The Principles of Beautiful Web Design, 3rd Edition

Chapter 1 Layout and Composition

For many web developers, myself included, the most intimidating part of the design process is getting started. Imagine for a moment that you’re sitting at your desk with nothing other than a cup of coffee and the business card of a potential client who needs a basic corporate website. Usually, a business card speaks volumes about a company’s identity, and can be used as design inspiration.

Unfortunately, that’s not the case with the card for Smith’s Services in Figure 1.1. It’s black and white, all text, no character—blah. Talk about a blank canvas! So, where do you go from here? You need a plan… and you need to contact Mr. Smith. With some critical input from the client about what his company ...