bartlett’s familiar quotations

This was my first project I felt was truly my own, though I had great direction from my boss back then in 1994.

In short, it was a CD-ROM created from the printed edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. The goal was to create an interface for the program that had a classic quality that borrowed heavily from the printed page.

The biggest challenge when designing this piece was the text. On screen typography is more difficult to work with compared to traditional print design. (Still is)

It was important to ensure that the length of text lines was not too long and that the colors would not irritate the eye after long periods of reading. (Like the black background of this very page)

One nice feature of the electronic edition of the book is the addition of several ways to navigate to the quotes. This section allows users to scroll through authors alphabetically or page through quotes by time. (pardon the bad screen shot)

The search component of the title was extensive and allowed users to compile various search criteria in order to select specific quotations.

Designing for this functionality was a challenge, but seeing everything work once the programming team put it together was ample reward.

Direct access to the multimedia component of the disc was available in the Media Timeline.

This area offers the audio-visual quotations not available in the printed edition. Speeches, music, paintings, architecture, and video clips of importance were incorporated to create a reference that went beyond words.

Icon studies from the project.

< back to timeline

Or view other projects from this time period:
• Bartlett’s Famliar Quotations
• National Museum of American Art CD-ROM
• National Air and Space Museum CD-ROM
• EDI CD-ROM
• John Deere Precision Farming Application
• Body Vision Concept