Download Principles of Web Design Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Web Site Design Principles
Chapter 2
Principles of Web Design
Objectives
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Design for the computer medium
Design the whole site
Design for the user
Design for the screen
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Design for the Medium
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Craft the look and feel
Make your design portable
Design for low bandwidth
Plan for clear presentation and easy
access to your information
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Make Your Design Portable
• Your Web site design must be portable and
accessible across different browsers,
operating systems, and computer platforms
• You must always remember to test your work
even when you feel confident of your results
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Design for Low Bandwidth
• Plan your pages so that they are accessible
at a variety of connection speeds
• If your pages download slowly because they
contain large, detailed graphics or
complicated animations, your users will leave
before they ever see your content
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Design the Whole Site
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Plan the unifying themes and structures
Create smooth transitions
Use a grid to provide visual structure
Use active white space
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Create Smooth Transitions
• Plan to create a unified look
• Reinforce the identifying elements
• Avoid random, jarring changes in format
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Use a Grid to Provide Structure
• The grid is a conceptual layout device that
organizes content into columns and rows
• A grid provides visual consistency
• HTML authors use the table elements to build
the grid for their pages
• CSS will eventually replace tables for layout
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Use Active White Space
• Use white space deliberately in your design
• Good use of white space guides the reader
and defines the areas of your page
• Active white space is an integral part of your
design that structures and separates content
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Design for the User
• Keep your design efforts centered solely
around your user
• Design for interaction
• Design for location
• Guide the user’s eye
• Decide whether the user will read or
scan
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Design for the User
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Keep a flat hierarchy
Provide plenty of linking options
Provide location information
Use plenty of textual links
Don’t overload the user with too much
content
• Design for accessibility
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Design for the Screen
• The computer display is very different
from print-based media
• The display is landscape-oriented
• Colors and contrasts are different
• Computer displays are low-resolution
devices
• Reformat paper documents for online
display
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Summary
 Craft a look and feel and stick with it
throughout your site. Revise and test your
interface by paying close attention to the
demands of online display.
 Make your design portable, using as low a
bandwidth as possible
 Plan for easy access to your information.
Don’t let the user click through more than
two or three pages before they get what
they want.
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Summary
 Design a unified look for your site. Create
templates for your grid structure and apply
them consistently.
 Use white space actively as an integral
part of your design. Use text, color, and
object placement to guide the user’s eye.
 Leverage the power of hypertext linking.
Provide enough links for the user to create
their own path through your information.
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Summary
 Use the ALT attribute on all graphics. Plan
for users who can’t or won’t download
graphics.
 Design your text for online display
 Know your audience and design pages that
suit their needs, interests, and viewing
preferences
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