Emphasize small, important words. —Horton (1990)

Use highlighting and emphasis to make important words catch the user’s eye. Colored text can also be used for emphasis and hypertext anchors stand out by virtue of being blue and underlined. —Nielsen(1997b)

Keep the URL short and memorable. … Each link has a different color and style from the surrounding text, and the link pulls visual focus. —America Online (2001)

Make links accessible but not distracting to the main message. —Lynch (2000)

See bibliography: America Online (2001), Horton (1990), Lynch (2000), Morkes & Nielsen (1997, 1998), Nielsen (1997a, 1997b)

When we pour sand continuously from a funnel onto a table, we see a small pile build up. At first the grains of sand stay just about where they land, but as more and more sand pours down, the pile grows, and widens. It becomes a complex, self-organizing system.

As more sand pours down, little trickles of sand go down the pile, here and there, affecting different localities, but nothing dramatic happens to the overall shape—for a while.

Suddenly, an avalanche shakes the pile, dumping huge amounts of sand down the slope, and out onto the table. Adding one extra grain of sand has transformed the system from a state in which there were local perturbations, into a state in which global movement emerges. The complex system has emergent dynamics.

When we pour sand continuously from a funnel onto a table, we see a small pile build up. At first the grains of sand stay just about where they land, but as more and more sand pours down, the pile grows, and widens. It becomes a complex, self-organizing system.

As more sand pours down, little trickles of sand go down the pile, here and there, affecting different localities, but nothing dramatic happens to the overall shape—for a while.

Suddenly, an avalanche shakes the pile, dumping huge amounts of sand down the slope, and out onto the table. Adding one extra grain of sand has transformed the system from a state in which there were local perturbations, into a state in which global movement emerges. The complex system has emergent dynamics.