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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19

Chapter 8 · What a Site Should Look Like

Review

There are three common ways to set up a home page: the front door approach, using a banner and a menu, and using a narrow runner plus a main section.

Mass media ads are usually based on a concept, a technique borrowed by some web artists.

Artists have long known that a balanced layout is pleasing to the eye.

The visual and textual elements on the page should be combined to produce unity, where everything on the page comes together.

Movement produces an instant re-orientation of the eye.

Color is one of the artist's most effective and versatile tools in page design. Additionally, designers use contrast so that parts of a page are more noticeable.

It is hard to define style and mood, but they can be unmistakable when you feel them.

A page that looks good on your computer may look lousy on a different monitor. Test your pages!

Activities

  1. Think about the design principles discussed in the book, and look over the following sites:

    How have the web designers for these sites used balance, motion, contrast and color? Do the pages create a whole, a gestalt, or are these pages just a collection of unrelated elements?

  2. Visit the site for Perception Graphics, a company that specializes in graphic and web design. To showcase their capabilities, this site includes most of the latest web technology. Evaluate the site, applying the principles discussed in this chapter. What has the company done well? Would you suggest any changes? Do you have any problems accessing any part of the site with your browser/modem/monitor/
    operating system? If you can access all the site's "Super Flash" showcase, take a look at it. Do you think this part of the site is critical to accomplishing the company's objectives? Why or why not?

  3. As the last two chapters have pointed out, web designers must consider how best to grab visitors' attention and facilitate their processing of information. Several companies will help designers make these decisions. One is Information Mapping, Inc. Visit their web site for an example of a "before" and "after" web page design.

  4. Visit the following web sites for some advice on home page design. Write a 1-to-2 page reaction paper which synthesizes the ideas presented in the articles. What are the implications for web designers? How does the advice in these articles fit with the information presented in this chapter?


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