Multimedia Design 101
Multimedia Designs are projects that have been
created / developed by combining several different types of media elements to communicate
a concept or deliver information. Web sites, training material on CDs, and
on-line e-learning tutorials are all examples of a multimedia design.
A multitude of media elements are used in multimedia designs to provide the user
an interactive experience that go beyond simply reading displayed text. Common elements
include graphics, sound,
streaming video, animation, dynamically displayed pages, and responsive web forms. In web
development these elements are often referred to as assets or simply multimedia elements.
Understanding the purpose of Multimedia
Multimedia Designs are used to present an idea, concept, information, or specialized training material.
Multimedia Designs can be created
just for fun or added to a website to create an advanced functionality.
E-learning
tutorials are also called multimedia designs and often include interactive
training pieces and simulations. These design methods provide a brief assessment
of the acquired and retained knowledge of the presented material. The delivery of
e-learning material placed on a web site enables the producers to reduce the cost
of their first production as well as provide users up-to-date material without expensive
re-distribution expenses.
Multimedia Designs are created with the goal of eliminating communication barriers
by combining familiar objects with new material. Using different types
of media increases an individual's opportunity to learn by allowing the user to
associate the known with the unknown. Audience participation
is achieved by encouraging interaction and providing feedback to the user. These
combined methods assist in the learning process and help the audience to arrive
at an internalized interpretation
of your multimedia design.
Multimedia Design Styles
Multimedia presentations are developed using different design styles, either linear,
non-linear or options for both. Linear multimedia content is presented in a page
by page order where users must complete a subject or scene in a specific order,
whereas a non-linear multimedia presentation allows the users to jump around in
any order they choose. The delivery method of a Multimedia Design is decided in
the planning stages of the project where the Multimedia Developer attempts to determine
the best method based on the targeted audience of the material
being presented.
Learning Styles
There are several learning styles in which people use to understand new material.
Understanding these various learning styles can help you design the presentation
of your material in a way that reaches a larger audience. In most cases your project
will contain text; and for some people reading information is
all they need to do
in order to grasp a concept or learn a new subject. However other people learn better
by hearing a presentation. These people are referred to as auditory learners. Then
there are yet other people who are visual learners and prefer to "see it" explained.
Visual learners often think in images and recalling an image can spark a vast level
of previously learned material.
Research has shown that the retention level
of new material is higher if a subject is presented using a Multimedia Design that
provides the user with an innovative interactive experience. So if you want to reach
a larger audience and create a high level of retention of the material you present,
don't just tell them about something, don't just show them data, get your user involved
in the material being delivered by providing dynamic content they can interact with!
Target Audience
The most important thing to remember when deciding which
multimedia elements to include in your multimedia project or interactive web site is to consider your audience!
A clear example
would be if you are creating a personal web site, (similar to those
you find on "myspace") it is acceptable to have a very "busy" full graphic background with music from
your favorite band blaring in the background as soon as a page loads. But on a professional website
both of these elements would be a total taboo (in most cases). If your targeted audience is children you might want to include a lot of elementary level graphics and use a web theme that displays content in primary
colors whereas if your targeted audience is professional Architect Engineers you
could offer a more professionally designed web site that includes downloadable CAD
drawings or SPECS in PDF format.
With the multitude of technologies available there
are endless possibilities for the elements you can include in your Multimedia Designs.
Multimedia Designs.NET Website
Multimedia Designs.NET is an informational web site that consists of technical information often needed during the web development process. The goal of this
website is to educate through explainations and interactive examples, provide resources
and recommendations, and promote creativity and enthusiasm in the multimedia
design process.
Small business owners have the opportunity to learn about Website Planning and Development
as well as Search Engine Optimization.
Beginner Web Designers and Web Developers can use this site as a quick reference to review CODE syntax with available examples and then
copy/paste the code snippet into their own project.
Although there are many web programming languages available, ASP.NET with code-behind written in Visual Basic.NET is a highly preferred method. If you are not using ASP.NET, consider this an invitation to start! Microsoft provides the tools you need to get started
for FREE! You can download the software for FREE and you can
Watch FREE Video Tutorials! Read more about it at the ASP.NET Community Website.
