Online Media vs. Print Media

The methods of designing online media versus print media is very different. It is very different in designing an online media as compared to print media.
I will be focusing on two principles of designs.

Online Media: Blogs, Webpages, Vlogs, Moblogs

Print Media: Magazine, Newspaper, Fact Sheet

Headings

The main part of a context is usually the headings that captures readers' attention. IT has to be big enough, colored and catchy. According to Reeps (2006), "Headings are organizational cues that alert readers to the sequence of information in a document." Headings on print media are rather big with vibrant colors to capture the reader's attention whereas on online media, headings are usually blend in with the context, it is does not stand out from the context to capture readers. Navigating on online media is much easier compared to print media. In online media, an empty tab will be placed on the top right hand corner of the screen that enables us to find information easily, whereas in print media they are classified into respective subjects that could only be found through the header and footer. (Topic and Page No.)

Layout

In print media, the layout of the content is nicely fit into an A3 size paper (2D). Images in print media are vaguely seen whereas in online media, images are clearer with better pixels. The layout for an online media determines on the theme itself. News and Advertisements are nicely fit on to the webpage(1D). Colors that are used in print media are rather dull compared to an online media. Online media colors are more vibrant and it easily captures the reader's attention.

It is hard to say which media is most popular, but many a time, people still prefers the old school way of print media. Because it more reliable compared to an online media where it could be fake/corrupted. The other difference of online media versus print media is that online media provides the scrolling experience than in print media of flipping pages (Nielson, 1999).

Example of Print Media. (The Star)

Example of Online Media. (The Star)

Reference:

1. Nielsen J 1999, Differences between print design and web design, online, retrieved 5 November 2009, fromhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html



2. Reep, Diana C. 2006, ‘Chp 4: Principles of Document Design,’ in Technical Writing, 6th ed., Pearson Edu, Inc., New York, p.173-190.