|
Web
Design Elementals:
|
Design Basics: What Makes Good Design? | |
|
The Fundamentals Design Ideals, and How They Apply to the Web Site
design consits of two main items: navigation layout and visual layout.
Navigation is important for getting users around the website, and visual
layout is important for getting the user through the webpage. Navigation Layout
Hypertext is not linear and so allows the user to move in any pattern he or she chooses. With a book, the general flow of information and design allows users to move in very predictable patterns. When they need to jump around, say to look in an appendix, they have to hunt around to find the right page. Any person who has ever had to look for information in an appendix will tell you that it is a pain to have to go hunting for some page that is not easily found. The Internet gives the designer the ability to make this process very easy for the user if done right. No matter how you design a webpage, some basic principles should always be adhered to. First, links should always be easy to find. They should differ from regular text in color or be underlined. They should point directly to where you expect the user to want to go, not just to a general area. And site navigation should always be consistent and readily visible. People use the Interenet because it allows them to get anywhere they want for information. Links are what the Internet is all about, so don't bury them or make them difficult to understand.
Visual Layout: K.I.S. No, its not your father's favorite 70's rock band. K.I.S. (pronounced like the Valentine's Day smooch) is actually an acronym for "keep it simple." In the design world, this basic tenet ensures that while design aids in the presentation of information, it never overwhelms it.
It is a matter of fact that most successful websites use very few design elements; they just use them effectively. Some excellent examples include Google, (live site), and Apple, (live site), where white space, consistent site structure, and color (in the navigation bars and between site areas) all combine to make a site that is both recognizable and easy to navigate.
See how closely you were paying attention by taking a java test. Now that we have covered some theory behind design and the Web, its time to explore design's actual elements and how we can use them for site design. What exactly are they? Read on...
|
|