I’ve decided that the reason I believe so strongly that design doesn’t matter is because I’m no good at it. And therefore, to give myself a boost of esteem and a reassuring word, I decided it didn’t matter. Well I’m changing my mind. And those who know me—or had Clio Wired with me—will not be surprised at why I’m altering my views. This transformation has nothing to do with digital history and everything to do with print. Suddenly learning about print has become my enemy in that it is proving to me that digital history design really does matter. Which translates my poor design skills into a hindrance rather than just an annoyance. And after all these semesters sticking up for print, this is how I am repaid.

Design in print matters. Pick up a book you are reading for a history class, and look at it—really look at it. What do the layout and design say to you? A bright, colorful, or interesting cover usually catches my attention. The size of the font evokes a pretty strong reaction from me; tiny fonts automatically prepare me for a pretentious display of look-how-smart-I-am prose (or just a cheap publisher). Footnotes or endnotes? I prefer footnotes. If the book has neither, and it is not required, I won’t read it. If it is a book on design and has bad layout or ugly images, I’m not going to put much stock in what the author is claiming. In sum, I think a lot of these reactions are unconscious on our part but do a great deal to effect a presupposition about a book before we even read the first line.

And so I suppose this is also the case with digital history. Is someone who comes to my site and sees Frederick Douglass with bright red pants really going to trust my scholarship? If the users’ eyes wander around the screen and have no anchor point, are they just going to give up in frustration?

Here’s the catch. The design and layout of print is mainly decided by the publisher—professionals who are experts (hopefully) at what they do. But with digital history, it is now up to the historians to not only be aware of these issues but to have the skills necessary to design the layout of their work. Or hire a web designer, which works too.

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