13 January 2011

Website Design

Everybody thinks they’re a designer. Just like everybody thinks they’re a good driver. But there is a big difference between being a good driver and being a race car driver. The same thing can be said for web design; there is a big difference between having somebody who thinks they have good taste lead the design for a website and an actual designer who does it day-in-day-out and considers the user experience just as much as the best mix of colours. Once you have the goals of your website redesign established the best thing you can do to ensure it’s success is by involving the talents of a professional designer with a background in user experience.
There are many graphical designers out there that have made the jump to web design, but when it comes to doing a good job the best web designers look beyond aesthetics and plan for interactivity. I concede that there are other disciplines beyond professional design that are required for a successful website redesign (I.e Search engine optimization, content strategy, programming performance, etc.) but, if something’s not designed well to begin with it won’t get used. It’s that simple.
Appreciation of design, like any art form, is a very subjective thing since we all have our personal tastes and preferences, but when it comes to websites the most important person to impress is the user. You are not the user and neither is your boss, so it is critical to look at things from your website visitor’s perspective and the goals they are looking to fulfill when interacting with your digital presence. Although I have an appreciation for good design and have knowledge regarding best practices, I’m not a designer.

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