Graphics and Web Design
As a web and business marketing consultant, I understand the need to showcase the messaging of a business with a modern web design that reflects the business model and the most likely demographics of the intended users. It is necessary to evaluate what the clients like and weigh this against how they view the graphics and design and determine how they will react. A design that looks good but does not correctly reflect the intended messaging can end up being a deterrent to the user.
Evaluating The Business Model:
When coming up with a design, the first step is to thoroughly evaluate the business model to determine what design will convey the proper messaging to the client’s intended audience. What type of branding would be best suited for one business might not be appropriate for another. We are analyzing current trends and how other business models of a similar type can be helpful.
Understanding The Target Audience:
Once the business model is fully understood, the next step would be to figure out who the most likely intended audience would be. This will depend on the type of business and the geographic and demographic profile of the user the client intends to convert. Color schemes suitable for users coming from one particular location might not be as effective for others.
Tying It All Together:
Once the business model and the target audience are fully understood, the next step would be to evaluate what type of web design the client is expecting. To properly market his and her business vision, the design must reflect their personality. This is where it is important for the designers not to force ideas that only represent the designers’ business vision.
The various types of web designs should flow together to paint a picture of what and how the client intends to showcase the product or service that they offer. In most cases, this will start with the logo and general branding designs. Feedback should be gathered during the design process that remains flexible enough for the process to evolve correctly.
Picking The Best Tools for The Design:
The best tools to use when creating a design will depend on the client’s use of the design and the type. I prefer to use the Adobe suite to create each type, but what specific application would depend on how the client intends to use what I deliver. I prefer Adobe Fireworks for a web page design set but might opt for Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator for a logo. Active listening abilities can play as important a part in success as raw skill does to design.
Making an Awesome Design Workflow:
Graphic and web design is a process that requires many steps. Before, a great design was viewed as something of a bonus – something that you just saw from time to time. Now, great design is a requirement for a better customer experience. If your site already has great content, the site design has to carry that great content, too. Your customers also have to see your graphic and design effort across multiple devices. I specialize in making sites beautiful wherever they are viewed.
There are many ways to produce graphic design for the web, but there is a general workflow involved.
The Brief
The brief contains the essential information that will guide me in creating the graphic and site design. The brief comprises but is not limited to information about the market, the client’s vision for the site, the intended audience, goals for the site, etc. The brief is the foundation of ideas, the wellspring of inspiration for all that I will do on the site. It’s one of the maps that keeps me on track with what I need to accomplish alongside the client. When you schedule a consultation with me, we can start working on the brief for your site’s design. The brief is probably the most important part of the project because if there’s no detailed brief, the project can’t begin.
Looking into the Market
The second most important step in site design doesn’t involve any designing – yet. Good design is the result of good research, and that’s exactly what I want to accomplish after I get the brief. The designer has to be familiar with what the particular audience wants to see in the first place. It’s only after familiarizing oneself with the market that the design plans start to take shape because site design is human design – I like making optimized designs that work for people who will use the site. The goal is to create a site that performs well in all aspects. The market research also determines what your site should ideally look like.
Mood boarding
A big part of the branding process is all about emotions. All the work that goes into design has an emotional component that makes it all worthwhile. Design is essentially the pursuit of what makes the customers happy while doing things online. Mood boarding is the process of creating something visual/tangible so that you can pair image, color, and text optimally on the platform. Before a designer attains that goal, there is certainly a huge pile of work that has to do with how the end-result will elicit emotional responses from people. Some of the essential questions that design attempts to answer are:
- What general feeling are we looking for?
- What method can evoke that feeling?
- How can I communicate the plan to you?
- How can I provide the experience to the wider target audience?
A mood board gets everyone on the same page. The great thing about mood boards is they can be created easily, initially, and then several mood boards can be created again later on to narrow the focus of the design project.
Visual Exploration
I start designing after market research, mood boarding, thumbnailing, and general concept development. I begin using the professional design tools that I mentioned earlier, whichever is applicable to begin the design process. I experiment with visual elements that I think would work, based on all the preparations beforehand.
Refinement
After the initial design process, I go back to all the data and insights and evaluate whether I hit my marks. This is also the time that I will show you some completed designs/concepts for feedback.
