On Thu, 6 Nov 2014, King Beowulf wrote: > same here. I almost missed it myself when I was poking around. Seems > these young snots keep messing with the UI design and forget about anyone > over 40...or 50...
Unfortunately, the adherence to the church of coolness is endemic and is found across the range of displays, particularly on computers. About 20 years ago I attended a workshop in Portland on the use of color and other factors on computer visuals for presentations. It was offered by that local famous maker of LCD projectors (_very_ expensive at the time) whose name I have forgotten. Anyway, there were two key points on the use of color: 1) keep contrast high: light foreground text on dark background text and vice-versa; 2) the main color theme affects the audience's emotions and impression of the presenter. Not only should contrast be high, but the colors should be selected for the size and lighting of the presentation venue. In a large room, bright white or yellow text on a black background is not easily seen from a distance, while black text on an off-white background is much more easily seen at any distance. Too many Web site designers violate this concept when they think that grey text (in a small size) on a black background represents the bleeding edge of technology. The message it actually sends is that they don't care about readability only their idea of what is kewel. Want to excite your audience? Use a lot of bright yellows and reds. It has the visual equivalence of the aural values of a hard rock concert. Unfortunately, it also sends the subtle message of the presenters lack of professionalism and the presentation's seriousness. Use grays and blues and the audience perceives you as stable, serious, professional, and telling them something important. Of course, these are only two factors affecting reception of the message and perception of the presenter. Unfortunately, I've yet to see a PowerPoint presentation that does not violate all (or almost) all of those factors. On the other hand (besides 5 fingers), all LaTeX beamer-class presentations using one of the standard templates adheres to these color and contrast principles. Oh! Let's not forget business cards. Many years ago I redesigned my cards using larger fonts. The first time I used them at an industry convention every senior executive to whom I handed a card commented, "Wow! I can read this without my glasses!" It's only as one senesces that one appreciates such little considerations and their effect on the card recipient's perception of the offerer. :-) Rich _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
