AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.

Less is less.(i column like i cm)

EContent

| October 01, 2007 | Doyle, Bob | COPYRIGHT 2007 Information Today, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's rallying cry of minimalism in modern architecture was "less is more."

Less is not a bad thing. In fact, for those creating the reusable multilingual user-oriented content of today's websites and structuring the writing of today's corporate documents, the cry should be "less is less." Minimalism is fundamental to content usability. When it is successful, minimalism means less to read and less time spent by the user to get your message and act on your goals.

Whether your content is aimed at selling something or teaching something, minimalism is about getting the job done better by using the latest research in cognitive psychology and theories of instructional and interaction design.

Minimalism as a method for creating more usable content grew out of a study at IBM in the 1980s led by John Carroll. During that decade, IBM had been pursuing the idea that all of the company's documentation should be task-oriented. People read to do, not to learn. John Dewey's pragmatic action method of education in the 1920s had focused on learning by doing.

IBM found, as has been known by some for centuries, that learning is easier when content is broken up into small action-oriented chunks. Similar research had been done in the early 1960s at Hughes Aircraft (the STOP system), the U.S. Navy (QRC method), and, most well-known and still in wide use today, Information Mapping's extensive research into structured writing. All three of these stressed small chunks of modular text with accompanying graphic illustrations.

Small is really beautiful when it comes to web content. Potential customers surfing the web have no patience. They are only one click away from leaving your site. When content is concise and action oriented, they might click and buy instead of clicking goodbye.

So give them less. (To get inside the mind of the less is less user, read Steve Krug's great book on usability, Don't Make Me Think!)

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, and more
Information Mapping Announces Major Upgrade to Formatting Solutions Pro and XML.
Press release article from: Business Wire January 5, 2004 700+ words
...to help graduates of Information Mapping's learning programs...principles and concepts of the Information Mapping method while using Microsoft...documents written using Information Mapping's structured writing method. -- The width...
Information Mapping's Founder to Receive Professional Achievement Award.
Press release article from: Business Wire April 6, 2004 700+ words
...Human Performance Information Mapping, Inc. (www...Robert Horn's "Information Mapping method provided...communication via 'structured writing.' This method...basis for the Information Mapping method, his most...
Information Mapping Announces Business Communications Training for 2008.
Press release article from: Business Wire October 23, 2007 700+ words
Information Mapping's Workshops Make World-Renowned...2008. WALTHAM, Mass. -- Information Mapping, Inc., leading provider of...public workshops for 2008. Information Mapping's workshops teach business...
Information Mapping Releases New Starter E-learning Program; Starter Kit Helps...
Press release article from: Business Wire July 10, 2002 700+ words
...Business/Technology Editors Information Mapping, Inc., a global professional...learning program called the Information Mapping Starter Kit. The Starter...step in mastering the Information Mapping(R) method. The method...
Information Mapping Announces New Single Source Documentation Solutions.
Press release article from: Business Wire March 22, 2001 700+ words
...WIRE)--March 22, 2001 Today, Information Mapping, Inc. (www.infomap.com...Director of Research and Development at Information Mapping. "XML allows authors to write...usable. By combining XML with the Information Mapping method, the author can create usable...
INFORMATION MAPPING SIMPLIFIES ISO 9000 CERTIFICATION PROCESS; ISO 9000 MAPS...
Press release article from: PR Newswire January 25, 1993 700+ words
...seeking ISO 9000 certification, Information Mapping, Inc. today introduced its ISO...achieve ISO 9000 certification. Information Mapping, a pioneer and leading supplier...productivity and improve quality systems. Information Mapping offers ISO 9000 MAPS (Management...
Information Mapping Announces Winners of 2002 Contest for Best Customer Success...
Press release article from: Business Wire October 28, 2002 700+ words
...BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2002 Information Mapping, Inc. (www.infomap.com...for the story that best shows how Information Mapping helped an individual on the job...for the story that best shows how Information Mapping helped an organization develop an...
Information Mapping Establishes European Subsidiary.
Press release article from: Business Wire April 10, 2000 700+ words
...WIRE)--April 10, 2000 Information Mapping, Inc. (www.infomap.com...rights and has established Information Mapping Europe (IME). Now a wholly owned subsidiary of Information Mapping, IME will continue to support...
Ringwood Software, Inc. and Information Mapping, Inc. Partner to Make...
Press release article from: Business Wire May 20, 2003 700+ words
...provider of Knowledge Solutions and Information Mapping, Inc., a professional services...quality, structured content using Information Mapping's research-based content development...and Ringwood will be distributing Information Mapping's seminars and e-learning programs...
Information Mapping Announces E-Learning Program for Standardizing Corporate...
Press release article from: Business Wire October 25, 2000 700+ words
...WIRE)--Oct. 25, 2000 Today, Information Mapping, Inc. (www.infomap.com...Information That Works! Fundamentals of Information Mapping" introduces knowledge workers to...That Works!" program is part of Information Mapping's Enterprise-wide Knowledge...
For more facts and information, see all results

Source: HighBeam Research, Less is less.(i column like i cm)

©2009 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
About us | FAQs | Contact us | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions
Other Gale sites: Encyclopedia.com | HighBeam Research | Acquire Content | Books & Authors | Goliath | MovieRetriever | Smart QandA