Five Output Formats to Support

April 23rd, 2009 Sean Murphy

Some output formats to consider your application, they each have different properties and affordances and are not easily substituted for each other :

1. Screen
2. E-Mail
3. Projector
4. Print
5. Fax

Screen

• Most common way that users will interact in everyday use.
• This is how many prospects will view the product.

E-mail output options

• Simple hypertext (e.g. URLs as footnotes)
• Text in monospace Font with 60 character line limit

Projector / PowerPoint or HTML that drives presentation at lower resolution

• The developers typically design and develop on high resolution monitors, most of your demos will be given at a lower resolution on a projector. Make sure both look good.
• Your users may want to run your application on the projector during a group meeting, test this.

Print – color or gray scale

• Many senior managers are most concerned with how this looks, as it is the way that they are used to consuming information.

Fax – true black and white

• Test this, some patterns create problems, many shades are indistinguishable when printed in black and white.

Entry Filed under: Demos, skmurphy