Dear all,
The most popular Internet browsers (chrome, firefox and safari) now offer a “reader-mode” option when accessing articles on a blog, newspaper's webpage or magazine, and so on.
The reader-mode presents the content of the article and nothing else. The presentation is often described as clutter free, which is translated into a black sans-serif typeface set in a generous size on a white background; also, the phrase length is kept short (10-11 words). There are no adds, no header, no logos and no comment section. It is an automatic transformation from the original content design to the reader-mode template. I speculate that this is done by programming an algorithm to identify what the content of the article is and separating it from all other information on the page, after isolating this content the algorithm renders just the article's text on the screen.
Therefore, every layout choice of the webpage designers disappear. We are left with a universal, generic layout. Interestingly, it is the realisation of Joseph Müller-Brockmann et al.'s dreams of neutrality, legibility, and many of the tenets of modernist design. I use the reader-mode option every time it is available, particularly when reading on a phone's screen, and in the vast majority of cases, it is a far more satisfying reading experience.
The ubiquity of a reader-friendly option suggests that there was a need for better designed layouts. Alternatively, perhaps most websites just weren't quick to adapt to the changing conditions in online reading habits. Moreover, a reader-friendly mode raises pertinent questions regarding graphic design; surely a well designed page should already be reader friendly?
Furthermore, if users stop using the existing layouts then maybe the layouts should change. Maybe we will see future webpages’ layout designed as content holders, almost layout free, with a list of articles and after selecting an article, we’ll read it in reader mode. It would be interesting to conduct a survey to gather information about how many people after accessing an article prefer the reader-friendly mode to the original layout design.
I can’t help but wonder about what is lost in this transformation. There has to be a space for unexpectedness in design; a well designed artefact enhances the experience of the user, I wouldn’t want all the published content to be devoid of nuance, surprise, and unexpected layout choices. However, perhaps this kind of nuanced reading experience is better left for printed matter?
'Best,
João Ferreira
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