Print Design vs. Web Design

Writing and reading on-screen differs from print so typography online has its own idiosyncrasies. A font that looks great on paper may be much harder to read on-screen. And unless the font is used in a graphic, there's a strong chance that visitors to your Web page aren't going to all see the same font -- either because they don't have it installed or they use Web browser preferences that override your font choices. Those are just some of the differences between text in print and text on the Web.

While TIFF and EPS are the professional graphics standards for print, they won't fly on the Web. You'll need to learn how to properly create and use JPEG, GIF, and PNG images in Web design. Additionally, Web graphics use a lower resolution and may require digital protection.

Commercial printing processes are typically done in CMYK or uses Pantone spot colors or other print-friendly color specifications. On the Web, color is RGB. And then you'll also need to contend with browser-safe color schemes -- maybe. The use of color in typography also differs, in part because of readability differences on-screen.

Although Web pages may use some navigational elements derived from print, such as table of contents, navigating through the interconnected pages of a Web site isn't the same as the usually linear navigation of the pages of a book.

In print design, page layouts are static designs. Once it is printed, everyone viewing the page sees the graphics in the same place, the text columns in the same size, and the piece of paper it's printed on doesn't change size or shape each time someone picks up the paper. Web pages are more fluid, more dynamic.