Overview:
The digital medium offers significant possibilities for rich access to travel information. More than just powerfully encyclopedic, the digital form also offers procedural, participatory, and spatial possibilities that give the information provider highly flexible information delivery options. Moreover, a properly designed digital resource can take advantage of these elements to give its consumer the power to re-mold the user experience at will, according to individual needs and preferences. But how well do current sources capitalize on the possibilities inherent in digital media, if at all?

This paper analyzes several examples of traditional (non-digital) and digital media guides to San Francisco. Two popular print guides, Fodor’s San Francisco and Access San Francisco, provide a basis for content comparison with digital guides. An analysis of digital forms provides a cross-sectional representation of Web-available content. Two of the selected Web samples, Fodor’s and Lonely Planet, have roots in print media; a third is produced by a tourism board: the San Francisco Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

Role:
Research, analysis, and documentation.

  Comparative Design Analysis Document