Design Philosophy for sites by Elise (Elyse) C. Boucher, also known as Merouda Pendray and Zosia the Pious

Picture the scene:

In a crowded room, stuffed to the rafters with desks, papers, books, and damn bad decor, an 18-year-old soldier hesitantly sits down before a glowing green screen. Behind her, an older woman, dressed in civilian clothes, says, "Go ahead, Private. Say hello to my friend in New York."

The younger woman slowly hunts and pecks out the words: Hello. My name is Elise.

She turns to the older woman, confused. "I don’t see what I typed."

The blond civilian leans in and points to the bottom of the screen. "There. Hit return, and then wait."

There is a lag. The line at the bottom of the screen stays blank. It takes a good long time, but then, finally, a message blinks on the screen: Hello, Elise. How are you today?

The redheaded soldier looks up at the woman, girlish excitement on her face and in her voice as she exclaims, "Coooooool!"

***

That was a long time ago, in the days when 8-bit machines with your choice of green or amber monitors were your keys to the lightening-fast world of ARPANET. There, in the quiet of the underutilized Army Education Center on Ft. George G. Meade, I fell in love with the Information Age.

That early exposure to a ‘net at its most basic has profoundly influenced my view of the current Big Dog on the Internet, the World Wide Web. As far as I am concerned, the prime function of the web continues to be the sharing of information. Whiz-bang scripts, swirly graphics following my mouse across the screen, sTrAnGe capitalization, 1337 5p34k, and so forth are not to be found on my pages—unless, perhaps, I choose to parody something. Oversized graphics, lengthy flash introductions, and so forth, while often attractive, add little to the basic message of a given site. All the pretties interfere with my attempt to get the information I seek at another person’s site.

My first, great love is the book. Print and static graphics on pages, to be browsed and savored: that is my ideal vehicle. Therefore, I design simply. My purpose is to give you access to the information I choose to collect, the writings I choose to offer, and to present this to you in a way that is soothing and non-distracting.

I hope I have succeeded in that, and I hope that you will enjoy your visit here.

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