A Short History of Designing for Communication on the Web

Abstract

Web design is important for how we communicate on the Internet, and it also has an in?uence on computer interface design in general. Taking a very literal view of the theme of “designing for communication”, this chapter examines the development of Web design as a prerequisite for understanding what it has become today, and it concludes by offering some re?ections on the future of Web design. In the ?rst part of the chapter, the history of Web design is outlined in terms of the complex interplay of various social, cultural, economic, technological, and communicative factors. This section concludes with the presentation of a framework for Web design that allows for—if not actually reconciles—the many existing approaches to the subject. In the second part of the chapter, it is suggested that Web design, as it has developed so far, may be facing major changes as the requirements of users and the technologies employed to meet them are changing.