Are you proud of the websites you design?
As designers, we love designing interfaces that are beautiful, intuitive and exciting for the user. When a user comes to a site they should be able to use it without frustrations or doubts. The experience should be pleasing and simple. Our designs should always have the products goals and its user’s in mind. Each client/product is different and should be designed for specifically. We do research and follow a design process in order to design a site that is tailored for the client.
A lot of websites are beginning to look very similar. Generally on a homepage you might notice a top primary nav, with a large hero image and three or two call to actions underneath. This might follow with some testimonials. The same formula is used again and again with slight tweaks. Are sites beginning to look similar because of the numerous themes that are available? Or maybe there is a fear of designing something new that might not work?
What is good design?
Good design should consider the end user, it needs to be intuitive, innovative, aesthetically pleasing and useful. Website design should always have the requirements and needs of the product and user in mind. Check out Dieter Rams 10 principles for good design.
When I design I considered the goals of the site, who are the users and why they are using it. I always have the end user in mind, if the end user isn’t considered then the product you are designing will fail. I have a design process that I have developed and follow.
Design process
When designing for a client my process would include research (lots of research), competitor analysis, interviews, user tests, personas’ (know the end user), plenty of sketches, wireframes, concepts, prototype testing, iterating and defining. I would collaborate with my client and ensure that the stakeholder goals are being considered. By doing this I design sites that fulfill the stakeholder goals and the user’s needs.
Be innovative.
To design sites that stand out from the crowd designers shouldn’t be afraid of trying something new. If you are designing a site have the main requirements of the product in mind. Explore the principles of design, consider layout, colour and typography, and embrace being a designer! Engage the user. When you the solution, test it and listen to feedback. From there you will have a site that you will be proud and confident in.
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