here are "10 rulez of website dezign" that i think are extremely important:
1. PROXIMITY - group related items together. this shows a relationships. physically move related items closer together, so they are seen as a cohesive group. items that are not related together should not be close in proximity. this gives the reader a sense of organization and visual cues on the page.
2. ALIGNMENT - when items are aligned specifically on a page, it results in stronger visual appeal, as well as a cohesive unit. alignment tells the reader that even though the items are not close in proximity, they belong to the same piece.
3. REPETITION - repeat some aspect of your design throughout the whole piece. this provides something for the reader to visually recognize. it can be bold font, thick lines, bullet type, color, proximity, etc. allows your reader to know they are still on the same website.
4. CONTRAST - (this is my personal
fave in design). this makes your reader want to look at your page. ket to contrast =
don't be a wimp! contrast must be strong. this is created when two elements are different. if two items aren't the same, make them different,
very different. use: font size, color, texture, lines, graphics, etc.
5. COLOR - use complimentary colors, (blue & orange, red & green, yellow & purple), often with one being the main color and the other being an accent. use a color wheel to find appropriate uses for different colors. use a triad, (a primary triad or a secondary triad) using three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel.
6. FONT TYPE - recognize the difference between sans serif and serif fonts. serifs have the little feet on them (like times new roman) and sans serif, meaning without serif, do not have the feet (like arial).
7. TITLE & BODY - since this is a website, you will not want to use a serif for your body text, it is more difficult to for our eyes to read serif fonts on a computer screen, you will want to use sans serif. on the other hand, for your title, it's larger, and a serif font is okay to use. plus that adds more contrast between your title and body, which is a good thing (like we talked about earlier).
8. SCROLLING -
don't make your visitor scroll sideways. end of story.
9. READABILITY - use shorter line lengths than you would use on a paper. don't make your type go all the way across the page. try using a table to put your text into. it's more appealing to read something shorter.
10. ALL ABOUT TYPE - this advice, you can apply to your life as well. the relationship between types can either be: concordant, conflicting or contrasting.
concordant happens when only one type family is used with variety in size, style and weight. this can be dull. but also appear as formal.
conflicting is when you combine similar typefaces in size, style and weight. visually they are disturbing because they are not the same, but they are not different either. they conflict.
contrasting, ding ding ding! occurs when you combine different typefaces and elements that are clearly distinct from one another. this is visually appealing and exciting. try it!
hope this helps you out when designing your website! good luck!
some ideas from this blog came from: Williams, Robin. The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice. 3rd ed. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit, 2008. Print.
