Thinking About Graphic Design

While a professional approach is essential for any organisation serious about their online presence, on it's own a 'good looking' site is not sufficient. It is in its impact on usability that graphic design is now particularly significant in the online environment.

There was a time when graphic design - or how things looked at least - was regarded as the most central part of the web experience. A 'good' website, in the eyes of management at least, involved little more than the company message accompanied by attractive pictures, ideally animated as often as possible.

Nowadays, we are beginning to realise that whilst design remains a vital differentiator in terms of web experience, it is for very different reasons. Users are by now accustomed to the very highest levels of graphic design work online. This means that whilst a professional approach is essential for any organisation serious about their online presence, on it's own a 'good looking' site is not sufficient. It is in its impact on usability that graphic design is now particularly significant in the online environment.

Graphic design, or visual communication, is about more than looks. The way site content is presented will have a significant effect on how easy-to-use it will be. This not only includes questions of appropriate images and styles, but also choice of colour schemes and the way different interface elements are represented. Some of the following tips give a feel for the ways in which appropriate graphic design can improve site usability:

Firstly, think carefully about the use of images at all - certainly in terms of the quantity on any particular page. Although it might look great and download quickly in the office, any site that uses images as the basis for navigation or content is almost certain to frustrate a significant number of users. So keep design simple.

Icons, or any other representative images, should be as clear and unambiguous as possible. Ideally their use should be kept to an absolute minimum (even the most obvious of icons can be misinterpreted by an over-active imagination), but when they must be used, don't be tempted by elaborate or 'stylistic' designs. They will just serve to confuse the user.

Think carefully about colour schemes. Badly chosen colours can make comprehension difficult for everyone, and impossible for some - such as the colour blind or users with black and white displays. As a rule of thumb, always make sure that contrast can be used to distinguish two colours (when a distinction is necessary). For text, this ideally means black or blue on white, or a dark shade on a light shade at least.

Graphic backgrounds may look good at first but tend to serve no useful purpose and wind up actively annoying some users. Text in particular should always be displayed on a single block colour background. If something has a function, try and ensure that the design communicates that function. This is particularly important with 'buttons' for example, which should convince the user that they are there to be clicked. How this is done will depend on the nature of the user group. Web-aware users may be satisfied with simple blue text - whereas those with less experience may need something more unambiguous (such as the Microsoft grey 'button').