, Graphics SIG <http://groups.melbpc.org.au/~graphics>
Convener, Music SIG <http://groups.melbpc.org.au/~music>
Melbourne PC User Group <http://melbpc.org.au/>  (MelbPC)

Share my music, paintings, equation art, and thoughts on books, online at
eSnips:
http://www.eSnips.com/user/Yahya
  _____

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