The Web Design Process Start to Finish I've always found it interesting reading the design process of others (David Airey, Contrast, Brian Hoff). It's good to have an insight into others work, to see if I can learn anything from their process but also for curiosity. So I've put together a break down of my design process, using a recent project as a real life example, Newsgroup Direct. Overview I was recently hired by Newsgroup Direct (NGD), a leading Usenet newsgroup service provider, to revamp their website, make it more modern and improve signups. Here is their previous design. Planning The first thing that happens when I get an enquiry is I send the potential client a website planner. The key objectives of the planner: Find out who the client is and what they do Who their target market/user is Who their competition is What deliverables they want from me Timeframe and budget In a nutshell, NGD require a makeover with a modern & easy to use interface. Research & Ideas Current site Competitors sites Ideas Logo Wireframes Mockups
Design Principles How to Create a Captivating Presentation “Creativity” isn’t the first word you’d associate with the average business presentation. The phrase “Death by PowerPoint” has been a cliché for years, but sadly the same clichés are being perpetuated day in day out – slides “designed” using hideous templates, crawling with bullet points and paragraphs in tiny fonts, which presenters then read out in a monotone (turning their backs to the audience), using interchangeable meaningless corporate jargon. But there is an alternative – and you hold the keys to it.Now, you may not consider yourself a natural presenter. Maybe, like many creatives, you are slightly shy by nature, at your most comfortable when seated at your desk or alone in the studio with your work. But I managed to transform myself from someone who was terrified of standing up in front of an audience to an in-demand public speaker and workshop leader. Treat the presentation as a creative project in its own right. 1. 2. 3. You have the same opportunity. 4. 5. 6. Over To You
A 6-Step General Process for Producing a Website When it comes to building a website, it helps to have a process to follow, especially if you are just getting started as a web designer. Good guidelines can help you work better by keeping forgetfulness to a minimum. Every designer or company will develop unique components to their web design process over time, but the basics remain the same: learn, plan, design, code, launch and maintain. In this article, I will share my process for designing a website. Before we get into it, let me first share two parallel processes that should be taking place throughout your design process. The first thing you should be doing continuously is seeking feedback. The second thing you should do continuously is testing. With that said, let’s get started! 1. What do you think is the most important step of the web design process? Guess again. Why? Think of it like this: If you are an archer, don’t you need to know where to aim your arrow? So how can you score a bullseye as a web designer? The Creative Brief 2. 3.
Useful Ideas And Guidelines For Good Web Form Design - Smashing Magazine 50 User Interface Design Tools A Web Designer Must Have The success of web applications and websites depends in how well designed the User Interface is. Designing a good user interface however is a very challenging process. A designer’s concepts and design decisions always affect the end users of the web site, application or generally any user interface or service he has designed. That is why, the dream of every designer is to deliver high quality, enjoyable and valuable experiences for the users. To achieve this goal, it is necessary that a web designer have a collection of web user interface resources and building blocks in his arsenal. There is a variety of User Interface resources that allows you as designer to access, redefine, and create a well crafted User Interface. Let us explore these things and further our own craft. Advertisement 1. ForeUI is an easy-to-use UI prototyping tool, designed to create mockup / wireframe / prototypes for any application or website you have in mind. 2. 3. 4. 5. iPhone Mockup 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.
Mood board A mood board is a type of collage consisting of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition. They may be physical or digital, and can be "extremely effective" presentation tools.[1] Uses[edit] Mood boards are used by graphic designers to enable a person to visually illustrate the style they are pursuing. However, they can also be used to visually explain a certain style of writing, or an imaginary setting for a storyline. In short, mood boards are not limited to visual subjects, but serve as a visual tool to quickly inform others of the overall "feel" (or "flow") of an idea. Types[edit] Traditionally, mood boards are made from foam board which can be cut up with a scalpel and can also have spray mounted cut-outs put onto it.[1] Creating mood boards in a digital form may be easier and quicker, but physical objects often tend to have a higher impact on people because of the more complete palette of sensations physical mood boards offer, in contrast with the digital mood boards.
Website Planning Guide - Smashing Magazine 30 Useful and Hilarious Lorem Ipsum Generators Lorem ipsum represents a long-held tradition for designers, typographers and the like. Some people hate it and argue for its demise, but others ignore the hate as they create awesome tools to help create filler text for everyone from bacon lovers to Charlie Sheen fans. Today we’re going to briefly discuss why lorem ipsum and its brethren still have legitimate uses and then we’ll have some fun as we check out thirty great dummy content generators that you’ll definitely want to bookmark. Is Lorem Ipsum Useful? The obvious idea is to start this article off with a description of lorem ipsum and where it came from, but as designers we pretty much all get the idea: it’s filler text. The question is an important one and something I’ve given a lot of thought to lately. “Latin placeholder text isn’t just a simple nuisance. The argument that John makes is sound: that designers shouldn’t be using dummy text in place of relevant content. Useful Generators Lorem Ipsum – All the facts Blind Text makeTEXT
25 Examples of Web 2.0 and Traditional Design Rules Coming Together In the large scope of the design world, the term “Web 2.0″ is relatively a new one. With it, comes its own set of standards, some strong, others not so strong, since Web 2.0 in itself is a very fickle, ever-evolving definition of design standards. Countless examples of Web 2.0 sites have broken the rules of what was once considered strong design. On the other hand, in many cases Web 2.0 has strengthened common design misnomers; it places a focus on usability, interface, and readability. At its best, Web 2.0 stands as an equal to the traditional design rules practiced for centuries, though it is no doubt a reflection of our society in its current state of hustle and bustle. Here’s a collection of 25 sites showcasing how Web 2.0 and traditional design practices can come together to form truly stunning websites. 1. Josh Pyles is a nice guy, and he’s also a fantastic, disciplined designer. Traditional Aspects: Great grid system. Web 2.0 Enhancements: Beautiful gradients. 2. Great use of texture.