Text

Text is a basic building block of interaction and communication, but it is as complex as it is powerful. Text is language-specific and can provide a myriad of stylistic and functional roles for an interaction device. Common uses are navigation, labels, describing/informing. Text can be visual or auditory. <strong>Stylistic:</strong> Like the narrative voice we're familiar with, prose can be used to create identity and tone for interactions using the typical decisions of story-telling: word choice, sentence structure, flow, formality etc. This doesn't have to just be paragraphs of introductory text, it can be the way you label and direct your audience. For instance, <a href="http://mailchimp.com/about/style-guide/#voice-and-tone" target="_blank">MailChimp has a Tone &amp; Style Guide</a>. <p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>Example:</strong></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Wordpress has a variety of phrases near the top of their page which don't seem to serve a functional purpose rather than create a voice and identity for Wordpress. The example phrases: "You're still glowin', you're still crowin'," "You’re lookin’ swell, Dolly," and "One of your old favourite songs from way back when."</p> [caption id="attachment_95" align="alignnone" width="810"]<a href="http://interactionlibrary.jacklynn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Screen-Shot-2014-12-03-at-10.41.42-AM.png"><img class="wp-image-95" src="http://interactionlibrary.jacklynn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Screen-Shot-2014-12-03-at-10.41.42-AM-1024x94.png" alt="Screen Shot 2014-12-03 at 10.41.42 AM" width="810" height="74" /></a> <em>Screenshot of the top of Wordpress in post mode. Shows the phrase "You're still glowin', you're still crowin'." (Dec 2014)</em>[/caption] &nbsp; <strong>Orientational:</strong> Labeling to clearly inform the audience what  button is or does. Also the information architecture of a website can greatly influence a user's experience navigating through a website, performance of a task, and overall impression of a company. <strong>Performative:</strong> Text can direct views to commit an action, either explicitly or implicitly.