guidelines for

GOODweb design

good news - bad news

http://www.newedgedesign.com/10-worst-web-design-mistakes/

http://www.monroetech.com/website-design-development/

what is design?• Design (de`sign´): the act of working

out the form of something; an arrangement scheme; a decorative or artistic work; the creation of something in the mind

Web Site Design Elements

• Sensory (what you see)• Conceptual (what you think)• Reactive (how you feel)

why we need guidelines

the “paper” rule

• Paper!• Think!• Purpose?• Color?• Images?

http://www.ehow.com/facts_5848358_research-important-writing-paper_.html

so what makes a good site?

Balance images, color and space

Use color as accents

links• Differentiate links

–DON’T CHANGE DEFAULT color• Don’t use generic instructions• Don’t use generic links• Make sure the link explicitly

indicates what will happen.

guidelines for

GOODweb design

Navigation should always lead back home

• Use common scheme for page navigation. –ALWAYS link back to the home

page or other pages on the web site. –Orphan page: A page with no link to the

home page

think about this…

Include identity, copyright information and links to your homepage on every page.

unity• Common look and feel for

each page on the site–Sense of uniformity–Common graphic elements and

colors on each page

fonts• On paper

–serif fonts – fonts with a “tail”–Times New Roman

• On screens–sans-serif fonts–Verdana or Arial

• Don’t use more than 3 different fonts

fontsACME Medical

Illuminating your future

with advanced medical technology.

ACME MedicalIlluminating your future with advanced medical

technology.

oh sure, it LOOKS good but ...

• Reading from a computer screen = 25% slower

• Write 50% less text than on paper

yucky backgrounds

yucky backgrounds

yucky backgrounds

yucky backgrounds

yucky backgrounds

yucky backgrounds

Just a thought…

Just because you can do it,

doesn’t mean you should do it!

http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/ugliest-worst-web-pages-of-the-decade.html

http://www.datadial.net/blog/index.php/2009/06/09/website-fail-30-web-designs-that-will-hurt-your-eyes/