The purpose of web design is to facilitate communication between user and content
Designing for the web means designing sympathetically with the way people actually use the web, not how we think they should.
This section looks at the discipline of web design, how to approach design as a job, and introduces some mental techniques for increasing enjoyment and success.
For loads more information on how to think and work like a pro web designer, get the new ebook from Ben Hunt, “Save the Pixel - the Art of Simple Web Design”, described by one industry expert as “The best book on web design and usability I've ever read, and one of the best books on internet marketing in general.”.
People approach web sites in very different ways to how we design them
They skim pages for clues, instead of reading
They make snap decisions, instead of evaluating and judging carefully
They might not even be looking at the complete picture
They are driven by their goals, not ours
Designers need special skills to succeed in this environment
We must gain the best possible insight into our users' goals, so that we can help achieve them.
We must get clear on our design's purpose, and have the mental discipline to stick to it
We must pursue simplicity ruthlessly - if an element adds complexity but not value, it must be changed
To start learning ways of designing for real users, we can gain insights into what the brain is good at. This provides a useful foundation for developing and evaluating design techniques.
Fortunately, the mass experience of digital design is at our disposal, and provides us with patterns and conventions that are proven to work.
