Creative Website Imagery

Using imagery on a website is a great way to capture the attention and imagination of your users. But use too much imagery or do so improperly, and those eyes are just as likely to flick back to Google. We’ve put together these tips – some innovative and new, some tried and true – for drawing those users right in.

Be economical

Never has the term “more is less” been more true than when using images on a website. We’ve all visited sites that don’t follow this advice – sites with links sprawled from one end of the page to the next and graphics squeezed into every available bit of white space. We’ve all abandoned those sites, too.

Avoid this fate by concentrating first on a few key images, including your logo, your primary navigation, and the most important, relevant or current content. Any added imagery should support these features rather than overpower them. This could mean using no photos or extra images at all, or it could mean placing one or two clear, unique and powerful images well above the fold. Just pick your theme, find the most important images to bring that theme to the forefront, and use the least that you can.

If you don’t have access to a photographer or designer, consider using stock photography or stock footage in your design creation.

Use powerful colors

It’s best to be economical when it comes to colors, too, staying true to one scheme. Better yet, stick with just one main color. That way you’ll be able to grab a reader’s attention when you switch briefly to another.

No matter how much you love that bright fuchsia, be gentle on the eye, using flat colors, subtle contrast, and smooth gradients and curves. While it’s fun to experiment, know that many colors show up very differently on different screens. Going too far out of the box can create an unintentionally unpleasant experience for some of your visitors.

Don’t fear the white space

Use white space to contrast with other colors. This will help visitors focus their attention, and it will give their eyes a break. Plus, white space just looks fresh and clean, giving your site an inviting contemporary look.

Play with typography

Typography can help convey tone, voice and message. You can go funky and fun, slick and professional, or purely utilitarian. Experiment with a number of choices before you settle on one. Stick with your choice throughout the site, using no more than two different fonts – one for the headers, one for the body. Just like all other images, make sure typography supports the theme rather than distracting from it. Pay attention to spacing, too, both between letters and between sections on the page.

And last but certainly not least, remember that it’s function before style. Don’t sacrifice readability just because you love how old timey a text looks.

Stay relevant and be direct

The core purpose of having a website or blog is to send a clear message. That’s why it’s so important to stay on theme, no matter how creative your site may be. Users will feel cheated, annoyed or misdirected if Google brings them to your restaurant review site and the feature image is of a Ferrari. With every image you add, stop and ask yourself, “How does this support my site’s voice, theme, or purpose?”

But don’t fear the abstract

That said, relevance doesn’t have to mean a literal translation of your ideals. There are, for instance, far too many business websites out there featuring stock photos of models in suits shaking hands. Showcasing businesspeople just because you’re in business doesn’t tell us much about who you are and how you’re different than the competition. Try experimenting with abstract shots or vectors instead. This will enable you to create images that are truly unique. They’ll still be compelling and relevant if they relate to some aspect of your business, like your voice or emotional tone.

Overall, the images you use on your website should send a clear message about who you are, what you do, and why you do it. With these techniques in your tool box, you’re sure to stand out from the crowd.

Written by Rob Toledo: Rob Toledo loves all things CSS3, staring at source code and no longer supports IE7, he can be reached on Twitter @stentontoledo

500+ Symbolicons Vector Icons from Mighty Deals

Whether you’re creating an application or a website, anyone who appreciates design knows how the right set of icons can add that perfect, final touch to your project. After all, it’s the icons that users will usually interact with the most. And today Mighty Deals bring you the perfect set of icons that are nothing short of spectacular. They’re precise, elegant and quite simply…gorgeous!

You can get thisset of 505 Symbolicons icons for just $15, that’s more than 60% off the regular price of $40!  You’ll also receive free updates as this set continues to grow.

Check out this awesome set on Mighty Deals right away, as the deal is available this week only.

The 3 Essential Fundamentals of Designing a Successful Website

The internet is chock-a-block with different websites clamoring for the attention of their target audience. Forget about emerging as the leader, but even surviving in such cut throat competition is difficult. But, there are websites and online businesses that are actually thriving in such conditions and the credit for this should be given to their website design. Their designers have taken every care in the book to ensure that their designs attract a loyal stream of website visitors, which in turn ensures a successful online presence.

The key to successful website design is getting the fundamentals right. Let’s take a look at three such fundamentals:

Get Specific – Don’t Try to Please Everybody

Let’s face it, you can’t please all and sundry with the design of your website. This is why you need to create a design that will appeal to your specific target audience. For this to happen, identify a theme that your audience will appreciate and create a website that revolves around that specific theme. The business of website design is all about specifics and designing a website that has no clear and definite thought process behind it will never work.

Start from the ground-up

Begin at the very beginning. When you are conceptualizing the design of the website, first check with the developers regarding its feasibility and only then start off on its wireframe. At the same time, identify the various designing platforms that you are going to use to bring your concept to life. It’s important to understand that there are plenty of designing platforms out there, but use only those, which you are comfortable with. This will give you the added confidence to be innovative with your design and bring to it a sense of uniqueness.

Avoid Needless Complications

Some website designers fall into the trap of designing a website that is replete with complicated visuals, call-to-action buttons and complex use of design elements. This results in a UI that not many website visitors can make sense of. As can be imagined, such visitors will definitely prefer going to some other site and not wasting time on a site that is difficult to understand. Therefore, it’s important that you subscribe to the policy of simplicity. Simplify your designs as much as possible, so that the website is able to deliver its message clearly.

To Conclude

As can be imagined, these are not the only fundamentals that you need to keep in mind for creating a successful website. But they are enough to get you started. If you are serious about your job as a website designer, it’s of paramount importance that you keep improving your skill sets and keep identifying and implementing more fundamentals as a part of your website designing process.

Written by Hazel Raoult: Hazel Raoult  is working with PLAVEB – a leading web design company based in Los Angeles, CA. She loves designing visually striking user experiences for clients and has brought to life a slew of client projects that have gone on to become very successful. She has a keen insight for design and loves sharing it through her write ups.

The Components of Clean Web Designing

Simple and clean web designs are an evergreen trend. There are some traits that are shared by all clean web designs. Here we will discuss these traits and the techniques that you can use to clean up your web page.

The web page layout

The basic structure of the grid should be well thought out. In order to do this, imagine rows and columns that divide all the elements on the page into a perfectly well balanced composition. Following this grid will give your page a good sense of pattern and order. The grid should be the basis for the scale and placements of the components of the webpage. It yields consistency and rhythm to your page.

Getting the layout right can be quite challenging, if your site offers a large amount of content. But if you follow a good grid, this process gets simplified.

Typography

Good typography is all about getting more out of less. Restraint is essential when you want a clean looking web page. Avoid the use to too many typefaces as they tend to clash, giving a disjointed appearance. Choose one or maybe two typefaces, you can then add variety by changing their size and color, in order to establish hierarchy. The space given between lines can also make a web page look appealing. Make sure your letter spacing is also consistent.

Color palette

Although the colors you can choose from are vast, remember to limit yourself. Use neutral shades combined by one or two other colors to add uniformity. Colors that are more vibrant should be used for important elements, so that they catch the reader’s attention. If you plan on pushing past say two colors, use them sparingly. The colors used should not only look good, but also echo the site’s content.

Imagery

When it comes down to imagery, make sure that it is consistent all over the site. Ensuring harmony of visual elements can be quite tricky, but they do add a powerful finishing touch. The quality, composition and depth of field should be similar in all images on a page. This ensures that viewer’s look at images as a whole rather than as distinct, distracting elements. Sometimes, this may not be practical, but the use of graphics like borders and other such elements can give a more uniform appearance.

Simplify and tweak

While planning you page design, it is normal to come up with designs that are complex. Do not worry, initially don’t limit yourself and add all the layers you want. Once this is done, begin to break it down and simplify. Look at what you actually need and get rid of the rest. Getting an outside opinion may also be useful.

Spend a lot of time tweaking. Just changing small details and trying out variations of different elements like color shades, sizes and other thing that seem inconsequential could make a world of a difference. So keep tweaking till you find exactly what you are looking for.

Five Inspirational Books Designers Should Read

Inspiration, that crucial spark that works as the catalyst for creativity, is a difficult thing to pin down. And if you could bottle it, you would be on track for making a fortune. Inspiration, or the lack of, is what every creative person fears the most. It’s the reason why writers can sit staring at a blank page, pen poised, for hours. It’s the bottleneck that can cause designers to bash their heads on keyboards in despair. But when it flows, there’s no stopping it. Inspiration is impossible to fake and can sometimes come from the strangest of sources – not always visual. Rather, it draws from all the senses and can be as diverse as the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a song that holds certain memories or even the feel of a certain fabric. Whatever floats your boat. If you’re struggling to hit upon a creative idea or your ideas are far from fresh, here’s a quick look at five must-but books for designers. We can’t guarantee you’ll find the answer to your problem, but hopefully you’ll find they reignite your creativity, imagination and passion for your craft.

1. A History of Graphic Design by Philip B. Meggs

Meggs spent over a decade carrying out the research for this seminal book, which is considered by many to be the definitive graphic design bible. The book has gone through many updates in the 15 years since its original publication, and the fourth edition is packed with hundreds of full-colour photos, over a thousand illustrations plus examples of design excellence from across the globe. It also includes chapters on the impact of the computer revolution on contemporary design and communications. It’s essential reading for any design professional, offering a thorough grounding on the history, key movements and breakthroughs of the craft from its original inception. Keep it close at hand; it’s a go-to reference that you’ll us again and again.

2. The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst

Creating beautiful typography is a real skill, and this book is hailed as the most influential work in the field in the past 30 years; a must-read for designers who work with type everywhere. It’s a handbook of best-practises that seeks to understand and explain the reasons behind typographical choices and includes numerous black and white illustrations, technical details, appendices and an easy to navigate glossary. It’s a dense book, but immensely readable. The latest edition also contains a chapter that’s dedicated to the challenges of digital typography.

3. Design Workshop by Robin Williams

This book is a brilliant back-to-basics for anyone who works in design and may not have had formal training. It’s a guide to style that begins with a quiz on technical details (answers not included) and moves on to the essential building blocks of imagery, logo, typography and layout. It’s written in Williams’s typically crystal clear style and is accessible to almost anyone, regardless of their level of experience. The ‘before and after’ sections, and the exploration of why some designs are attention grabbing and others are not are particularly illuminating.

4. A Designer’s Art by Paul Rand

Playboy, Walt Disney and the V&A all have Paul Rand in common. This hugely influential American designer is the man behind some of the most enduring and memorable logos ever created. To produce a list of essential design writing without mention him would be close to sacrilidge. This book contains a collection of his writings across subjects as diverse as the use of humour, the application of colour black and the power of repetition. It offers a fascinating insight into one of the 20^th century’s most important design minds.

5. The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters by Chip Kidd

Chip Kidd is a renowned book cover designer, who has created some of the most iconic covers of the past 20 years, putting pictures to the words of the likes of Bret Easton Ellis, Kazuo Ishiguro and Michael Crichton. His debut novel is a humorous and thought provoking look at the art school experience of the 1950s. Designers will adore the lectures in design delivered by the terrifyingly bitter Winter Sorbeck, whose ‘Introduction to Graphic Design’ course changes the way his students view the world forever.

Written by Julie Pena: This is a guest post contributed by Julie Pena. She writes on behalf of Printerinks.com. Julie is a designer from the UK who enjoys blogging and sharing her knowledge of graphic design. To find out more follow her on Twitter.