Know Your Audience

Knowing who will be reading a text, and how, is an essential consideration in its design. Try to develop an awareness of potential readers: backgrounds, levels, ages and diversity. Consider the conditions: How much time will a reader have? How essential is mastering the material through the text alone? How essential is testing and evaluation? Also consider the ergonomics: Will the text be read in a bright or dark room? Will it be comfortable there? Noisy? What will the capabilities of the computer be? Design to opimize the interaction.