WD - A Professional Layout [LESSON]
A Professional Layout
Introduction
Imagine going to your favorite website. What grabs your attention? What makes you want to stay and explore? Is it a plain site with few pictures that looks like an essay? Or is it a site that has color, pictures, videos, or even interactive activities? In this lesson, we will be working on understanding what makes websites interesting and draws the audience to stay and explore.
Knowledge Point
In the world of digital design, creating professional quality products is key to standing out. By applying design principles effectively, you will be able to craft digital products that boast a polished layout and appearance. This includes identifying the right graphical elements for a website, understanding how to utilize color principles to enhance digital products, establishing a cohesive brand identity through consistent use of graphics, color, layout, and text, as well as analyzing website aesthetics to make impactful first impressions with common users.
Principles of Design
Click each tab to see an example and read the definition for each principle of design.
Balance
Balance—provides stability and structure to a design. It is the distributed weight in the design by the placement of elements on the page.
Elements of Design
Click each tab to see an example and read the definition for each element of design.
Line
Line—the linear marks made with a drawing tool or the edge created when two shapes meet.
You should always consider the elements and principles of design when working with media and design. The elements used in all designs should be selected to convey the product's message beyond the words or photos used in the design.
Branding
By incorporating the elements of design and principles of design when working with media, how can you create a unique identity for yourself? Branding could be a possible solution.
Branding is defined as a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's goods or services as distinct from those of other sellers.
Understanding branding is crucial in web development as it involves creating a unique identity for a website through logos, color schemes, and design elements. Just like companies use branding to stand out in the market and attract customers, web developers utilize branding to create memorable and user-friendly online experiences that differentiate their websites from others.
A few other facts about brands:
- All of a brand's elements (i.e., logo, color, shape, letters, and images) work as a psychological trigger or stimulus that causes an association to all other thoughts we have about a brand.
- Brands provide external cues to taste, design, performance, quality, value, and prestige if they are developed and managed properly.
- Brands convey positive or negative messages about a product. They also indicate the company or service to the consumer, which is a direct result of past advertising, promotion, and product reputation.
Brands are extremely important in business. The brand is the identity of the business; it is what people think of when they think of the business. In the image below you can see 10 of the biggest companies in the US and all the brands associated with them. How many of the brands do you recognize or even use daily?
Practice Activity
Principles and Elements of Design Self-Check
Did you enjoy learning about elements and design!? See if the information "stuck" by completing the self-assessment below.
Reflection
In the field of digital design, creating standout products is crucial, and is achieved through the effective application of design principles for polished digital products. These principles encompass selecting appropriate graphical elements, leveraging color principles, and ensuring a consistent brand identity through graphics, color, layout, and text to make strong first impressions on users. It is essential to consider the elements and principles to convey a design's message effectively. Furthermore, branding, incorporating these design elements and principles, helps create a unique identity through logos, color schemes, and design elements, crucial for attracting users by standing out in the competitive online landscape. Brand elements serve as stimuli triggering associations and conveying messages about products, demonstrating the significance of branding in creating strong business identities and attracting customers.
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