Designing a new website can be a double-edged sword. We want to create a site that’s aesthetically pleasing. Most importantly we need to keep our client’s objectives at the core of the work. It’s really a mix of technical excellence, art, and problem-solving. We must be able to listen carefully to the client’s needs or the whole project will end up in the ashes! The elements of creating a design composition can be simplified and broken down into just three key areas. Discovery, exploration, and implementation.

Discovery

The discovery part is key. Meeting the client, either in person or nowadays mostly via Zoom is crucial in terms of getting to know their intricacies and how their business is operated. This is key for coming up with an effective and targeted design. The meeting should never be about impressing the client. We are all about great communication and learning exactly what is needed from their end.

Exploration

The next step of the design is to take the information gleaned from the client back to the design studio for dissection and analysis. Generally, we mull around this part quite a bit – we need to play around with all the options put forth and think about the website arrangement, colours, backgrounds, menus, etc. The clearest titles for pages and the steps necessary to reach each page organically are super important.

Implementation

The implementation part starts with creating a layout. When there is a really relevant template available to use as a ground starter then that’s great. Templates allow the site to take form very quickly and also allow the designer to tweak and modify until the final effect is achieved. Otherwise, we will design with straight HTML or a Ruby on Rails application. Getting a design right is a knack that comes with experience.

Design and Content

Users are pleased by design but are drawn to the content. Both should compliment each other. An important consideration is the amount of time it takes the user to scan a page and find the information they are looking for. From this perspective, design should not be a hindrance but should act as a conduit between the content and the visitor.