When designing for the Web, one must take into consideration not only the things that affect any graphic design medium, but a host of other things as well. Some of the issues that you come across when designing for the Web is resolution. You must determine what resolution you will use and what resolution your clients and others will view your design. The most popular resolution size being used today is 1024 x 768, but 800 x 600 is also still widely used.
Another issue is the colors you use for your design. You need to use Web-safe colors to design for the Web. Although many more colors are now available than a few years ago, colors may become distorted if you use colors that are not Web-safe.
Images used for the Web must also be compressed in order to work properly on the Web. Compressing images optimizes them to make sure they are ready for the Web. There are three way to do this: bmp, jpeg, or gif.
Just as color is important to be Web-safe, fonts are also sensitive and must be installed on the viewer’s computer in order for them to view the text in the font you chose. Some of the most popular fonts used on the Web today are:
- Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
- Times New Roman, Times, serif
- Courier New, Courier, mono
- Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif
- Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
- Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif
Another thing to be careful in Web design is that you know the difference between style and design. Design communicates on every level and tells you where you are and what you can do. Style on the other hand, is an aspect of design and communicates stylishness such as brand attributes. A great way to design a Website is to bring balance to the equation. Balancing usability with design and style will serve the purpose of the Website and be pleasing to the eye at the same time.
April 3, 2010
rgingerich17169
