A Scientific Visualization Approach to Effective Website Design

In this paper we offer an approach of website design based on Scientific Visualization. Websites may be conceptualized as information architectures that have been designed for a specific set of task(s). We aim to develop effective information representation through the technique of visualization in order to reduce cognitive load in performing such tasks. We approach this formalism by considering the specific task of online product purchase. We model tasks as a sequence of logical operators and discuss a way in which perceptual operators may substitute these logical operators. A replacement of logical operators with perceptual operators results in minimization of cognitive effort in information processing. Embedding these perceptual operators within the website enhances the website task performance. The important implication of this research is an alternative task oriented perspective of website design based on minimizing the cognitive effort in website tasks.