Web Design Process

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Web Design Process

SEM 08.21 Komentar

The Web Design Process

1. The project brief

It is very important to meet with the client, either in person, over the phone or through e-mail or Skype in order to create the project brief for the website or so you can analyse and discuss the brief the client had already created. The brief should be detailed and specific and must be documented and agreed upon in order to allow it to be referred to later in the process. As a web designer you can also state your price and outline a time frame based on the brief. Without a detailed brief these things would not be possible.

2. Identify key requirements

Based on the brief and your discussion with the client, you should first identify the key requirements that the website must meet. Is it an e-commerce website? Does the client require a content management system? Does it require special effects? Factors like these would decide the design approach you take and these should be allocated the most time in your time-frame and they should be the central features around which the site is designed.

3. Research existing websites

If the website is to be a business venture it is important to first assess the competition. Sometimes a client may request that their new site appears higher in search engine rankings than a competitors or that it have extra or additional features therefore it is important to assess what you are up against, so to speak. It is also important to be aware of what the industry standards are for a particular type of website if you are not familiar with them. As a designer constantly browsing, reviewing and analysing new websites is good practice and can provide a source of inspiration for your future designs.

4. Develop the basic website structure

Before you begin the technical design and programming of the website you should first develop ideas for the basic site structure and layout through sketching and drawing. Ideas can be developed quickly and easily in this manner, much quicker than through Dreamweaver or Photoshop, and 'boxing out' the design will make the actual creation of the website a simpler process further down the line. Refer to the web design tips section for guidance in how best to layout your website. At this stage a quick check-in with the client would be recommended before you progress to the next stage.

5. Create the website graphics

Once you have identified the layout and style you want for your site you can begin to create the graphics you will need for the website. This may include the website logo, banner, buttons, image maps, resizing and formatting pictures etc. All these should be designed with consideration to the style and colour scheme of the website. There are a variety of file formats you can use for your graphics, the most common being .gif and .jpg. To help you choose the format which is best for you see the common file formats section. For help and assistance with the creating the graphics you may find our Photoshop and illustrator tutorials useful.

6. Create and program the website

With the layout decided upon and the graphics ready to be put in place you can now begin creating the basic site structure. Begin with the HTML template and use it to create a site master page which will be the starting point for creating all your web pages. Ideally you you should use CSS media queries to make this template responsive. In most cases the majority of your web pages will have the same basic layout so creating a 'master page' first, which can be the template for all other pages, is an approach which will save you time. Once the template is set the graphics and content created earlier can be inserted into the relevant pages easily and quickly completing the website. Once again this would be a good time to get feedback from the client so they can review the design.

7. Refine the website design

Based on the clients feedback and having reflected on the design yourself, make any necessary changes to the website. This may involve subtle changes to the colours, editing or changing images, changing the font style or small layout changes and spacing. Search Engine Optimisation (S.E.O.) should also be part of this process where including certain keywords, tagging images and using meta-tags are all part of the process. For more in depth information see the section on SEO.

8. Website testing and QA

This is a simple task that involves proofreading all the website content, testing all the links and any interactive features of the website. It may also be suitable to get feedback from a select group of people matching the demographic of the website's target audience to test the suitability of the website design and functionality.

9. Launch the website

Getting the website online is the culmination of the process but the old adage of 'build it and they will come' is certainly not applicable to websites. It is vital to index the website in as many search engine directories as possible to ensure visitors can find the website, advertising the site across a variety of media is also useful. On-line advertising through methods like Google Adwords is a recommended approach as well as using social media like Facebook, twitter, Google+ and others will also increase your websites online presence as well as driving traffic to the site.

If you enjoyed this article then perhaps our articles on the graphic, interior, games or furniture design processes may also be of interest.

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Mixing Metals & Colors in Interior Decor

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Mixing Metals & Colors in Interior Decor

SEM 02.46 Komentar

You’ve spent days poring over sample paint colors for your room, but have come no closer to deciding the right shade than when you started. We totally understand. Choosing the perfect color for a room can be difficult and stressful. The wrong color can make a room look completely drab and uninteresting, while the right one can bring it to life. Moreover, colors have been show to impact the moods and thoughts of people. Bright, cheery colors such as orange and yellow have a positive effect on people. Many shades of black or brown, on the other hand, are often associated with depression and negativity.And if that was not difficult enough, some colors look different at different times of the day, depending on the amount and nature of light in the room. Phew!

When choosing wall colors for your room, you also have to make sure that the color matches the various finishes and accessories in that room. Since the current trend is all about incorporating metals in interior design, today seems like a better day than any to find out how to team metallic accessories and lighting fixtures with various shades and colors. And the below infographic from Industville attempts to do exactly that!

In addition to some amazing color ideas for various rooms in a house, it also shows you how to marry those colors with metals so that you have an absolutely stunning home. For instance, did you know that the gorgeous gold tone you’ve been eyeing for a long time could lift your living area to a different level altogether? Yes, that’s right! These subtle, but warm and inviting shades are “in” right now, especially when you pair them with muted reds, crimsons, and navy blues. But don’t use them in your study. The best color for a study would be a nice blue. Blues are generally associated with calm, serenity and intelligence. A strong blue aids in stimulating clear thoughts, while lighter shades help in calming the mind and improving concentration. And if you love pink, you are in great luck! Blush pink/rosy shades work in almost every room, except perhaps your gym or exercise room. And what’s even better is that the color is so versatile that you can match them with a whole lot of metallic shades, including gold and copper.

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Create your own Angry Bird

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Create your own Angry Bird

SEM 09.46 Komentar

Which Angry Bird will you create? 

Following the release of the Angry Birds Movie we thought it might be fun to practice our graphic design skills and make our very own Angry Bird. This tutorial is completed in Illustrator but all the tools and techniques used are also available in Photoshop. The reason I am using Illustrator is that Illustrator is the best program for creating vector graphics using the pen tool. Logos and cartoons are normally made with the pen tool so they are created as vector graphics, allowing them to be resized up or down without loss of quality, therefore this image will be created using the pen tool. If you are not familiar with the pen tool then you can read this guide to using the pen tool before you start.

Now that that is cleared up, let's begin making an Angry Bird!


1. Go to File-> New and create a canvas 700px wide and 500px tall.


2. Go to the layers window and rename the base layer 'Body'. Select the ellipse shape tool and create a circle, set the colour of the circle to red, as we'll be creating the red Angry Bird, and put a 7px black stroke on the circle.

3. Use the direct selection tool to move the top and left anchor points slightly, as seen in the image below.

The Angry Bird's Body

4. Now use the add anchor point tool (within the pen tool) to add 6 anchor points across the top of the body, don’t be too particular about the placement as we will be moving them soon anyway. See the image below.

5. Next select the direct selection tool and drag the 2nd and 4th anchor points upwards and the use the handles on each anchor point until the shape resembles the image below. (If there are no handles on the anchor points it is possible they are straight line anchor points, use the convert anchor point tool and click and drag slightly on each point to convert them to curved line anchor points.)

The infamous 'quiff' of the red angry bird

6. Now open the layers window and click the button circled in the image below and create a new layer, call it 'belly'.

7. Next, while on the belly layer, use the ellipse shape tool to create the rough shape of the belly, colour the shape in white and set the stroke to 0pt. Then zoom in and use the direct selection tool to move the anchor points and their handles into a shape similar to the image below.

8. Open the layers window again and click the new layer button and create a new layer, call it 'eyes'. If it is not the top layer, move it to the top. Use the ellipse tool to create two circles for the eyes, each circle should be white with a 3pt stroke. To overlap one eye over the other as show in the image below, right click on one eye and select move to front.

9. Next create a new layer, call it 'eyeballs'. Use the ellipse tool to create two small black circles without any stroke. Position the eyeballs as shown in the image below.

10. Again create a new layer, call it 'eyebrow' and ensure it is the top layer. Use the Pen tool and click (do not click and drag) one at a time creating new straight line anchor points in the shape shown below remembering to join the last anchor point to the original point.

Getting the mono-brow right is the key to making him look angry

11. The next part of the image is the nose. Create a new layer, call it 'nose' and once again ensure it is the top layer. Use the pen tool to create the rough shape of the nose, remembering to join the last anchor point to the original anchor point. Give the shape a yellow colour and a 3pt stroke. To edit and refine the shape of the nose use the direct selection tool to move the anchor points and their handles around. You may also need to use the convert point tool as the nose shape uses both curved line and straight line anchor points. The image below shows the image alongside the layers used so far to create it.

The angry bird and the layers used so far

12. Finally, create one more layer - call it "tail" and again use the pen tool to create straight line anchor points to make up the tail shape. Position the layer beneath the body layer for best results. If you wish you can use the ellipse shape to create 2 more shapes for the 'freckles' , or whatever they are, on the body.

The completed angry bird 

TIP: The pen tool can be difficult but remember practice makes perfect so after completing this tutorial perhaps try creating the rest of the angry bird family or other cartoon images.

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Graphic Design History

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Graphic Design History

SEM 07.33 Komentar

The Graphic Design Timeline - Click to enlarge

The Graphic Design Timeline above ranges from 1830 to the Present Day and outlines 14 different styles throughout the history of graphic design. It is important to note that not every graphic design style is included (there are lots) but all the important and seminal periods of graphic design are touched upon. Click on the timeline to view it full screen.

The timeline includes the following graphic design periods...

• Victorian Graphic Design Style: 1837 - 1901
• Arts & Crafts Graphic Design Style:1880 - 1910
• Art Nouveau Graphic Design Style: 1890 - 1920
• Futurism Graphic Design Style: 1900 - 1930's
• Art Deco Graphic Design Style: 1920 -1940's
• Heroic Realism Graphic Design Style: 1900 - 1940's
• Early Modern Graphic Design Style: 1910 - 1935
• Late Modern Graphic Design Style: 1945 - 1960
• American Kitsch Graphic Design Style: 1950's
• Swiss/International Graphic Design Style: 1940's - 1980's
• Psychedelic Graphic Design Style: 1960's
• Post Modern Graphic Design Style: 1970's - 1980's
• Grunge Graphic Design Style: 2000 - 2010's
• Flat Graphic Design Style: 2010 - Present

At the start of any graphic design project I'm sure you have found yourself wondering what style should I choose? what style do I like? what style will look good for that project? what style can I accomplish with my level of skills? This timeline is designed to be a quick overview guide to help you decide but if you can click on the link to read more about the different graphic design styles and graphic design history .

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Top 5 Web Design Tips

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Top 5 Web Design Tips

SEM 04.06 Komentar

1.What's The Point?

What's the point of your website? That must be your first decision

Believe it or not there are only 3 types of websites - information, entertainment and transaction.

• Information websites provide information- obvious example is Wikipedia
• Entertainment website provide entertainment- obvious example is YouTube.
• Transaction websites will either buy goods from you and/or sell goods to you - obvious example is eBay.

Every website falls into one or more of these categories. The first thing you need to decide before designing your website is what is  its purpose? Secondly who is it aimed at? Once you have made those decisions you can more easily design your website to meet the demands associated with that website category and that target audience.

2. Mobile Is Bigger Than Desktop*

Internet usage is now greatest on mobile device

It goes without saying nowadays that your website should be responsive but I have found that people tend to create the desktop design and then use media queries to work down to tablet device design and finally mobile design. This is the wrong approach. Why?

*For the first time more people now access the internet using mobile devices than desktops or tablets so it makes sense to prioritise your websites mobile design then scale up using a fluid design and/or media queries.

3. Show The Way

An organised, obvious and functional menu is key to a successful website

Web navigation has many well established and functioning characteristics and you should not stray away from them,; there is no need to reinvent the wheel and if you try it will likely confuse your visitors and spoil their browsing experience. On the flip side, an effective navigation system encourages browsing within the website which can in turn increase revenue.

Your menu is obviously the main navigation device for your website and it should be immediately obvious when the webpage launches, ideally fixed at the top of the page with no surrounding elements to distract from it. This also makes the links easier to click on a mobile device. If the website's style allows it then perhaps add an additional (relevant) icon with each menu link, this creates an immediate association for the visitor with the purpose of the link.

Links within the body text should at least be a different colour than the body text and you should retain the default link underline as without it the links may just look like bold text. Ideally all links should have a hover effect added using CSS and a title attribute using HTML.

4. Nobody Reads

If nobody reads text any more then how do you get your message across

Let's face facts, nobody reads all the text on a website, in fact I don't even know if anyone will read this sentence. What people do is scan the page for what they want, when they do this images, headings, sub-headings and links are what they notice (in that order).

Just checking if you are reading or scanning...

With this knowledge in mind you should provide images and/or icons to go with all key links/points and break any large areas of text into sections, each with a heading and possibly sub headings also like I have tried to do with this article. As a general rule in terms of website text, just get to the point.

5. Optimise, Optimise, Optimise**

There are 3 key areas of your website to be optimised

**I wasn't repeating the word optimise for fun or even for emphasis. I actually want to advise that you optimise 3 keys areas of your website: the layout, the loading speed and the content.

The layout optimisation should focus on utilising one of the recognised web layout techniques such as the F layout or the Z layout. The purpose of which is to direct visitors to the outcome that you want such as clicking on a link, signing up to a newsletter or buying a product. An optimal layout will result in optimal outcomes.

The loading speed can be optimised by removing unnecessary content, minifying you HTML and CSS, keeping slow loading content below the fold, optimising images for web viewing etc. Our tips to improve website loading speed and the Google page speed insights tool is a great help. Faster loading is not just appreciated by your visitors but also the search engines who now factor it into their indexing algorithms.

Optimising content is old news but remains an important activity which still makes lots of companies lots of money. The reality is that it is actually a relatively simple but highly tedious process, so if you got the time then you can save the money. Learn more about SEO here.

You may also be interested in the web design process and our 10 steps to designing and creating a website.

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How To Become A Graphic Designer

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How To Become A Graphic Designer

SEM 03.49 Komentar

How To Be A Graphic Designer

Graphic designers produce visual design solutions using images and lettering to get across information and communicate a message with high visual impact. Graphic design solutions are required for a wide variety of products and publications, such as websites, advertising, books, magazines, posters, brochures, booklets, magazines, computer games, product packaging, exhibitions and displays, logos, business cards and more. Graphic designers are normally based in a studio or office, but may also spend some time visiting and receiving clients and dealing with printers.

A graphic designer normally works to a brief (set of instructions) set by the client. They develop creative ideas and concepts choosing the appropriate media and style to meet the client's requirements. Graphic design requires creativity, knowledge of industry standard design software and a practiced approach to managing time and costs and meeting deadlines.

The Skills Of A Graphic Designer

A graphic designer may often manage more than one design brief at a time and must allocate the relevant amount of time according to the value of the job. The typical activities of a graphic designer are listed below, use the links to access additional information about an activity.

• Using the graphic design process effectively to maximise project efficiency.

• Meeting clients to discuss the business objectives and requirements of the job.

• Interpreting the client's needs and developing a concept to suit their purpose.

• Estimating the time required to complete the work and providing quotes for clients.

• Developing design briefs by gathering information and data through research.

• Awareness of the different graphic design styles and design principles.

• Thinking creatively and brainstorming to produce new ideas and concepts.

• Developing ideas through drawing and sketching.

• 'Pitching' ideas to managers or clients.

• Working with a wide range of multimedia, like Photoshop, to produce quality designs.

• Proofreading all work to ensure accurate and high-quality work.

• Presenting finalised ideas and concepts to clients.

• Keeping up to date with emerging technologies in new media as most graphic design work is now completed on a computer.

• Working as part of a team with printers, copywriters, photographers, other designers, web developers and marketing specialists.

Graphic Designer Career Path

Graphic designers are normally employed based on the strength of their skills as opposed to their qualifications. However, most professional graphic designers have an ordinary degree or honours degree in graphic design, art or other creative, design based area.

Talent and contacts are the key to getting work as a designer, and you will need to keep an up-to-date portfolio of your work to show to potential employers or clients. Competition for jobs is strong and not all jobs are advertised, so it is a good idea to network and make contacts within the industry, and to approach companies and agencies directly. Unpaid work experience is an opportunity many designers take up in order to help develop their portfolios, make new contacts and impress potential employers. Joining professional bodies such as CSD and D&AD will also give you the opportunity to make contacts in the industry. It is also common practice for designers to create a website to showcase their work.

There is no upper age limit for entry to this occupation. You may be able to enter relevant training through universities or colleges that relax normal academic entrance requirements for suitable mature applicants. Most academic institutions define people aged 23 years or over as mature candidates.

Once a designer has completed their college studies they will still need to keep their skills up to date throughout their career. You may be able to attend short courses, for example in computer packages such as the Adobe Creative Suite, which is the industry standard package for all things design and multimedia related.

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Top 5 Games Design Tips

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Top 5 Games Design Tips

SEM 09.41 Komentar

Level design image from Scott Petty

The games design tips below are intended to help you improve your overall games design process but are not a replacement for it. So before we get to our top 5 games design tips our first piece of advice is to always, always use the games design process when creating games.

1. Be Original

Game Concepts Should Always Be Original

One of the best thing about games is that there are no limits to what they can be about, where they can be set, the characters involved or the games' missions or objectives. The only limit is your own creativity, so why on earth would you consider starting your project by copying or mimising an existing game?

Sure you can learn from successful games and sure you can create a game in the genre of existing games but you should always have a unique game concept. New characters, stories, settings and missions are what will attract people to play your game in the first place and with literally no limits on what you can choose there is nothing stopping you from doing that.

The random game idea generator activity is a great way to help you get started. It helped us come up with this gem of a game concept for Colossus Cleaner...

"Arnold Schwarzenegger astride a unicorn carrying a mop in the Colosseum of ancient Rome"

It's weird, it's crazy, it's bordering on stupid but ..... it is original.

2. Prepare All Assets First

A selection of game button assets ready to be used in a game

It is always very tempting to jump straight into the actual level design of the game once you have settled on your idea. However this is one of the worst things you can do as it will lead to you wasting more time than you can imagine as you will have to stop and jump back and in and out of the level design process every time you need an asset whether that be a sound, a texture, a mesh, a font etc.

This will also lead to inconsistency in the overall look and feel of the level as if the assets are not all created together they tend to end up being of a different type, scale or style from each other. This will make the game look unprofessional and even difficult to play/understand as players won't recognise one pick up from the next or understand one symbol from another.

The message is simple, plan ahead and take the time to create or gather all sounds, fonts and images (for UI screens), textures and meshes before you even open the level editor or games engine you are using.

Here are a few good places to get your game assets for free....

• www.blendswap.com (meshes)
• www.turbosquid.com (meshes)
• www.3darchive.net (meshes)
• www.textures.com (textures)
• www.dafont.com (fonts)
• www.soundbible.com (sounds)
• www.soundjay.com (sounds)
• www.opengameart.org (all asset types)

3. Detail in Clusters

This room looks full of details and objects at first glance but look closer....

We all want to create realistic and interesting game worlds but the more meshes and foliage and particle effects and lights etc. that we add the more likely the game is to lag. Also it is actually becoming less realistic! 

Even in the real world things tend to cluster; clothes pile up in the corner of your room, letters pile up on the hall stand, coats get draped over the back of the same chair, rubbish gathers at the back door waiting to be put out, one kitchen press seems to hold all the random, unused utensils..... Any of those sound familiar to you?

All the while the circulation paths of our home remain clear and uncluttered no matter how untidy we are. When I say circulation paths I am referring to  hallways and corridors but also common directional paths such as from the living room door to the couch or from the bedroom door to the bed.This information can be used in your level design to make it more realistic but also faster and more efficient. Basically, you should not try to detail the entire level but rather create small areas of high detail which then become focus points for the character as they move through the empty (in comparison) circulation paths.

Tip: In outdoor scenes use tall building, trees or other landmarks as focal points for the player to move towards and look at during otherwise empty grasslands or open areas.

4. Create Reusable Elements

The seats in this dilapidated and derelict building are made up of the same parts but have been use differently 

We have already told you to prepare your assets and create clustered areas of detail in you game and this tip is partly related to those from a mesh point of view. The image above is a good example of what I mean as it shows the same seat in different positions and in different states of disrepair.

This might seem simple and obvious but if you were planning ahead you would have made the parts of the seat as separate meshes to allow you to do this easily put it together in different ways. On the other hand if your weren't thinking ahead and if you just made the entire seat as a single mesh you would then need to go back and make another mesh for the broken seat and another for the one missing one cushion and another for the one with a missing leg and another, and another....

It's not just meshes that can be reused either. Clever programming can save you a lot of time too. How you do this will vary depending on which game engine you use so lets just use a generic example to explain the point. Let's say you are creating a game where you collects coins, a la Mario. Rather than creating 100 separate coins but each with the same programming code you would instead create a coin 'actor' with built in programming code that can then be added and duplicated within the level editor.

This is an obvious example of course but when you break down your game objectives and requirements you will find that the same actions or events are required for multiple different objects or characters. So why would you create more work for yourself? Plan out your game logic to identify these repeat events and then create a single reusable 'actor' for that event.

5. Don't Neglect The Audio

Screenshot from the sound cue editor in Unreal Engine 4

Firstly we must understand that audio is not just the background music in the game. Audio covers a wide range of areas such as...

• Background music
• Characters voices
• Character sound effects (eg. footsteps)
• Weapon sound effects
• Ambient sounds
• User Interface (U.I.) button click sounds
• U.I. background music
• Voice overs/ narration
• Objects/ Pick-ups sound effects

It is very easy to start to create a game without a clear concept of what the game audio will be but by considering game audio at the very beginning of the game’s concept you can then design the other level features to match it and create an overall consistency to the game's atmosphere as opposed to just quickly downloading and importing stock sounds at the end of the project.

With the emergence of Virtual Reality headsets and VR gaming the importance of game audio is becoming more important than ever. The right sounds, in the right place, at the right time will be vital to ensure a fully immersive VR experience for the gamer.

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