1.26.2010

The Web Design Process and My Role

The construction of any given website has many steps. It starts with conception; either by defining your own goals for the site or by meeting with the client. Once one decides what he wants to represent, there is a great deal of research, just like any graphic design project. Then you create thumbnails and decide upon the information structure. In larger web development firms, a specialist would likely design the intricate pathways required to keep the information flow going in a large site. Finally, the content for the site such as graphics and body copy are created. After the site is put together, it is tested (hopefully rigorously) in various browsers and operating systems to ensure it works well. If so, then it can finally go live! After which time periodic upkeep (testing, redesign, etc.) must occur.

Of course, the most interesting portion of web design to me is the design and content creation. I want to make the site look pretty! I want everything to fit together nicely and have visual flow. To me, if a site looks nice, I might be more tolerant of small usability issues. If a site looks terrible I might not even bother to explore its contents. Of course, I know that programming is the most important part of website creation, without which the pretty pictures would never display correctly.

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