Author

Mandy Brown

Mandy Brown is co-founder and editor for A Book Apart, a contributing editor for A List Apart, and Communications Director at Typekit. She writes about the reading experience at A Working Library.

Also from this author

Fire Drills: Communications Strategy in a Crisis

Every site or service will fail eventually. An emergency communications strategy can get you through the crisis faster and reassure your users while you're putting out the fire. Learn to imagine, prioritize, and prepare for everything that can go wrong, assign roles in advance to get you through the crisis, and communicate effectively with your customers throughout the experience.

In Defense of Readers

As web designers, we concern ourselves with how users move from page to page, but forget the needs of those whose purpose is to be still. Learn the design techniques that create a mental space for reading. Use typographic signals to help users shift from looking to reading, from skimming along to concentrating. Limit distractions; pay attention to the details that make text readable; and consider chronology by providing transitions for each of the three phases of the online reading experience.