The Weird Ones
In the final installment of Web Design: The Hits, the Misses, and the Weird — Part III we’ll show some of the strange ones in web design. Some are ugly, some are funny, and some are confusing but they all catch your attention.

Click on each image to see a larger screen shot of the webpage.
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One Trick Pony
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Zombo.com does only one thing but does it extremely well; it offers you everything. It has too much negative space but it doesn’t really matter because “You can do anything at Zombo.com.” Don’t forget to have your audio up when visiting this site.
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Everything Plus the Kitchen Sink

TeacherXpress has taken the exact opposite approach from the zombo.com and has too much content crammed onto the webpage. The links to other areas are better but the main page may be TMI (too much information) for some teachers looking for educational  resources.
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Buttons Gone Wild

Almost all webpages use buttons to link to other areas. But in the case of Haiti News Network the web designer has turned the website into a buttonfest. While the design is loud and cluttered, it certainly is colorful.
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Longest Website?

Havenworks.com provides content related to politics, social issues, and commentary. Its claim to fame is that it has appeared on several lists for “Worst Websites.” This website is long—literally. You’ll find an almost bottomless pit of content as you scroll down.

Graphic Design Schools and Web Creativity
As you have seen, anyone can create a website but not everyone can design a website properly. In order to do that you’ll need inherent aesthetic talent and the proper education regarding website design principles.

Graphic design colleges offer a wealth of career training and can help you understand the basics of what you need to know about web design. Check with your local graphic design schools to see what courses are available.

A “Fontastic” Website Contest
You can add animations, audio, movies or any other graphic enhancements to a website but one thing that is common to all is the use of fonts.

The website may have your standard plain Jane Helvetica or the more exotic Algerian but it can’t be argued that the role of well selected font types can enhance the overall experience for web surfers.

To celebrate the use of web fonts the Web Font Awards will be announced at the Future of Web Design conference in New York City from November 15-17, 2010.

What This Contest Is About
Fonts are usually taken for granted by surfers of the Internet but they are an integral element in successful website design. According to the sponsors:

“The Web Font Awards is the first ceremony to celebrate the new-found typographic freedom that Web designers are experiencing across the globe. The competition will recognize the designers and websites that are putting this emerging technology to greatest use.

“Aimed at promoting Web font awareness and adoption, the Web Font Awards is open to eligible users of any Web font service or technology that uses an @font-face declaration.”

Ultimately this contest is about the creative and effective use of fonts in website design.

Judging and Prize Awards
Entries will be judged upon three criteria:

* Typography
* Usability
* Creativity

Each category will carry equal weight for judging. According to the sponsors the following awards will be presented to winners:

Community Choice

* $3,000 (U.S.)
* Twenty user license for the Monotype® Library, Linotype® Originals and ITC® Library font collections
* One year Professional subscription to the Fonts.com Web Fonts service.
* One 32GB Apple® iPad® mobile digital device with Wi-Fi

Judges’ Choice - 1st place
* $3,000 (U.S.)
* Twenty user license for the Monotype Library, Linotype Originals and ITC Library font collections
* One year Professional subscription to the Fonts.com Web Fonts service.
* One 32GB Apple iPad mobile digital device with Wi-Fi

Judges’Choice - 2nd place
* Twenty user license for the Monotype Library, Linotype Originals and ITC Library font collections
* One year Professional subscription to the Fonts.com Web Fonts service.
* One 32GB Apple iPad mobile digital device with Wi-Fi

Judges’Choice - 3rd place
* One year Professional subscription to the Fonts.com Web Fonts service.
* One 32GB Apple iPad mobile digital device with Wi-Fi

Contest Links and Other Information

Official Contest Website
Complete Contest Guidelines and Rules
Account Log-in Registration Page

There is no entry fee for this contest. There are specific exceptions to who may enter this contest. Be sure to read the contest guidelines for further information on this. The deadline for entries is November 7, 2010.

Learn from the Best: The Hits
If you are a graphic designer or web designer you know that it can be quite a challenge in coming up with the proper layout, features, and overall appearance of a website that will appeal to visitors.

In part two of Web Design: The Hits, the Misses, and the Weird we’ll spotlight websites that inform the buying public about services and products through reviews.

As we’ll find out, knowing your client’s needs should be at the top of any web designer’s list of things to do.

And now, our picks for the websites that hit the mark for information.

Camera Reviews: Photographyblog.com
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Where do you go when you need honest, hard-hitting information and reviews on cameras and camera equipment? For many the answer is photographyblog.com

The site successfully breaks down camera review information in several important categories such as the camera’s image quality (IQ), ease of use, sample camera images, and intro to the camera’s unique features.

The site may not be fancy looking, but it does what it does very well; it provides concise test information for individuals seeking accurate camera performance stats.
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Product Reviews: Amazon.com
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Most people are familiar with this mega online shopping site. It provides the consumer an extraordinary selection of goods from books to an eight-carat heart-shaped diamond that costs $932,700.00–free shipping, of course!

But another reason why Amazon is so successful is due to its vast user community. The product reviews by Amazon customers provide important feedback to others about their experiences regarding the items they have purchased.
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Business Reviews: Yelp.com
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You can think of yelp.com as the virtual water cooler location where thousands of people give their thumbs up or thumbs down on businesses ranging from car repair shops to dentists and everything else in between.

Yelp operates on the principle that the local community has the best idea of what is good and what is not. Reviews written by this online community can be brutally honest when it comes to customer satisfaction. Some are quite funny and entertaining too.

Graphic Design Colleges and Web Design
Web design has taken an interesting turn in that some design software programs are able to generate simple webpages without the user having any formal training in programming or design.

Some web designers are self-taught and have amassed a great deal of information and programming techniques via the Internet and books.

Graphic design schools offer one of the best ways to receive  important career training and education that is needed to compete in today’s fast changing world of web design. Check with your local graphic design college to see what it has to offer in web design courses and classes.

Who knows, maybe you’ll think up the next Facebook.

Next Time…
When we meet again we’ll show examples of the “misses” in web design. Learning from the mistakes of others can sometimes be an education in itself.

Surfing the Web
If you are like many consumers who depend on the Internet for your information, entertainment, and buying needs you no doubt have visited hundreds, if not thousands of websites by now.

On the other end of the world of websites, the Holy Grail for many web designers is constructing a website that is successful and popular. But where can you get this training?

Graphic Design Schools and You
For graphic designers, understanding the basic principles of web design is very valuable to have.

There are numerous courses that can be taken online, at graphic design colleges, and colleges that provide the essential career training necessary for this interesting field.

But what exactly makes for a successful web design? As we shall see in this series, the answer to this question varies and sometimes goes against conventional wisdom.

We’ll go over examples of popular and not so popular websites and try to shed some light on this subject now, and in the coming weeks.

Back to the Basics of Web Design
If you are struggling in coming up with a website concept for a client sometimes it’s a good idea to return to the basics as far as what the website is intended for. And ironically enough, the key points are primarily non-graphic related:

* What is the website for?
* Who is the audience for the website?
* How tech-savvy is the audience (website navigation).
* Does the design meet the needs of the user?

If you can correctly answer these questions, it may help to clear the fog and allow you to approach designing the website with “fresh eyes.”

Breaking the Rules: The Hits
Following basic website design principles can help you to create good websites.

But some successful websites have thrown out the book on Web Design 101 and have been quite successful. Breaking the rules doesn’t work all the time but it is a viable option for design ideas. Here are a few:

Less Is More
If a client came to you with a request to design a search engine website, you might go about it by creating the webpage with various search categories, helps and links to different topics.

You could add some nice graphics, some prime webpage “real estate” set aside for sponsor’s ads and perhaps to top it all off, you’d show off a nice animation.

But the top-ranked website in the world, which also happens to be the most popular search engine, took a totally different approach.

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There are no graphics to speak of but it serves as a stroke of genius in design by implementing the most basic mechanism of how people search for things on any website; you merely type in what you want to find in a search box.

While this minimalist approach may be too drastic for your next project the underlying principle is very important; design your website so it is simple to use.

Low-Tech In a High-Tech World
Websites have evolved in a manner where they have become progressively complicated and feature laden. But as we see in the following example, low-tech doesn’t necessarily mean outdated or not useful as long as it works for the users.

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Craigslist is the epitome of rule breaking as far as website design is concerned. It has no graphics to speak of on the main page, the layout seems crowded and lackluster, and it doesn’t appear to have much going for it.

One reason why this website works is because of its easy to use interface and user content. The layout of the website is non-threatening and the want-ads style is familiar to virtually everyone.

Next Time…
There are websites that do extremely well in their niche markets. Next time we’ll go over some of these examples and see what makes them tick. We’ll also take a look at some that have made changes to their layouts, but with less than optimal results.

So until next time, keep on designing!

It’s a Love Hate Relationship
After graduating from  graphic design school, being employed in work that incorporates your design skills and creativity can be fulfilling. You can reach mountain top experiences when you design something fantastic.

On the flip, you can enter dark, shadowy areas when your designs falter or even worse, are flawed.

One graphic designer expressed this love/hate situation by saying:
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“I love the comment, ‘You must love designing for a living.’ At that point I usually start to laugh or break into uncontrollable tears.”

- Andrew Lewis, art director, designer, and artist

In this installment of Gotcha! Graphic Design Advertising Mistakes we’ll display actual ad mistakes taken from websites, magazine ads, and brochures. A great big “thanks” to the members of photoshopdisasters.com for digging up many of these examples in our Gotcha! series.

Enjoy and have fun!
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300  - The Movie
This action thriller film was an adaptation of  Frank Miller’s comic book mini-series of the historical Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC). During this event a small army of Spartans held off a barrage of attacks by overpowering Persian forces.

Here is the DVD box art:
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But What is Wrong? (Click on Image)
At first glance everything appears to be correct. But upon closer inspection the sword held by the main character isn’t being held at all. The hand seems to be gripping a handle that isn’t connected to the blade.
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Santander Bank
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The international banking institution, Santander, is headquartered in the UK. The photo is from their website and displays a group of people posing as staff members. They all look pleasant and professional.

But What is Wrong? (Click on Image)
Although the group photo looks inviting, some of the images of people have been inserted through Photoshop. You’ll notice that the woman with the red skirt has legs that mysteriously meld into the back of the woman in front. Her legs also never reach the floor.

Other problems concern improper use of the magic wand feature in cutting out portions of background and various other cut and paste errors.
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Moët and Chandon Champagne
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Most special celebrations start with a bottle of bubbly. Moët and Chandon have been producing fine champagne for over 260 years. This advertisement displays the effervescence of one of its sparkling wines.

But What is Wrong? (Click on Image)
The photo of the product is well lit and composed nicely. The champagne looks good enough to drink and the bubbles…are rising in an oblique angle to counteract gravity!

The simple mistake of not paying attention to the superimposed image of the sparkling beverage and the bubble orientation makes the ad a little less believable.

Look Before You Leap
We hope you’ve had as much fun with this series as we have. And hopefully, these examples not only make us smile, but make us more aware of the details when we design.

Graphic design schools and graphic design colleges provide the education needed to become successful graphic designers, but responsibility for good attention to details falls upon the designer.

Until next time, keep on designing!

Education and Design
The key to a career in graphic design is a good foundation in art and design. This education can be obtained at a qualified graphic design school. Graphic designers often take web design courses in order to expand their skill sets and make themselves more marketable.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Employment is expected grow about as fast as average. Keen competition for jobs is expected; individuals with Web site design and animation experience will have the best opportunities…

“…Graphic designers with a broad liberal arts education and experience in marketing and business management will be best suited for positions developing communication strategies.”

Receiving the best education for your graphic design career at a graphic design college may be of great benefit to you if you want to open up opportunities for employment or strengthen your skills through continued education.

Web Design Eye Candy
In Graphic Design Inspirations I we covered examples gleaned from different fields in graphic design. In Graphic Design Inspirations II we viewed some interesting examples in poster designs. In part III of this series we’ll show you some unique and attention-grabbing web design layouts to demonstrate how simple ideas can be transformed into intriguing concepts.

To visit these websites click on the bold blue text in each heading. To see a larger image of the website graphic click on the images.

One-Page Website Design

What do you do if you need to create a website that requires only one page, needs to provide a good deal of information, and is eye-catching? You do what web designer Basil Gloo did.

He created his website by using visual perspective, a balanced symmetrical layout, and a bit of whimsy featuring him as the main graphic element.

The website isn’t “fancy” but it achieves its desired goal of being informative and visually appealing.
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Effective Use of Text and Graphics

Australian graphic designer Rob Morris has gone through several design variations of his website. The one shown here was created in 2008 with the theme “Hero for Hire.”

The text in the website layout immediately piques your interest and the graphic of a man running and pulling a long line of graphic designs is humorous, while also demonstrating the creativity of the designer.
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Pop Icons

WeLoveIcons.com uses one of the most recognizable pop icons in modern culture…the iPhone.

The clever transformation of the high-tech gadget into a wooden object is brilliant. Using the iconic image of the iPhone is also very effective as a unique user interface for viewing different graphic images.
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Good Utilization of Flash and Graphic Elements

Dave Warner, designer and jack of all trades, created his website with a scrapbook motif.

The elements on the webpage are interactive and by clicking on various images you are taken to other pages that highlight the selected topic.

Warner has designed a website that is fun to navigate, a bit quirky and captures the viewer’s attention by his effective use of flash, design elements, and multimedia. Visit the “about and contact” portion of his website to find out more about him.

Great job Dave!