Design Trends to Expect in 2013
The internet business community is now entering a new business cycle. 2012 is a year of growth. We have seen numerous positive changes in the online business community. We are seeing radical changes left and right. Governments attempted to regulate the internet community as a whole all in the name of general welfare and common good, but numerous businessmen and online business conglomerates launched boycotts and protests reminding governments the effect of an internet-less world. As a result, the brilliant website designers and website owners created ways and means to make a website not solely under a jurisdiction of a single-government entity. Security features of websites also became tougher to protect websites from government intrusion and criminals. Website design also remained free and virtually unregulated for the year 2012 – and the only regulatory mechanism is the market which boycotts or promotes a good website. Attempts from some sectors were made to regulate website design again all in the name of the common good – protect local employment and non-transfer of intellectual property – but all attempts were futile. Let’s take a look at the design trends to expect in 2013.
Responsive and Adaptive Website Design
Intechnic.com reminded readers that responsive and adaptive website design allows building websites that are optimized for screens of all sizes – small mobile devices, tablets and large desktop monitors. The trend will continue because the technology cannot be stopped. Improvement in communications technology including mobile phones is not subject to regulation, and this causes a surge in the demand for responsive website design. Simply put, a responsive website design means that the design is flexible in desktop, smart phone and tablet screens. An adaptive website design is what we need to remain competitive next years as more and more people are using smart phones and tablets for their everyday needs.
Parallax Screening
According to njwebdesign.org, parallax is a technique achieved with multiple layers of a website that are scrolling at different speeds creating an illusion of a 3D effect. Parallax screening is a way for website designers to reach the all-important target audience for their customers. If you look closely, parallax screening is part of responsive website design. Through parallax screening, the customer can get to scroll and view the numerous contents from different websites using his tablet or smart phone.
Minimalism is Re-emphasized
There are always downsides for technology but the same are remedied by the market. Because of the arrival of numerous cameras, the photography industry is said to be diluted. The so-called “old guards” of photography are complaining about the surge of new amateur photographers using all sorts of picture-taking devices made in China. Well, at the end of the day, the best photographers – whether they are new or old- are the ones hired by the clients. The same is true in website design. With the emergence of hundreds of photo-editing devices and increased memory systems, the design community is said be diluted and one website designer even went on to claim that designing can now be done by kids. However, the market fixed the defects and minimalism is back. In fact, only professionals and those with lengthy experience in website design can create a truly minimalist website taking into consideration all factors.
Designed Typography will take Center Stage
Typography is becoming an integral part of web design ideas and projects and the use of custom fonts will be an essential creative asset, contributing to the overall identity of a website as much as other important elements such as colors or artwork. If 2012 was the year when color scheme took center stage, 2013 will be a battle for font styles. Designers and website developers are busy looking and creating the perfect fonts to catch the attention of the target clientele.
Designing Websites for Non-Profit Organizations
A charity organization or a non-profit organization is not a zero-sum organization because it has also its gains and it operates within the free enterprise system of the internet. Well, have you heard of non-profit organizations based in dictatorships and ultra-collective countries? In fact, such organizations compete for donations from government and other international organizations. Moreover, they also compete for donations from the private sector. Because of its business nature, its website should appear brilliant, professional and befitting a site good for donations. Would you dare give money to a website which claims to help animals but its website is worse than an animal’s cage? Would you donate money to a environmental organization whose website appears to be created by hippies constantly in need of LSD? Of course, you the donor would like the best value for your money. You want your money to end up as food and shelter to the poor and not for some LSD medications of the members of the organization. The donor can be convinced by presenting a professional website complete with all the essential parts.
Let’s take a look at some website design tips for non-profit organizations:
First, the website should appear convincing. Aside from donors, you would also be needing volunteers. Spending too much on employment will drain the organization and it will give a bad light. The world is filled with rich people with charitable hearts. Some would even want to volunteer to earn hours and time in doing charity work. Thus, your website should be easy to navigate and appealing (vandelaydesign.com). If your website is easy to navigate, you are actually giving the impression that your site is a professional one.
Second, international agencies and government need non-profit organizations for their own political causes. A lucrative contract worth millions of dollars for charity work – medical mission, feeding programs, animal welfare missions etc – is what many non-profit organizations need to bring their business to prominence. However, how can one convince these agencies if the website appears like an extension of a pigpen or a dumpster? The site should appear professional at all times.
Third, in creating or designing the site, don’t forget to cement the site with a good donating section. The features should be security proof. The non-profit organization cannot afford the leakage of information regarding the donors and the people involved in the charity work. When a customer or donor sees the donation box, what he sees should be the real one or not some diverted site created by a hacker. Once your organization is linked to a hacker site or a bad website, you would surely expect a boycott from the donors and it does not matter how noble your organization is.
Fourth, showcase the international agencies and governments who support your organization and causes. Building credibility is very important in the NGO world. If you have pictures with high ranking officials of the United Nations and government officials, you better let the people know about your connections. Use photo-editing tools and other website design tools to present the images and texts in very convincing manners.
Read more:
http://speckyboy.com/2012/01/05/40-effectively-designed-non-profit-and-charity-web-sites/
Food For Thought: 50 Impressionable Public Awareness Poster Ads
When we think of advertisements, we tend to negatively associate them with mind manipulation of the masses for business profiteering. We tend to forget that advertisements can be used for nobler causes that deal with issues closer to home and to our hearts. Even if your busines sis web design and not print design, the following collection can serve as an inspiration for future projects.
Read the full story in hongkiat.com
7 Awesome Event Websites for your Web Design Inspiration
Creating a Facebook event ia all very well, but there are times when you may need to create a more intricate, sophisticated mechanism to promote your upcoming event.
Whether you're a web designer looking for inspiration or an amatuer with a big event coming up, here are some examples of websites who have done it right this year.
New Zealand International Arts Festival
Does SEO Affect Your Creative Freedom?
Right now web design is closely tied to SEO. Mind you, when I say web design, I do not simply mean designing with the use of Adobe Photoshop. I mean the whole deal, from conception to presentation.
Is SEO a good thing for web design? Do you think minding SEO too much limits what designers can do?
Read the full story in 1st Web Designer
Planning your Next Website Redesign
Redesigning one’s website to prepare for the new business cycle is a must for each and every business establishment in the World Wide Web. There are two errors committed by website designers in redesigning sites. The first one is making a minor facelift. The layout remains the same but there are some minor changes. The color scheme remains the same but there are some few accentuations of colors so as not to appear a copycat of the old sites. This practice is common so as to save money and place money on more important items like search engine optimization and security improvements. The website reviewers and the customers will surely give a very bad rating of the place. The second one is a radical 360 degree shift of design. This radical approach is brought about by the emergence of young and aggressive website designers who want to make a name quickly in the online realm. Now, how are you going to plan your next website redesign?
First, one should know his company is all about. According to a contributor at blog.farreachinc.com, the website owner should rethink and revalue his company. If his business did well for 2012, he should consider all the added value for his website redesign. It would be absurd and wrong for the website owner to retain the value of his site. He should make revisions to showcase growth befitting his gains and earnings for the business year. In redesigning the website, you should also consider accessibility. If you had issues with accessibility because some customers wrote you messages informing you about the inaccessible areas of your website, you should respond quickly and not wait for a fiasco to happen. In redesigning, the accessibility must be considered because traffic and sales are dependent on it.
Second, there is no doubt that content is part of website redesign. Clickz.com reminded readers that search engine optimization, updating contents, website content generation etc are all part of web design. Of course, such items will be appreciated by the customers. If the contents occlude your design or your design occludes your contents, then your website is headed to trouble. In planning your redesign, you should go back to your website analytic results to find out what areas of your website are ignored.
Third, in planning a redesign of your website, you should not consider the people who will manage your site. If you spent a huge chunk of your income in 2012 paying people to generate content, you might as well look for ways and means to reduce cost. Look for freelance students doing excellent search engine optimization work online. The internet is filled with such kids.
Fourth, obviously, you will have to create responsive and adaptive website designs for your next website. However, you should concentrate on knowing the extent of your mobile market and related items – culture, age-group, and average money spent by the specific groups. Through this, you would know how many responsive websites you are going to create to cater to the demand of those young people using smart phones and tablets.
Planning a website redesign is tough. To plan a website means one should let go of old parts even if such parts give some sort of sentimental value. Plan carefully and get the best results possible.
9 Smart Ways for Designers to Save Money
Any time you choose an artistic career path, such as web design, you are in for a mix of triumphs and challenges. One of these challenges is bound to be financial. But if you find ways to operate within a budget, you will be able to maximize the money you earn while doing the work you love.
Whether you are a recent graduate, a new freelancer or are simply riding out a lull in your industry, the following are some simple, yet practical ways for web designers to cut costs and save money.
Read the full story in Web Design Depot
How to Impress Your Clients with Your New Web Design Blogs
The trader is someone who deals with people value for value. Impressing one’s client is adding value to the client. As such, one must impress his clients properly. At the end of the day, the client is merely after the product or service because he is willing to trade money for the good or service. The businessman, on the other end, is only after what the client is willing to exchange for the value and goods he created. This symbiotic relationship is what governs all human relations in the free world particularly the internet world. How then can you impress your all-important clientele with your new web design blogs?
a) Know Thy Market
Your marketing blog will be total useless piece of online junk if said blog does not market to the right people. If you are selling Italian pizza and pasta to a certain locality, it would be absurd if you write articles regarding vegetarian practices and the latest updates on Bulimia and Anorexia. Thus, it is important that you make drafts and strategies on your search engine optimization and website content generation so that you only place relevant contents for your customers to read.
b) Use Photo-edited Materials
If you are taking a picture, it would be better to have the same edited. Taking photographs is not a mechanical act for it involves mental processes of thinking and making right choices. Of course, you have to show to your customers that you are able to take pictures professionally and what you display are only the good ones. Why photo edit? This is one way you place to your customers. Your customers will feel good because they will feel you are giving them extra value for the things you do.
c) Infuse Responsive Content
This is one advice by a mainstay writer of techrepublic.com. What you write and display on your blog site should be responsive contents – something which answers questions in the minds of customers and something which the customers expect. Again, it would be absurd for you to display articles regarding Greenpeace if you are selling fur and mink coats. Articles about fur trade, fur value, and pictures of actresses wearing magnificent mink coats are much more relevant for the purchasing public to know.
d) Create a Good Atmosphere on Your Blog Site
There are basic rules which should be placed in your mind. First, do not be too argumentative with annoying customers. Try to be diplomatic and proper at all times. A businessman who fights his customers publicly (via the bog sites) will end up losing clients and ending up getting negative reviews. Second, remove bad contents introduced by website viewers. If there are contents introduced to malign your business or malign others, you better delete them. Don’t wait for the website reviewer to take a screenshot of the posting. Third, think of your blog site as a negotiation room – clean, well air-conditioned, the leathers are oiled, and the lighting is just right. Your blog site should be well-maintained at all times.
Read more:
Back to Nature: Organic Themed Websites
For the past decade we have increased our awareness to be active in helping the earth with Go Green Campaigns or even switched to the habit of getting everything organic. Well, today we're not going to give you some tips about that type of green and organic information. However, it is still related to the "organic" theme on website design.
So what's an organic themed website? It's a type of website theme which uses most of the green color palette in the overall design and nicely combines the layout with high quality images or illustrations of environment, fruits, vegetables and the like. It's not necessary to have the layout in just a green color palette, in fact some examples below have more creativity involved in the overall layout by using pastel colors, illustrations, collages even logos.
Read the full story in Onextrapixel
Usability Considerations in Mobile Web Design
The internet revolution involves a strategy in incorporating efficient marketing techniques into one’s mobile website design. The mobile market is growing in exponential terms for very obvious reasons and online businessmen should consider the trend in coming up with business decisions. In one’s pursuit of profits and better website design in his online business endeavour, he should not lose sight of the fact that user-friendliness is what one needs to bring his site closer to the target population. Let’s take a look at usability considerations in mobile web design.
Design responsiveness for mobile web design
There are no fix sizes for screens. No regulatory international body control the screens produced by numerous companies. The design and sizes of mobile phone screens depend on the market and such will never depend on some sort of regulatory mechanism. Because of this, the website designer and the online businessman is faced with the task of fitting his marketing strategies and mobile web design with the majority of screen sizes. He cannot simply design for a single set. Customers use a variety of phones for everyday marketing and communicating purposes – A customer might use a tab for communication purposes to his buddies and friends in the online community but he uses a smart phone to guide him with his grocery needs or for the sake of paying bills. The website businessman should never assume that the customer will go to his site no matter what the site looks like using his tab. He will naturally go to the website which appears good and convenient for him. Why would you expect the customer to sacrifice his time scanning the screen or adjusting his eyeglasses just to view the contents? In this day and age, the online businessman should be the one to adjust and not the customer.
Connectivity Issues
As online businessmen and website designers, we should also not lose sight of the fact that customers are using all sorts of applications, social networking accounts and communication media to seek information regarding prices, payment terms, product quality and delivery schedules. A frugal customer, for example, will not simply depend on the usual communication media, and he will rely on ways and means he can save money. He would rather use free communication applications like Viber, Skype and Facebook.com rather than spend hundreds of dollars for communication bills. Gone are the days when the population was dependent on telephones and advertisers promote goods using the “phone numbers” of potential clients as found in the White and Yellow Pages. Nowadays, an average person can have more than 10 accounts in the free communication and social networking websites.
Use of “Single Sites”
Mower.com reminds website owners and online business managers that single sites are still the best promotional sites in the mobile commerce world. It is impractical to have multiple websites. The mobile phone user is a scanner (using his thumb and point finger) and not a clicker (using his thumb alone). Scanning involves the act of using two fingers to view the contents. What he does is scroll the site up and down. In the past – when desktops were more common than tabs/smart phones, the purchasing public use their mouse. Nowadays, can you see anyone in the coffee shop bringing a mouse for his tablet or mobile phone?
Crearegroup-webdesign.co.uk
Mower.com
