This is essentially an article about coming up with ideas and is primarily aimed at the visualisers and graphic designers working in web design.
This is not going to give you ideas, more like make you feel at ease about the whole conceptualisation process, things like how to prepare, where to find inspiration and as many designers have had to do from time to time, let go of ideas. I'm surprised how many people and web savvy folk who I've explained my job too (which is essentially conceptualising websites) and they look at me with a quizzical look - I'm a web designer who doesn't actually design websites. But for the sake of argument though, I'll call them designs from now on.
As part of the web aesthetics article, I wrote about how the 'Web 2.0' style is a wonderful framework for communicating a site cleanly, however it's not suited to all briefs. In fact, no framework or style is all encompassing and the right style will ultimately always be the one that gets results.
However, coming up with the look that best reflects your skills as a designer and the vision of the client can at times be a difficult process and there can't be many designers out there who haven't felt the disappointment of a brilliant design being refused - take heart though - it's yours and no one can take it from you :) I suppose you can always use it for a future project. In fact, having ideas refused can sometimes be a welcome and sobering revelation, maybe there was something about that last idea you pitched that didn't quite work and you couldn't quite put your finger on... it's amazing how quickly a client can point it out. It's similar to handing your essay or dissertation to a peer and getting them to read it - you've worked on it for so long that you find it hard to be objective, despite that niggle that you either don't investigate or are simply oblivious to! It happens.
Of course, that second opinion hasn't got to wait till it's with the client, if you work in a studio with others, have your colleagues be honest and up front with their appraisal, it's the only way you'll be sure that what you're handing over to the client is your best effort. A bit more on this later.
Preparation
Upon securing a contract with a client, it's so important to do some research in order to come up with an idea. Now, that may sound pretty obvious but a decent idea and a well thought out plan of action will aid considerably in the conceptualisation stage. Now, it's not always necessary to look at your client's competitor's sites but sometimes it can really help - sometime this is totally unavoidable if your client wishes to emulate a certain competitor's website.
Emulation aside, by looking at the competition, you can not only identify weaknesses and pitfalls that can be avoided but also elements that you may not have considered. It only ever usually takes the completion of one type of website to get a grasp on the requirements of any similar site, so the more websites you complete, the quicker and easier it is to come up with concepts. That's not to say that each site is nothing more than a re-branded clone of something completed previously (although some design studios are guilty of this) but just in terms of the thought processes that go into each site, it gets easier.
Conceptualisation
It also very easy to fall back on one design style or a particular design process - try not to! This will leave your work looking stale and your portfolio uninteresting - which will leave you with a doubting sense of flair and worse still, it will lose you business! You should push the envelope, think outside the box, go beyond the pale - pick your phrase! Design should be exciting, but excitement isn't about colour, flash or gimmicks. It's about making an impression and if you can do that with your design then you've cracked it. Remember one golden rule, one which I design by, 'impress yourself'. If you can create something which you can be genuinely proud of then you're on the right track.
Now, it happens to everyone from time to time - designer's block When it strikes, you've got to know where to turn and there is no better place than the web itself.
Now I prefer to use the word 'emulation', not 'copy'! With so much going on in the world of web design and with certain trends emerging, it's quite important to stay informed and up to date. The web can also provide solutions to your design quagmire and don't be afraid to tackle something that looks beyond your scope or something that goes against your usual design style - remember, keep the portfolio fresh.
Here is a shortlist of websites that I find indispensable when I realise I've left my conceptualisation head on the breakfast table.
www.coolhomepages.com is a good place to visit to take a peek at what other developers and other companies are producing. Some of the sites are brilliant, some not so brilliant. However, it's a worthy stopping point when designer's block strikes!
www.cwd.dk is a similar site which is also full guides, tips and blogs. Well worth checking out.
www.flickr.com/photos/splat/sets/981332/ is something I found recently - it's a Flickr entry with selected cuts from the web on display.
Putting that design together
Photoshop is one of the greatest tools for a web designer, not just for its ability to create and optimise your web graphics but actually as a tool with which to develop and experiment with concepts - or maybe you use Fireworks or something similar. However, I've always found Photoshop to be my tool of choice. Now there's a good chance I'm preaching to the converted here but I've written down here are a few tips which I include in my work (applicable to all packages)...
- Have a browser frame on your top layer as this can help loads with visualisation.
- Keep iterations of your work, with each major change save it under a new filename, you may find it useful to put the change in the filename.
- Speed up the design process by knowing your keyboard shortcuts.
- Stuck with a certain element? Leave it alone and move on to something else, it will soon become un-stuck.
In a studio environment, the conceptualisation process is funny thing. On the one hand, having so much good advice on hand from colleagues is a blessing but you also know what they say about too many cooks?! Now, depending on the size of your team, keep your advisors to a minimum. Things will be added, some things will be taken away but usually after all the tweaks, the essence of your idea should still be there. If you have to start again, do so with vigour, knowing you can do better. Only when I'm impressed with the concept, will it be passed onto the client.
You'll find it exceptionally useful to know at least a little bit about web development and the possibilities that are available (or sometimes unavailable) to you. If you're unsure, talk with the design team about how it would be best to achieve certain aims. If you have any spare time, take a quick look at the different web applications that are available. If you like Flash, expand your knowledge by tackling something difficult. If you want to know more about layout, have a go at CSS. Functionality? Take a look at Ajax. Now you don't have throw yourself completely into it, just take a look and don't be afraid to approach your designers with some questions, you're a graphics guy - that's why the studio took you on.
Last update : 08-11-2007 17:39
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