Watching Northwestern’s ill-fated 2010 Bowl Game with the sound off is a great reminder of the importance and evolution of television’s on-screen graphics. In the 1980s even getting the score on screen was a pleasant surprise. The transition from the tradition of radio announcing to a more interactive experience is very evident.
At any given moment my television screen listed:
- The names of the two teams (the home team is listed second)
- The number of timeouts (three yellow lines under the team names)
- The down and distance as well as the playclock (super imposed on the field)
- The quarter and the time remaining in it
- The network and, in this case, the bowl name
- A crawl of the latest sports scores, scandals and other headlines (across the bottom)
- And, of course, the score…
All of this changes my viewing experience. In some ways it enriches it, but at the same time it threatens to distract from actually watching the game. This balancing act is the same challenge that web, print and mobile designer’s face. News organizations want to lure you to advertisements and other stories but they run the risk of enticing you to forget the very contact you came to see.
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