Highlighting an important issue which links both design and audience issues, I'd like to mention the changes to the Media liftout in the Australian. The liftout used to be published weekly, appearing in the The Australian each Thursday, and the section also had its own link on the Australian website. Suddenly, without warning, the newspaper has changed certain fundamental aspects of its design, causing confusion amoungst it's readers. The Media liftout now appears in Monday's Australian and currently does not have its own link on the website.
I mention these changes because I believe it is important to maintain consistency and sequence in any publication to avoid confusion and discourage the audience from continuing to read the publication. Consistency and sequence are two of the most important issues in design and should not be overlooked. If people do not recognise or cannot find what they are looking for they will go elsewhere, which was what I was tempted to do last week when looking for my media news on the Australian website. So this is a warning to any potential designers, keep the design aspects the same each time or, if you have to change it, let us know!
By the way, the media section is now located under the IT section on the Australian website: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
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