So you’ve been appointed an official graphic designer job and have been put in charge of executing some freelance web design for your client’s website. Now you get to sit down and tackle the generally painstaking task of figuring out how exactly to design the website layout in a way that will reflect positively and appropriately on the client’s business or image. Now how do you go about doing that?
From time to time, a website has to be very clear-cut and with minimal graphics; the kinds of sites people access to read, not to admire the aesthetics of (like Fanfiction.net). Other sites ought to be a little more image-dense, like online art portfolios or any site where purchases can be made. And some sites might need to be interactive. Imagine making a web identity for someone who specializes in making country-style furnishings – you could devise the website for this business with cabin décor such as a planked wood background with a fireplace and an antiquated musket on the mantle, maybe with a little animated roaring fire. And each link could be a door that opens into another room of the “house”. Okay, that goes above and beyond basic web design and into 3D animation, but it’d still be fun to trifle with, yeah?
All the rules of layout design jobs apply when generating a website…color, placement, the ‘rule of thirds’, consistency, accuracy, and suitable fonts. If you’re composing the client’s logo too, try to match the font for the site’s content to that of the logo, or something similar. Consider what colors go well together, such as dark grey and orange-yellow, or blue and white. Don’t throw random colors together thinking “the more, the merrier!” – it will look like a Teletubby threw up with all those colors in the same place. Try and stick with three or four colors for the sake of uniformity throughout the site, but also experiment with different combinations on a dummy layout before working on the actual template. In addition, choose a fitting type for the site copy; don’t try to use a size-5 cursive font because no one will be able to read it. Use something simple like Times New Roman or Verdana…something that won’t require a magnifying glass to read.
What’s more, don’t put a different font on each page…this should be universal designer sense, but for some, it isn’t. Research sites similar to what you have to design to get an idea of what kinds of styles to use. Note when I say “research”, I do not mean “blatantly plagiarize”. Don’t copy another site down to the last detail because someone out there in cyberspace will notice the similarities and will think your client is a lazy copycat. Be inspired, but do not steal. Plagiarism is not looked upon too highly in the art world, and it’s the kind of thing that can wreck your repute as an artist.