Design Matters
First of all, welcome to the Official Oregon Web Team blog! Here, our team manager, Josh McKenney, and I will be writing on our two favorite topics: web development and design.
Over the next few weeks, I hope to delve into the wide array of topics that graphic design covers. As this is the first post, however, I wanted to start by listing a few key design areas that I am constantly aware of while laying out any web site.
Typography: My latest design obsession, type is one of the most important tools for getting your intended message across accurately and effectively. There is nothing worse than a beautifully-designed site marred by mismatched fonts, font sizes, and font colors. There is, in fact, something of a science to type, which we'll explore further in the future.
Color: Communication is not just about type and fonts and images, but also about color. Should that background color bright red type on a white background, or maybe black type on a yellow background? Why do certain color schemes evoke certain preconceived notions about your corporate identity? With millions of colors and hues to choose from, which are best? What colors go well together? Stay tuned.
Visual Hierarchy: This basically determines how your visitors will move through your web site's information. What will they see first? What do you want them to see first? What is most important, what is next important, and next important, and so on. Visual hierarchy is a combination of sizes, colors, positions-on-the-page, shapes and contrasts.
Branding: Don't have a logo? Not happy with your logo? You're not alone. Branding is one of the keys to quickly and effectively communicating with customers and clients. It is also one of the most difficult aspects of communication and design. In the space it takes to spell out your business' name (or sometimes even just its initials!) your brand has to communicate who you are and what you're all about. Your brand helps determine how clients experience your company and product. We'll make the branding experience a good one.
Content: Finally, even the most visually impressive design can only do so much to save poorly-written content. Not only is content important on the development side in order to gain SEO (Search Engine Optimization), but it should also keep your visitors moving smoothly and intuitively through your site and its information. Luckily, writing effective content is not as difficult as it seems on first glance. In future articles, we'll talk about key words, structure and the importance of being succinct.
Again, welcome to the Official Oregon Web Team development and design blog! Check back weekly for new articles and updates.
