When it comes to web design there are many facets but the question that should be asked is “what is the basic definition of the term we come across web design?”In todays post I wanted to find out what are some of the things that define this term and break it down into its simplicity as best I can.
When you see the word “web design” and look at it in its totality you can see that is composed of two terms: web and design. Once we notice this and knowing that simple fact can help to give us a better understanding of how they relate. I think it’s best to start with the latter half of the word because this word will most likely be the foundation of its is structure as opposed to the WEB you think of the internet.
So how do they relate and how do they play a role together to make up of what we see and create today as web designers, UI/UX designers, or if your like myself a front end web developer.
So lets define the word.
Design
Design has 3 different definitions, but before we go the dictionary let’s see what others have to say about what design is from their perspective.
According to Treefrog, design is defined as the process of collecting ideas and arranging and implementing them guided by certain principles for a specific purpose.
Ok that seems pretty straight forward right? I mean ideas placed in a certain way to convey a concept for an intended purpose.
Hhhhhmmmm…
From Lifewire they define design as: the planning and creation of websites.
Now for dictionary.com’s definition
A plan produced to show the look and function of an object.
I think I’m starting to see a pattern, do you?
It seems as the recurring theme is design is considered as a plan of action.
Intriguing isn’t it? Wouldn’t you think of design as something more visual. Well let’s dig a little deeper.
I actually like how they broke this down to the simple idea of a plan. Think about it, whenever you want to create something won’t you sit for a moment and think about what you want to do or create. Therefore there is some form of plan of action involved.
With design in itself there are elements and principles one has to think about if they are trying to create something with intentionality, or as the definition states “a specific purpose”.
Some elements can range from layout, to imagery, content, contrast, patterns, form, and even balance. A good designer thinks about these elements in mind because they are not thinking of just the product but how people will and can interact, or view, the design.
These same principles are the same when it comes to the web.
How so you might ask?
Well the designer has to think of how the design can effect the user. If you been studying or been in the game of web development for some time, or just beginning, you will learn that there are incompatibilities with different browser functionality. Why, because not all browsers are up to date. What can I say some people like there old or simple version of IE, that’s Internet Explorer if you didn’t know : ), and as a “designer” of the web we need to think what is most effective for a user.
So lets look at some of the components that make up the web and how design and the web come together.
The Web
I know we all have preconceived notions of what the web is. You think of the internet, multiple web pages, google, and YouTube. Almost anything you can think of or what you want to know can be found on the web.
The web in itself has its on vast intricacies and facets from web hosting, to servers, domain names, and APIs. But where does design come in?
The short and simple answer…Everywhere.
Design plays an important role in life and needs to be translated to the web. Affordance cues are objects that communicate how you should interact with them.
Knowing what affordance cues are, people can navigate easier through a site with things they recognize and are familiar with. This is where design is vital.
A website has a few elements that are key to help people navigate through a site and now as a “front end web developer” or “web designer” it is now your job to “plan” how you want users to interact with the site.
A developer has to ask themselves “what purpose will the serve?”. This leads to thoughts as what images are best to put on the site, where is the best location to place the navigation bar, where and how should content be displayed with the right fonts and buttons to help guide users through the site easier.
Planning is key to the look and function of the site!
As a front end developer CSS will be your best friend when creating the look for your site.
and if you really want to spice things up add some good ol Javascript and jQuery
Really as a front end web developer it is truly best to know the programming and markup languages of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. This will give your site more dynamics and interactivity. However, knowing these languages doesn’t mean you will successfully build a good site.
Knowing simple design principles will help you to further your coding skills. If you know how people think and what they look for when they come to a site.
which I did some research on myself and wrote about and you can find here The Aspects Of Design For Front End Web Developers… just to help improve your design skills.
The Wrap Up
So is that it? Of course not. Design and the web is always evolving and staying on top of these things can seem like a daunting task. But here is something I learned and now learning to apply to my life in everything I do. The “Pareto” principle or the 80/20 rule state that that 20% of any thing you do accounts for 80% of the work. In other words the 20% accounts for the basics or fundamentals of a thing.
So if you begin to learn the fundamentals of web and design you will have a better grasp of how to use specific techniques and elements and that can take you far.
In short, simply put, web design is the visual look of the structure of a website or webpage. As any designer in any field who needs to plan on what the look of the object will look like, so does a web designer. Proper planning with tools like wireframes and flowcharts, and the elements/principles of design can help you tremendously in the the planning process of what your trying to convey. Not to mention defining the objective of a site.
A site is not only how it looks but really understanding your target audience, how they interact with it, and how you will tell your story the design.
So remember if you want to enhance your development skills learn some basic design principles and implement them in your designs. They will take you further than you know then just knowing the coding languages.