Lecture 2

Week 2 Lecture

Designing for Web

Web design:

Graphic Design
Information Design
Interface Design
Document Production
Scripting and Programming
Multimedia

A Page? A Book? A Brochure? A Shop? An Application? A TV? A Radio? A Telephone?

Contents will determine technical aspect.

Greatly affect the sites design.

Designers detest Internet explorer. Firefox is the most favourable.

We use Firefox because it is cleaner to use for designers.

Monitor size a key issue for web designers.

Most popular is 1024x768 resolution or higher than 1024x768.

Common width is 900pixels and above.

Virtually no one uses 800x600 or under anymore.

Need to take into account the mobile phone web.

Format a webpage specifically for web on the phone.

Web Design:

Browser compatibility
Monitor resolution
Mobile web
Colour
Accessibility
User preference
Connection speed.

Design Conventions: don’t have to be used but can be useful.

Most sites scroll down.
Use site logo as home link.
Hyperlink to be blue and underlined.
Site ID
Page name
Sections and subsections
Local navigations
“You are here” indicator
Search

What site is this?
What page am I on?
What are the major sections of this site?
What are my options at this level?
Where am I in the scheme of things?
How can I search?

Learning from existing examples.

Thinking critically about those examples.

Most relevant to your aim and relevance.

May have a motive to break design convention.

Unconventional can be fantastic and work well for the site.

Consider both technical and social constraints.

Identify design conventions that work for existing websites.

Technical constraints and design conventions are not static.

Identify conventions that are relevant your subject, your audience and your aims.