7 Key Principles That Make A Web Design Look Good « Noupe

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Oct 15

7 Key Principles That Make A Web Design Look Good

By Juul Coolen

Everyone and their grandfather (and dog ) seems to have a website these days. The Web is getting more crowded by the day, with literally dozens of websites being added as you read this article. It is becoming harder and harder to get noticed among the masses.

“Fortunately” for us designers, not everyone seems to understand what makes or breaks a Web design . Granted, Web design is to a large extent a creative process and can therefore be called more art than science. But because it is intrinsically a medium of presentation, some rules (or at least principles) apply. By following some simple pointers, anyone should be able to create a visually pleasing design and take one step closer to fame. Okay, it’s not that simple, and talent and experience do matter, but anyone can turn their home page into something prettier within mere minutes.

So what makes something pretty? It is not Flash. Not to say that Flash has no merit, but Flash alone doesn’t make a design good; some nasty Flash websites are out there. Also, one doesn’t have to be a great illustrator to make appealing designs. Instead, look at Web design as a symbiosis of different elements. No single element counts the most; rather, the sum of the elements makes a design look good.

These elements are the 7 key principles that make a Web design look good :

Balance,

Grid,

Color,

Graphics,

Typography,

White space,

Connection.

1. Balance

Balance is all about ensuring that your design does not tip to one side or the other. It is like the balance of weight in achieving symmetry or asymmetry.

Example

Look at the dog in the header graphic of Khoi Vinh’s Subtraction website ...

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