Now for something really challenging ...
|
Elegant variation is a perfect example of why web publishing is a 'black art'. How do you keep your website simple to use, follow established practice and at the same time make your message compelling, engaging, and attention grabbing — standing out from the crowd?
|
Elegant variation is the answer. What was the question?
|
If you are following the order of this website, then you know we have been focusing on why you should use accepted web practice to make your website easy to use, addressing visitor consumption issues such as cognitive overload. After the discussion below, on the topic of 'elegant variation', we are going to go back to some more research on accepted web practice, this time in the form of how site visitors consume content and how publishers can benefit from strategic content placement (F-pattern hot spots). We will also be looking at how adopting certain classes of websites can assist you in meeting the expectations of your audience, thereby reducing the risk of audience backlash and dissatisfaction with your web content (cognitive dissonance). In other words, most of the focus of this section is on strategy related to common practice, standards, and general rules that you should consider as a web publisher. This page makes a temporary departure into 'elegant variation' to set some groundwork for the sections of this web resource on design, structure, content and message. In those sections, in addition to looking at practice models, we will be exploring the 'art' of making your website communicate effectively and attract audience attention. For now, we are calling this 'elegant variation'.
|
Lets take a lead from nature ...
|
If you have been following the order of this website, then you also know that we have drifted into a number of analogies, here is another — trees. Trees follow rules, they have a set structure (leaves, roots, trunk and branches) and they have basically the same metabolism. Like websites, they also vary in type and function, addressing certain environmental requirements and differences (Oak, Beech, Elm, and so on). Yet there is not a single tree that is the same as another, they are all unique — as is just about everything in nature.
This is the argument for difference. The important thing is that it is not 'accidental' or random difference, it is systematic, environmentally driven variation. In our case, we can consider what type of variability best serves the needs of our website. We are calling this 'elegant variation' because your variations should serve a purpose — improvement in the achievement of the objectives of your website.
|
A real-world example: Apple Computer versus W3C (World Wide Web Consortium)
|
Just below this paragraph, we have two menu bars, one from the Apple website and the other from the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) website. We are not making value judgments on these approaches, simply using them to demonstrate elegant variation.
|
 |
 |
Both of these navigation structures are 'horizontal menu bars', serving more or less the same functional purpose on their respective websites. Both websites are successful, ranking well in search, well known, highly trafficked and well regarded by their visitors. You may have a preference for one over the other, and you could also find many web experts defending one approach over the other — so lets try a little exercise.
For a moment, lets image that the top menu bar is that of the World Wide Web Consortium, and that the bottom one is that of Apple Computer! Do you think that the 'polished metal and aqua highlight' model suits the W3C? Does the 'text-only, minimal graphics' model suit Apple? If you are fair-minded about this, considering the respective audiences rather than your personal preferences, most of us would say that they don't. We would also have been able to guess which one belonged to which organization with a minimal amount of clues.
The human brain is very good at identifying patterns, visual clues, and in essence 'reading between the lines'. We infer a huge amount about the organization, the website, the content and the style, from something as simple as a menu bar. Apple's approach suits their website and their business objectives — and they have a very successful web presence. The W3C's approach suits their website and their organizational objectives — and they have a very successful web presence. Both websites use 'elegant variation' to apply their brand, values and purpose to the functional components of their respective websites. It is this 'design' that makes their websites unique and identifiable amongst the billions of other web pages.
Once you have grasped the science and process of web publishing, it will always be the art of getting your message just right that is not only difficult but forever changing as both your organization and your audience continue to evolve. Most of the later sections of this website are resources focussed on 'elegant variation' in the pursuit of web publishing success.
In the case of web publishing, 'elegant variation' that suits the objectives of your organization and your website is 'good'. The term however has roots in literature, where it was meant to describe something 'bad'. If you are interested, below is a little on the history of the phrase.
|
A footnote on 'Elegant Variation' in literature ...
|
Henry Watson Fowler coined the term 'elegant variation' in his Dictionary of Modern English Usage in 1926. He meant the term as criticism of "second-rate writers" who used overly complex and dressed language to avoid repetition of the same word or phrase, for example, blaze or conflagration instead of the simple word fire. In the 1920's, the word 'elegant' had a negative connotation of preciousness and over-refinement that is not generally connected with the word today.
Interestingly, we will return to simplified writing when we discuss content and message. In particular, how people generally use simple language when searching for content and how simple and direct phrasing is superior for web content. In this regard, we agree with H W Fowler that simple terminology and repetition are good, overly 'manufactured' and 'dressy' terms are generally poor web publishing practice. However in the case of applying your brand to the design, feel and structure of your website, elegant variation, in relation to visual messaging is good web publishing practice. Confused? Well we did say that this was challenging.
|
Back to standards and process ...
|
Now lets go back to discussing accepted web practice, in the form of content consumption behaviors common to most website audiences.
|
|
|
