Web Design All-in-One for Dummies®

Chapter 5. Defining the Look and Feel

In This Chapter

• Generating design ideas based on client and target audience profiles

• Making design size and layout orientation decisions

• Choosing appropriate site colors, fonts, and other design elements

• Selecting the best navigation system for the site's design

In this chapter, you find out how to develop the site's look and feel based on the information you gathered about the client's target audience profile and site identity. You also use the information you gathered from your client about his or her preferences for fonts, colors, layout, size, orientation, and other design elements, as well as the site's navigation.

Working with the Client to Make Design Choices

By making important design and layout decisions with the client now, before you begin your design work for the site's mock-up, you can save yourself and the client valuable time. In fact, if you do this step with all your projects, you will quickly discover that generating a design theme based on your conversations with the client can significantly jump-start the design process when you get to the mock-up phase in Book II, Chapter 2. Furthermore, by involving the client in finding the answers to these fundamental design questions, the issue of the site's design becomes a cocreative effort that can both enhance your relationship with the client and strengthen your role as designer.

Besides ...