The influence of the broadsheet on the web.
A recent trend has developed (which I have talked about in previous articles) which uses other mediums to inspire our web site designs, such as posters and newspapers etc. I believe this new style has come to the forefront in rebellion to the web 2.0 style. The web 2.0 style is very polished / shiny and there was a point in the evolution of web design where the internet became saturated with these sites, which all looked similar. The polar opposite of web 2.0 style however is a style based around the broadsheet newspaper, with serif fonts and large headlines accompanied with a large image and often using a more weathered / lighter colour scheme. (more…)

Google has just upped the stakes once again by rolling out its new ‘real time’ search results functionality which brings up-to-the-second results of the latest information to be added to the web. This presents a brand new opportunity for local companies to get national coverage on Google.  

You may have already noticed that when you now carry out a search on Google it also shows a list of ‘real-time’ results, which are mixed in with all the other search results. These are usually ‘latest news’ articles that have recently been added to the web.

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Following on from “Psychology in Web Design Part 1″ i’ll conclude by looking at other tools in a web psychologists armourey namely: Layout, Eye Patterns, Use of Branding and Colour Theory.

Layout
The anatomy of a web page can be broken down into a variety of elements which all need to work in unison.. By producing an aesthetically pleasing final composition  we can effect the emotions of our user in a positive way. (more…)

Intro
Why do I believe it is imperative for every web designer to understand the psychology behind Web Design? I still find a misconception exists that design is the same as art; essentially that it is all about aesthetics rather than achieving a business aim. This is a misconception which is frankly derogatory to the *pioneering designer. Exploring and learning tools of web design psychology helps us as designers to articulate to clients our reasoning behind the design. I also find that exploring this relatively new area will help you broaden your knowledge as a designer as well as being a first class resource to direct your clients towards when explaining your rational behind an action. Finally remember that as experts in the field of web design we have to have a rounded knowledge of our subject matter, not just be able to paint a pretty picture…that’s what artists do right?! Haha… (more…)

The debate is always raging in the office between what we think makes the perfect email template. There is perceived to be a divide between the designers and the email marketing gurus, but is this really the case? My opposition (if you like!) in this debate is email marketing guru Alex Fenwick from Mailing Manager you can read his return article on the MM blog just here. (more…)

How do you improve your business? How do you cherry pick the clients you would like to work with? Apart from having a glittering reputation pitching for the work of desirable clients is common practice for those agencies looking to grow. This as ever is a hot topic of debate amongst the web design community; there is a growing voice which suggests we should not be doing speculative work as it is detrimental to both parties. Balanced against this however is the opportunity to win fantastic new clients. (more…)

Okay…all design is subjective; however there are distinguishable differences between design for print and screen based design. Just like Roger Federer has dominated the world of tennis it would be fair to say he would take time to adapt and master another racket based sport like badminton. The point I’m trying to make is that understanding your medium is key; web design has its own set of consequences which are not always understood by those outside of the design community. (more…)

Don’t make it an afterthought…

When designing and building a site where would you put site content in your hierarchy of importance?
A reoccurring problem many designers / developers face is that although many realise the importance of web content it is not something which they are in control of. The content is either supplied by the client in bit part format (i.e. An old brochure pdf or hastily gathered word documents) or it is supplied by a copywriter. (more…)