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‘Design’ archive
The 7 wonders of wireframes
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Posted in Design on the 25-06-2009 | 21 Comments
Quick, hand drawn wireframes can provide substantial benefits that will save you time and money.
Web Design Education Sucks
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Posted in Design on the 01-06-2009 | 27 Comments
Lucian Tucker shares his thoughts on how web design is currently taught.
What is speculative design work?
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Posted in Design on the 26-03-2009 | 25 Comments
What is speculative design work and why it is wrong?
10 tips for efficient design
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Posted in Design on the 19-02-2009 | 41 Comments
Being a good designer is not always enough to survive hard economic times. You need to be efficient too.
Staying serious
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Posted in Design on the 15-02-2009 | 2 Comments
Where is the line between being serious about your creativity and allowing it to become too solemn?
A demonstration of graded browser support
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Posted in Design on the 12-02-2009 | 17 Comments
In my post ‘Effective Browser Support‘ I explained how we should not be looking to make sites identical in all browsers, but rather focusing on usability and accessibility. In this post I demonstrate how that works in practice.
Why speculative design is wrong
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Posted in Design on the 06-02-2009 | 22 Comments
Many web design agencies are refusing to do unpaid design work before a contract is signed. This is not because it is damaging to them. It is because they believe it is damaging to their clients. But why?
10 things a web designer would never tell you
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Posted in Design on the 05-02-2009 | 179 Comments
These arty-farty web designers are always telling you how your site should look. Don’t listen to them! Don’t they know the customer is always right? Here are 10 things a ‘good web designer’ would never tell you about choosing the perfect design.
Win a copy of ‘A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web’
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Posted in Design on the 02-02-2009 | 6 Comments
Everybody involved in the web design process needs an understanding of design fundamentals. That is why everybody should read “A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web”.
10 techniques for an effective ‘call to action’
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Posted in Design on the 22-01-2009 | 38 Comments
Every website should have a call to action, a response you want users to complete. But how do you encourage users to act? How do you create an effective call to action.
Fluid elastic design
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Posted in Design, Technology on the 23-05-2008 | 4 Comments
When it comes to planning the layout of your new website there are just three commonly used website layout structures to choose from: Fixed; Fluid & Elastic width layouts. None of these are perfect; each comes with its own advantages and disadvantages.
Favicons: Small but significant
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Posted in Design on the 18-10-2007 | 13 Comments
Favicons are those 16 by 16 pixel graphics that appear in your address bar, bookmarks and various other places. They maybe tiny, but they are becoming increasingly important.
Combating design by committee
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Posted in Design on the 04-10-2007 | 8 Comments
Design by committee has been the nail in the coffin of many good design concepts. So how can you minimize the damage done when a client decides to approve a design through a committee structure?
Recording creativity
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Posted in Design on the 26-07-2007 | 11 Comments
I like to think of myself as an ideas person. I guess that is another way of saying that I am crap at implementing the ideas I have. One problem I used to suffer from was recording the ideas I had in a form that I could refer back to later. Overtime I have developed a couple of techniques that help me manage my ideas better. I thought they might be worth sharing.
Emerging design trends
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Posted in Design on the 16-07-2007 | 38 Comments
Web 2.0. brought with it a lot of things. One was a new style of design. However, design is a fickle thing and we are already seeing some new trends emerging.
Taking a brand online
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Posted in Design on the 06-07-2007 | 2 Comments
“and here is our style guide”… thump! A huge tome lands on the desk in front of you. When it is written entirely for print, how do you begin to turn it into something that will work on the web?
When developers design
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Posted in Design on the 27-06-2007 | 7 Comments
In an ideal world designers design and developers develop. However, we don’t live in an ideal world and from time to time we have to swap roles. The problem is that there is a lot of tutorials and articles showing designers how to develop but little showing developers how to design. I therefore thought I would share some very basic tips.
Design Testing
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Posted in Design on the 22-06-2007 | 4 Comments
Headscape run design testing sessions. We find it a helpful way of getting sign off on a design. I know not everybody agrees with this approach so I thought I would share what we do and why we do it.
Keeping your home page clean
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Posted in Design, Usability on the 16-05-2007 | 14 Comments
One of the most common sticking points I encounter when developing a website is the sign off of the home page. Client’s want to cram it with as much content as possible, while the designer is seeking to maintain the integrity of the design. So, what is the best way of avoiding this kind of confrontation?
atMedia: Great Design
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Posted in Design on the 15-06-2006 | 4 Comments
John Hicks, Cameron Moll, and Veerle Pietrers share their thoughts on what makes great design.