Note to designers: Remember the reader!

One big problem with websites is that both their writers and designers usually forget about, well, the readers.

Mandy Brown gives a gentle reminder to designers in the most recent issue of A List Apart.

Her core insight? Respect the three distinct phases that the reader goes through and design accordingly.

The reader's phases:

1. Searching(a): Browsing to read something that interests them.
2. Reading: Getting lost in what has captured their imagination.
3. Searching(b): Returning to searching for something (further) to read.

The designer's corresponding responsibilities are:

1. Design in a way that invites the reader in.
2. Design in a way that gives them visual room to "settle in" and read.
3. Design links that will allow the reader to follow corresponding interests.