Web design encompasses a variety of disciplines and skills in the creation and management of websites. These skills can be implemented to produce a range of different types of websites, such as personal sites, business sites, art and music sites, and charity and educational sites. The various disciplines of web design cover web graphic design; web user interface design; content writing, including structured language and proprietary applications; visual design; and web programming. There are also other areas of expertise in web design, such as web servers and application development, website optimization, and database management. Some specialists will specialise in one or more of these areas.
Web designers use a range of different methods and technologies to create websites. One method that is increasingly used by web designers is emotional design. Emotional design refers to the use of imagery, color, typography and other means to convey an emotional response, instead of a technical solution. An example of an emotional design website might use photos of baby clothes to communicate the benefits of purchasing baby clothes. Other web designers use video to explain how their software will improve the functionality of a particular piece of software.
A problem solving process is one of the most important characteristics of web design. Many web designers use templates to simplify the problem solving process. Templates allow users to quickly establish the look and feel of the website without having to write the HTML or CSS code for the site. However, it can be important for web designers to add unique and creative content in their templates to make sure that they are creating a visually appealing website that is capable of expressing a specific idea, but also one that can be used by people in a wide range of situations.
Desktop publishing programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver and InDesign are popular for web design work. These programs have built in support for media files, which makes it easy to share images on the web. Web designers often work with file formats that are difficult to publish on mobile devices. For example, PDF is a document format that is widely accepted on the web but not on the desktop. Mobile web design work often involves working with dropbox. Dropbox is a popular service that allows users to share and synchronize files between their desktop and their mobile device.
Interaction design is one of the more difficult aspects of web design because many web designers prefer to create a brand instead of a functional solution. Designers must determine the best methods for implementing interaction design in their website. Interaction designers use various media to implement certain tasks, such as form browsing, forms saving and inserting and commenting. An interaction designer will be able to determine the best way for his or her client to get the most from their site.
Another important component of web design is user experience, or how users perceive the site to work. User research can help web designers understand what kinds of features or functions they need to include to make their website user-friendly. User research can also help web designers improve a site’s functionality by understanding what kinds of activities users perform on their sites, and where in the site users typically find these activities. Web users might not be happy with a search engine or they may be looking for a particular feature on the side bar but not finding it. By conducting user research, a web designer can address issues that may arise and improve a site’s usability.
