Research problem
Information is a crucial thing in our daily life and it is mostly accessible through reading, yet it makes it almost impossible not to read. Reading text is almost unavoidable; it has become a part of human life, such as reading newspapers in the morning, browsing the Internet, magazines or posters and also researching through many books for study research.
According to Bayer (2009) in her article ‘On Typography’ she stated that reading process requires great efforts that lead to physical tiredness. Furthermore, Graphic Design: A User Manual book in terms of legibility has quoted an article in Eye 67 about a case study from Kevin Larson (researcher for Microsoft’s advance technologies) and Jim Sheedy (Dean of the College of Optometry at Pacific University, Oregon), ‘Reading is a very stressful task. When people read, their eyes need to make roughly four movements every second – that is 15.000 eye movements every hour they spend reading’ (Shaughnessy, 2009 pp.177). These strong statements obviously express that reading consumes time and energy that need to be concerned about. Subsequently, efficiency in reading starts to become the most important factor especially nowadays when people are getting busier in their life and everythings need to be done immediately.
On the other hand, the contexts of reading need to be followed by the function, which some designers intend to forget. ‘You can’t just go to make something look good, look different, look stylish, and then hope to find your way back to making something understandable’ (Wurman, 1995 pp.199). So, although there are a bunch of words with nice looking design that certainly hold an important information, it will be useless if the readers feel tedious to read and only skim through it, without understanding, the whole passage. Clearly, this reading process could spend a lot of times; and without realizing it, readers who cannot seek the knowledge in an insufficient time, will inevitably make assumptions, use information, make inferences, generate implications, define problems, use concepts, reason within a point of view. Given that, readers might make some "mistakes" in generating the knowledge from reading, such as making false assumptions, using erroneous information, or jumping to unjustifiable conclusions.
In a nutshell, the Design Issue for this research paper was: A lack of effective organization of the textual information, which result in ineffectiveness of reading process.
Information is a crucial thing in our daily life and it is mostly accessible through reading, yet it makes it almost impossible not to read. Reading text is almost unavoidable; it has become a part of human life, such as reading newspapers in the morning, browsing the Internet, magazines or posters and also researching through many books for study research.
According to Bayer (2009) in her article ‘On Typography’ she stated that reading process requires great efforts that lead to physical tiredness. Furthermore, Graphic Design: A User Manual book in terms of legibility has quoted an article in Eye 67 about a case study from Kevin Larson (researcher for Microsoft’s advance technologies) and Jim Sheedy (Dean of the College of Optometry at Pacific University, Oregon), ‘Reading is a very stressful task. When people read, their eyes need to make roughly four movements every second – that is 15.000 eye movements every hour they spend reading’ (Shaughnessy, 2009 pp.177). These strong statements obviously express that reading consumes time and energy that need to be concerned about. Subsequently, efficiency in reading starts to become the most important factor especially nowadays when people are getting busier in their life and everythings need to be done immediately.
On the other hand, the contexts of reading need to be followed by the function, which some designers intend to forget. ‘You can’t just go to make something look good, look different, look stylish, and then hope to find your way back to making something understandable’ (Wurman, 1995 pp.199). So, although there are a bunch of words with nice looking design that certainly hold an important information, it will be useless if the readers feel tedious to read and only skim through it, without understanding, the whole passage. Clearly, this reading process could spend a lot of times; and without realizing it, readers who cannot seek the knowledge in an insufficient time, will inevitably make assumptions, use information, make inferences, generate implications, define problems, use concepts, reason within a point of view. Given that, readers might make some "mistakes" in generating the knowledge from reading, such as making false assumptions, using erroneous information, or jumping to unjustifiable conclusions.
In a nutshell, the Design Issue for this research paper was: A lack of effective organization of the textual information, which result in ineffectiveness of reading process.
Design Hypothesis
Designers mostly design things that require people to read. Although they always rely on visuals, they also rely on texts to communicate the messages. By exploring the reading process, such as understanding from reader’s perspective through scientific and psychology fields, finding the similarities and characteristics of people’s reading patterns, and investigate the relevance words that people intend to look into. This paper believes these explorations would help designers to organize the information better and make reading easier to be comprehended in a short time.
Aside from refering to scientific and psychology fields, the medium of reading has different affects toward readers: understanding each media of design factors will strengthen the reading efficiency in a bigger scale. The explorations in relation between each design factor in each medium could be the endeavor to solve the problem. Through the various effects that affect the efficiencies of reading process, this paper believes that a complete investigation on every aspect of reading process would create a guiding principle for designer to can be concerned about. A good understanding on the relationship of reader behaviors and the intensity on how readers understand the passage would help to find a good and proper elements of design that need to be concerned while designing textual information.
Thus, the design hypothesis for this study was: graphic designers need to acquire a good comprehension of the reading process and take into consideration a set of guidelines in order to create better reading systems in text formats for effective communication.
Designers mostly design things that require people to read. Although they always rely on visuals, they also rely on texts to communicate the messages. By exploring the reading process, such as understanding from reader’s perspective through scientific and psychology fields, finding the similarities and characteristics of people’s reading patterns, and investigate the relevance words that people intend to look into. This paper believes these explorations would help designers to organize the information better and make reading easier to be comprehended in a short time.
Aside from refering to scientific and psychology fields, the medium of reading has different affects toward readers: understanding each media of design factors will strengthen the reading efficiency in a bigger scale. The explorations in relation between each design factor in each medium could be the endeavor to solve the problem. Through the various effects that affect the efficiencies of reading process, this paper believes that a complete investigation on every aspect of reading process would create a guiding principle for designer to can be concerned about. A good understanding on the relationship of reader behaviors and the intensity on how readers understand the passage would help to find a good and proper elements of design that need to be concerned while designing textual information.
Thus, the design hypothesis for this study was: graphic designers need to acquire a good comprehension of the reading process and take into consideration a set of guidelines in order to create better reading systems in text formats for effective communication.
Aims of the Study
The aim of study was to evoke designers, including typewriters and typesetters, to be more considered in designing textual information by putting into thoughts that design needs to be readable and also efficient to give quick understanding to the readers.
Moreover, the study aimed to also help designers to realize the importance of designing with function and not for aesthetics only to make the reading process more efficient and engaging for readers.
The aim of study was to evoke designers, including typewriters and typesetters, to be more considered in designing textual information by putting into thoughts that design needs to be readable and also efficient to give quick understanding to the readers.
Moreover, the study aimed to also help designers to realize the importance of designing with function and not for aesthetics only to make the reading process more efficient and engaging for readers.
Research questions
The following top three key research questions, forming the skeleton of the research paper were identified in order to meet the aims of the study.
The following top three key research questions, forming the skeleton of the research paper were identified in order to meet the aims of the study.
- Why is it necessary for designers to explore reading efficiency in today’s context? The objective of the first question was to strengthen the urgency and value of the issue.
- How the connection between reader and text could define the hierarchy of the information? The objective of the second question was to enable greater understanding and clearer analysis on reader’s behaviors in reading process and textual information that would intense the hypothesis.
- What are the various design approaches that would intensify the effectiveness in reading for print-based and screen-based reading? The objective of the third question was to explore the best design approaches in each medium that could help increase reading efficiency.
Significance of the study (Design Agenda)
The primary group of target audience identified for this research paper were young adults within the Asia region, aged between 18 to 30 years old who love to read and need reading efficiency in their active life. This age of group is important to this research paper because their reading patterns, behaviors, feedbacks and responses are reliable and up-to-date for designers to emphasize and organize the information in the future. Moreover, this target age group falls under generation Y, which is also called as a Google generation because they grew up in a world that is starting to immerse towards digital where information exploding and fast. As a result, this primary group would have indirect benefits because the designers would be able to design based on their feedbacks and thus they would have convenience in reading and comprehending the meaning of the content clearly.
The secondary group of target audience identified for this research paper was graphic design students and professionals. First, design students are the young generations of designers that will influence the development of the future. They play a significant role in making innovative outcomes, thus providing better solutions and enhancing performances in the society. Second are the professional designers in the creative industry such as the typesetters, typographers, web designers and editorial designers as they encounter layout texts and create readable textual information forms everyday as part of their daily job.
The intention of this design research outcome that focus on specific Asian content would benefit the readers to have textual information that communicates better and faster in the future. Moreover, it also helps students and professional designers to understand the whole reading process. By understanding the target audience will help to modify the textual information to be more efficient and functional. In addition, Graphic Design communication plays a major role in confronting the design issue as reading involves many graphic design aspects such as layout, typography and colors.
The primary group of target audience identified for this research paper were young adults within the Asia region, aged between 18 to 30 years old who love to read and need reading efficiency in their active life. This age of group is important to this research paper because their reading patterns, behaviors, feedbacks and responses are reliable and up-to-date for designers to emphasize and organize the information in the future. Moreover, this target age group falls under generation Y, which is also called as a Google generation because they grew up in a world that is starting to immerse towards digital where information exploding and fast. As a result, this primary group would have indirect benefits because the designers would be able to design based on their feedbacks and thus they would have convenience in reading and comprehending the meaning of the content clearly.
The secondary group of target audience identified for this research paper was graphic design students and professionals. First, design students are the young generations of designers that will influence the development of the future. They play a significant role in making innovative outcomes, thus providing better solutions and enhancing performances in the society. Second are the professional designers in the creative industry such as the typesetters, typographers, web designers and editorial designers as they encounter layout texts and create readable textual information forms everyday as part of their daily job.
The intention of this design research outcome that focus on specific Asian content would benefit the readers to have textual information that communicates better and faster in the future. Moreover, it also helps students and professional designers to understand the whole reading process. By understanding the target audience will help to modify the textual information to be more efficient and functional. In addition, Graphic Design communication plays a major role in confronting the design issue as reading involves many graphic design aspects such as layout, typography and colors.
Research Methods
The primary and secondary research methods were chosen based on the three identified key issues to support the investigation of various factors regarding the design issue, whilst proving the feasibility of the design hypothesis.
The primary and secondary research methods were chosen based on the three identified key issues to support the investigation of various factors regarding the design issue, whilst proving the feasibility of the design hypothesis.
1. Primary Research
A questionnaire would be conducted to identify how most people read especially within limited amount of time. Conducting questionnaire also helps to gather insights and feedback towards the topic and some critical critics to help strengthen the design hypothesis.
Interviews would also be conducted to investigate what kind of keywords would capture the target audience’s attention. Through this research method, it would help to substantiate the design hypothesis and find the effect of words that would be pleasing to the eye and thus achieving their response. This interview would also find out what sort of design variables in print and screen media that could affect reader’s feeling when they read and understand a certain passage.
A questionnaire would be conducted to identify how most people read especially within limited amount of time. Conducting questionnaire also helps to gather insights and feedback towards the topic and some critical critics to help strengthen the design hypothesis.
Interviews would also be conducted to investigate what kind of keywords would capture the target audience’s attention. Through this research method, it would help to substantiate the design hypothesis and find the effect of words that would be pleasing to the eye and thus achieving their response. This interview would also find out what sort of design variables in print and screen media that could affect reader’s feeling when they read and understand a certain passage.
2. Secondary Research
Reading up literature review, such as sourcing from existing data in library resources, books, e-journals and Internet resources (online articles) would help gain clear understanding of the design issue. Some theories, principles, opinion and quotes from many designers and typographers are references to obtain good hypothesis. By looking at several psychologists who had done studies about human perception in context on perceiving words, reading behaviors and Gestalt principles are examples of some case studies that relate to reading process, which are equally important to verify the design issue.
Structure of the essay
The research paper was structured into seven chapters in order to give a clear explanation and analysis. They are Introduction, Literature Review, Research Process, Research Findings, Conclusion, References and Appendices.
Chapter 1, introduction of the tackled issue would give an overview of this study. It also consists of the identification of the design hypothesis and aims of this paper, which give the evaluation on the issue that relates to graphic design. Moreover, the research key issues, questions, and methods mentioned would give a quick understanding of what areas would be explored in the other chapters.
The second chapter, namely literature reviews resources, is crucial to investigating each key issue on this research. It would look into reviewing specific areas such as the important of reading, reading pattern and some influences from various factors in reading. Moreover, it would also investigate on the efficiency in two main mediums, which are print and screen. With regard to the knowledge of various factors of cause and effects, some design elements need to be considered while designing textual information, which would be look into in chapter 3.
Third chapter, Research Process would record the primary research of the second stage of research and developments. It would explain the process of investigation towards various design factors, which have been supported in the previous chapter, specifically by using the primary research methods such as questionnaire and interview that could aid to carry out the gaps in the literature review. These primary research methods are critical to achieve reliable stand for the hypothesis.
The fourth chapter, Research Findings should connect the all the findings that have been gathered to obtain clear dependable explanation and solution for the issue. In this chapter, the area would be focusing on the interrelation between chapter 2 and 3 to supply solid answers to the top key research questions. This area is important to produce the significance proofs and evidences to prove the hypothesis.
The fifth chapter, Conclusion would display the whole summarization of the essay and explanation of the challenge that was faced during the process, hence giving an objective perceptive for this issue. It would also provide concluding statements that endorse further exploration towards the design issue.
Lastly, chapter 6 and 7, References and Appendices, respectively would provide respect towards all the authors, websites and visual examples on various case studies that had been mentioned in literature reviews.
Reading up literature review, such as sourcing from existing data in library resources, books, e-journals and Internet resources (online articles) would help gain clear understanding of the design issue. Some theories, principles, opinion and quotes from many designers and typographers are references to obtain good hypothesis. By looking at several psychologists who had done studies about human perception in context on perceiving words, reading behaviors and Gestalt principles are examples of some case studies that relate to reading process, which are equally important to verify the design issue.
Structure of the essay
The research paper was structured into seven chapters in order to give a clear explanation and analysis. They are Introduction, Literature Review, Research Process, Research Findings, Conclusion, References and Appendices.
Chapter 1, introduction of the tackled issue would give an overview of this study. It also consists of the identification of the design hypothesis and aims of this paper, which give the evaluation on the issue that relates to graphic design. Moreover, the research key issues, questions, and methods mentioned would give a quick understanding of what areas would be explored in the other chapters.
The second chapter, namely literature reviews resources, is crucial to investigating each key issue on this research. It would look into reviewing specific areas such as the important of reading, reading pattern and some influences from various factors in reading. Moreover, it would also investigate on the efficiency in two main mediums, which are print and screen. With regard to the knowledge of various factors of cause and effects, some design elements need to be considered while designing textual information, which would be look into in chapter 3.
Third chapter, Research Process would record the primary research of the second stage of research and developments. It would explain the process of investigation towards various design factors, which have been supported in the previous chapter, specifically by using the primary research methods such as questionnaire and interview that could aid to carry out the gaps in the literature review. These primary research methods are critical to achieve reliable stand for the hypothesis.
The fourth chapter, Research Findings should connect the all the findings that have been gathered to obtain clear dependable explanation and solution for the issue. In this chapter, the area would be focusing on the interrelation between chapter 2 and 3 to supply solid answers to the top key research questions. This area is important to produce the significance proofs and evidences to prove the hypothesis.
The fifth chapter, Conclusion would display the whole summarization of the essay and explanation of the challenge that was faced during the process, hence giving an objective perceptive for this issue. It would also provide concluding statements that endorse further exploration towards the design issue.
Lastly, chapter 6 and 7, References and Appendices, respectively would provide respect towards all the authors, websites and visual examples on various case studies that had been mentioned in literature reviews.
