Visual Design is a critical aspect for any website and there is a science and structure that needs to be applied for good visual design. The Visual Design activity provides a look and theme for the website and determines the overall brand presentation and sets the mood for the reader when s/he visits and reads through the website.
There is a school of thought that believes that website design needs to be in synergy with other media and promotion methods. While some connection is needed between all the communications and promotions for a brand or an organization, the internet media is very different from other media in its structure, operation and reader activity and response and also addresses objectives that are very different from those of other media. Website design is therefore a science and discipline by itself and needs to be leveraged with all the understanding and experience about the strengths of the medium.
Visual design is not just about creating good graphics and putting in a lot of photographs. The visual design for a website needs to be in tune with the brand identity and positioning and should reflect the mood on the website and the products and services that are being spoken about and promoted. Visual design needs a lot of thought and experience to bring in the right feeling and presentation for the reader.
Visual design needs to also be comforting. A strong design might evoke an impulse in the reader but might not be sustainable through a longer reading process. This might actually force the reader to leave the website a lot earlier and defeat the objective of the website. The visual design must allow the reader to come into the website and be able to spend a lot of time in going over all the sections and content without fatigue and monotony.
Visual design is also about art and aesthetics and elegance and a well blended and balanced website presents the reader with beauty while also addressing the communication and marketing requirements of the brand.
A lot of visual design is carried out considering that the reader is visiting the website for the first time. Visual design must factor in and provide an appeal to both the first time visitor and someone who is returning to the website. A visitor who is returning to the website repeatedly has a purpose that is very different from a first time visitor and the website design must recognize this. The design must balance and provide excitement for both the first time and the regular visitor and ensure that a regular visitor is able to delve into the website with comfort and yet discover new aspects about the brand gently.
Indiamap Hosting does a lot of research and detailing for the visual design process. The marketing concept determines the critical inputs for the visual design stage. We have a team that creates a layout to match the content and the structure of the website and details the colors and the visual treatment that brings in the right look and matches the objectives of the marketing concept and plan for the website.
Our colors are selected to match the theme and set the mood for the website. We select colors that are sophisticated and energetic and bring out the attributes of the product and service. Colors are also influenced by corporate or brand colors of the organization or the brand and complementary colors are chosen that blend well together. We also make a decision on whether to use only a single color with multiple tones, two-color blends or multiple-colors. These are determined after considering all the branding and presentation areas for the products and the website and its audience.
The layout is structured to present the look and appearance that the marketing objectives set out. There are websites that need to present a lot of information and provide the look and feeling of a super-market or a news portal. There are websites that need to present and focus the reader on a single theme or objective or product and service and offer a corporate style presentation that is classy and sophisticated and sometimes formal. In some layouts we try to provide a glimpse of the complete range of products and services and in some layouts we bring in the reader through one or two products and then gradually expand the interest to more. Every layout that we prepare has its own characteristics and is unique to the organization, its products and services and the objectives set out for the website.
During the layout process we also look at the profile of the audience and the presentation material available and decide whether the website needs to be optimized for a 800 x 640 display or a 1024 x 768 one. In case of a website that is presented as a page, in case the audience profile is one that is likely to use 1024 more, the width of the display could be any value between 800 and 1000 depending on the overall proportions of the visual design. Where the audience profile is broad based and likely to be using 800 wide displays, the overall design is optimized for a width of 800. Technology driven websites are better positioned for a 1024 display since the majority of the readers tend to use 1024 display configurations and a 800 website might appear too empty on the edges.
Over this layout and selection of colors comes in our design of graphical elements and integration. The visual design is driven by themes and moods that we try to capture through the presentation and overall look. The logo also plays a role in some elements of the design as there could be a play on the logo or the logo might be blended into the design. The positioning and sizing of the logo is also critical to the overall design. In case of a punchline or a tagline for the brand, these can also influence the overall design.
The visual design might opt for a tech-oriented look or a plain, traditional or art-oriented one. We might emulate the paper or tabloid concept in the website or present a tech-appliance look and feel. Use of 3-dimensional curves and elements or flat ones are other decisions that influence the overall look.
These elements and options need to be worked on in combinations to see if the overall objectives set out by the marketing concept and the brand attributes are being addressed and if the look is one that fits in with the reader's expectations when they visit the website. After several combinations and reviews, the visual design is jointly discussed and completed by our team of designers.
Every element is looked into for the visual design. A small change in color or pattern has the ability to influence and alter the overall look. Colors that are used for various elements can help move the focus from one element to another. So can positioning and sizing of the various elements.
It is very important that the look of the website meet the expectations of the majority of your internet audience and the right areas in the website come through at first glance. The critical messages are the ones that need to be absorbed by the reader immediately and these are the ones that need to be positioned well. There are instances where the actual message might be subtly hidden within a large visual display to enhance the strength of the message.
Websites are however unlike advertisements where the objectives are to capture attention of the reader and quickly present a brief and focussed message. A website contains a lot of content and must be able to gently draw the reader into the main content areas. The treatment of a website's creative and copy is therefore different from from that of an advertisement. In cases however we might use an advertisement like copy and creative to launch the website before settling into a content based look and layout.
The overall visual design also needs to have balance, both visually and in the presentation of the content. This balance comes from detailed research, working of options and alternatives and discussions with the team who together bring in very rich and diverse experience and perspective.
Only when the Indiamap Hosting team is convinced about the overall design is this presented to the customer for review by their team.
Since we at Indiamap Hosting spend a lot of time and energy in the process from marketing concept to research of the brand attributes and products and services and audience expectations, through to the detailing and refinement of the visual design, we prefer to submit a single design for consideration by the customer. We believe that the same intensity of detailing, thought and discussion is not likely when we try to create more than one option of design and we prefer to concentrate on a single design and bring out the best in it after a lot of rigor and detailing.
There are instances where the design comes in for refinement and revision with inputs from the customer team and these are done by us with regular presentations and previews to the customer team until the design is found to be satisfying all aspects of the website and its positioning and communication.
In cases where the direction and theme of the website is not found to be suitable by the customer team, we go back to basics and start all over again. The results of the first exercise is used as constructive inputs on the expectations from our customer team and we try to bring in a new design that reflects the requirements of the customer better.
Indiamap Hosting is committed to tbe best of visual design for its websites and we spend a lot of our time in researching internet trends and audience expectations. The diverse and rich experience of a team of professionals helps us bring in a holism and balance into the design that addresses a large canvas of criteria and success factors for the website and its communication and presentation.
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