Laura Ruel

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Laura Ruel is an assistant professor in visual communication and multimedia production in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Before coming to UNC, Laura was the inaugural executive director of the Edward W. Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media at the University of Denver. She also taught journalism classes in the department of Mass Communications and Journalism Studies at DU.

Prior to joining the academic world in Fall of 2000, she worked for more than 15 years in the journalism industry as a reporter, editor, designer and manager at a number of newspapers and magazines including the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Omaha World-Herald and the Denver Rocky Mountain News.

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Articles:

OJR's 'five guide' to do-it-yourself website usability testing
Use these steps, and these forms, to test how readers will react to your new multimedia project or website design. - August 2, 2007

Animated infographics and online storytelling: Words from the wise
Alberto Cairo, elmundo.es's former infographics expert, shares a sneak peek at his upcoming book on visual journalism. - May 23, 2007

Eyetracking points the way to effective news article design
OJR's design experts review usability research and offer suggestions on how you can make your online articles better connect with readers. - March 13, 2007

Multimedia storytelling: when is it worth it?
Online bells and whistles can deliver your message with impact, but done in the wrong way, they can annoy your reader. Design gurus Laura Ruel and Nora Paul show you how to do multimedia right. - February 12, 2007