Designing a website involves more than slapping some HTML tags onto a page and the basic principals of design are the same for print design or website design. The elements of good design also apply, whether you are interested in graphic design services or fashion design, and these basics will guide you in laying out the different elements in an effective, eye-pleasing way.
To put it simply, the building blocks of designs are the elements that are used to make up every page or interface you build. Once you understand the five basic elements you will be able to put together more creative and stimulating web pages.
The graphic designs you attempt need to be eye-catching and of course, your web graphic design should have the earmarks of a professional. Also, making your website user friendly and adding some "eye candy" is extremely important, as you are competing with thousands of other websites to get visitors.
Shape is a major element in it, and normally you see square or rectangular used on a web page, but you can create many different contours to avoid monotony. A unique website design can be created using lines and line work as well. Lines are used to help delineate spaces around elements, are used as dividing lines between text and as decoration. They also tend to increase the readability of it.
The other major elements of a design are texture, color and direction; all used in graphic design as well. Texture on web pages is visual, but you can use artificial or natural textures to create an effect in your artwork. Color is the element that a web designer is most aware of, but color is not a requirement of any artwork. Most often, it is best to create the designs without color and add it later.
Direction gives your designs a sense of motion across the page. The better sites will lead you through the design so that you see what the designer wants you to see. Of course, it is always a good idea to sketch the drawing on paper first and then transfer it to the web design software.
When you are starting a new drawing, no matter what particular methodology you use, you will always start with a blank page. There is nothing on the web page so the first thing you will do is to put something there. But, do you think about the placement of those elements or just put them on the page in a random manner?
Good designers do not allow random placement on their website design; they consciously think about the tables, the graphics that will be used in a banner and elsewhere, the areas where the text will go, the layout of the navigation bar, as well as the optimization of all elements.
