FIT3084: Labelling


In the previous lecture:

To assist a user's movement through a body of information ensure:

In this lecture:


References:


Why Think About Labelling?

Labelling is something humans do everyday, all the time,

...so you'd hope we'd be pretty good at it by now! (Can you think of anything without labelling it?)

O soft embalmer of the still midnight,

Shutting, with careful fingers and benign,

Our gloom-pleas'd eyes, embower'd from the light,

Enshaded in forgetfulness divine....

So what was John Keats talking about? (...a Sonnet To Sleep)

Users don't want to spend time working out what a label really means... labels are not poems!

A tin without a label is like a hyperlink without a title.

 



What A Labelling System Says About The Information Provider

Cool New Stuff

Latest additions

Order Processing & Despatch

Sales & Delivery

Project A41-277.3

Cancer Treatment Project

What are the different messages a user receives from the pairs above?


Using Textual Labels

If you can find a commonly-used/conventional label then half the battle is won.

(Especially when it comes to finding labels to assist navigation!)

Main, Main Page, Home, Home Page

Search, Find, Browse, Search/Browse, Site Map, Contents, Table of Contents, Index

Contact, Contact Us, Contact Webmaster, Feedback, Comments, Support , Help

Help, FAQ, Frequently Asked Questions

News, What's New

About, About Us, About <Company Name>, Company Information, Information

 

Conventional and unconventional labels sometimes benefit from a simple explanation the first time they appear.

Search/Browse:

Search the site by keyword or browse with our site map

Contact:

E-mail our technical staff with your problems or call our customer hotline

About:

Information about our company: its history, policies and the people who make it tick

From then on (as always)... be consistent (across the entire site, not just within a page) and the following will be readily understood...

Search/Browse | Contact | About


The Web Is Indexed Using Textual Labels

Search engines examine some of a web page's content to determine how it will be classified.

An example for a page containing information on computer graphics and animation...

<meta name="keywords" content="computer graphics, animation, digital cinema" / >

Even a page's title can matter...

<title> Computer Graphics & Computer Animation Book Reviews </title>


Textual Link Labels May Be Incorporated Into Prose

Born in 1894, Aldous Huxley belonged to a family of great talent: he was the grandson of the famous Thomas Henry Huxley; the son of Leonard Huxley, the editor of the Cornhill Magazine; and the brother of Sir Julian Huxley.

Above you can infer that the link will lead to further information on the noun to which it is linked.

The text flows naturally, despite the links. (Some would argue however that such hyperlinking is not beneficial to the flow of information).

What about these links?

Born in 1894, Aldous Huxley belonged to a family of great talent. More information about his family is provided here. He was the grandson of the famous Thomas Henry Huxley (Here is a photo); the son of Leonard Huxley (Link to his homepage), the editor of the Cornhill Magazine*; and the brother of Sir Julian Huxley.

*online issue


Textual Labels May Be Used As Headings

Labels often describe the section (page/paragraph etc.) of information which follows them.

Ensure:

Try removing the text content from between headings to highlight any strengths or weaknesses.

Editing Video

  • Using the Monitor window
  • Displaying a clip
    • To view a clip
  • Using Monitor window controllers
    • To customize the monitor window view
    • To play the Source or Program view
    • To view a different frame
    • To jog or shuttle through frames
  • Using the Timeline window
  • Moving around in the Timeline
    • To move the edit line in the Timeline
    • To display the timeline in more detail
    • To display more of the program in the timeline

Headings from the Adobe Premiere User's Guide


Video Editing

  • The Monitor Window
  • Displaying a clip
    • Clip - viewing
  • Controllers on the Monitor Window
    • Customizing the monitor window's view
    • To play the Source or Program view
    • To see a different frame
    • Shuttle/Jog frames
  • Timeline Window
  • To move around in the Timeline window
    • The edit line
    • Detail
    • How to display more program in the timeline window

How not to label sections of the Adobe Premiere User's Guide


Sources For Textual Labelling Systems


Using Iconic Labels

Icon, an image used to represent an

  • Object

  • Action
  • Property

  • Concept

Things To Consider When Choosing Between Icons and Text

  • The choice will depend on the application!

  • Well designed icons can be recognized faster than text

  • Icons may take less screen space than text

  • Icons can be language independent

  • Text / words have well known meanings

  • Text / words have strong connotations

  • There are around half a million well defined words in English.

  • There are only a few well defined icons

Designing Icons


Sources For Iconic Labels


A B C D 1 2 3 4 ! @ # $ %

 




This lecture's key point(s):


Courseware | Lecture notes

©Copyright Alan Dorin 2008