

Web Designers - What elements make for great designs? - rcavezza

Hey,<p>Some of you may have seen my post earlier this week about being terrible at web design and looking for resources.<p>I wasn't able to find any, and decided build an "even a dummy can use" web application to generate web 2.0 rockstar designs.<p>If you guys can point to some design elements that should be included it would be really appreciated.<p>I'm thinking things like tabbed links, gradient usages, very specific things I can create using jquery and php for clueless developers like myself.<p>Also, if any of you have ideas for what the web application should contain, that'd be appreciated as well.
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Travis
My list (let me know if any of these are unclear):

\- good use of whitespace

\- objective driven ("let me help you balance your checkbook" rather than
"click here to login to our system and enter your account information")

\- design elements highlight functionality (buttons like buttons, unusable
elements greyed out)

\- no clutter -- most important stuff is most obvious

\- shortcuts for the advanced users, handholding for novices (if you've ever
used Mailchimps Campaign Builder, like this)

\- concise text written at about a 11th grade level (simple non-compound
sentences, etc.)

\- lack of jargon

\- fun

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d0m
I was terrible too at design.. and I have to agree to those points. However,
the one that made the biggest difference for me was the use of whitespace.

I would also add:

\- Don't be afraid to take space for important stuff. And to simply delete
useless stuff.

For instance, when I create powerpoint presentation, I put only one picture
that takes all the screen.. this is way better then 5 small pictures a little
bit everywhere.

Or on a web page, I like when the logo takes 1/3 of the page. The main content
1/3 and the "a little bit" less important stuff 1/3. For an example of that:
<http://us.battle.net/?rhtml=y>

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davided
here are my best links

# usability:

<http://philip.greenspun.com/panda/suck>

<http://www.usability.gov/guidelines/index.html>

# design:

[http://flyosity.com/tutorial/crafting-subtle-realistic-
user-...](http://flyosity.com/tutorial/crafting-subtle-realistic-user-
interfaces.php)

[http://www.tutorial9.net/photoshop/5-pixel-popping-
technique...](http://www.tutorial9.net/photoshop/5-pixel-popping-techniques/)

[http://buildinternet.com/2009/06/five-minute-upgrade-
making-...](http://buildinternet.com/2009/06/five-minute-upgrade-making-your-
design-pop/)

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kadavy
Here is a presentation I did on the fundamentals behind good design:
[http://www.kadavy.net/blog/posts/design-for-the-coders-
mind-...](http://www.kadavy.net/blog/posts/design-for-the-coders-mind-reverse-
engineering-visual-design/)

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lovskogen
Tailored handcrafted tactile experiences. I don't think you can machine this,
though. But that's great design. Good design can be made by following simple
rules: grid, contrast, simple copy, for apps: easy-to-understand interface and
functions.

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sudont
Great designs are almost always bespoke: created for a specific task of a
website.

However, a great generic design is generally based on a grid. Check out Grid
systems in Graphic Design by Müller-Brockmann.

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bottlerocket
Pick up a copy of "The Non-Designer's Design Book" by Robin Williams (not that
Robin Williams). It's not a web design book, but it is a great introduction to
basic design fundamentals in plain English.

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thomasreggi
detail and simplicity

