my mama taught me
i think the best way to learn design is through trial and error. i personally save all my layouts so i can look back on them and figure out any mistakes or improvements i can make. i think it's very important that i share some of these mistakes with you so we can all learn from them.
these photos are all on my flickr if you'd like a closer look.
here are some of the biggest mistakes i can save you from.
using one color
there are a lot of things wrong with going monochrome. first, it hinders your ability to vary link colors, which is a disservice to your visitors when they can't tell what's a link and what isn't. second, it ends up hurting the eyes and gives your graphic an overall "washed up" feel:
this layout has absolutely no color variations. it's blue background with blue tables with blue text, and blue links.
save yourself from this. it is always a good idea to preserve the true colors of an image you want to use- NEVER turn things monochrome unless you intend on accenting a single color:
this layout is mostly monochrome- it is black and white. however, i have used red to accent the layout and therefore i have varying colors with a classy look. and if you ARE going to go monochrome- black and white is your best bet. I never advise monochroming all reds, blues, or greens.
layouts are like people
the shaplier, the better
like the title states, there's something more attractive about a curvy woman as opposed to a twig/stick thin lanky little thing. the eye naturally skims every shape it looks at, and to not have any variation in shape makes your person- or your graphic- uninteresting. observe:
this layout has absolutely no shape. it's straight up and down and stays within square divs. B-O-R-I-N-G. not to mention i made the mistake in section one with the monochrome, here, i have also added no interesting shape for the eye to follow. people are lying when they tell you that symmetry is a good thing. make your layout interesting and easy to follow. i myself try not to have two divs on the exact same level because it looks bad:
in this layout, it's very asymmetrical- the right side comes down with the image, and the image/blend itself juts out to create an interesting shape for the eye to follow. the divs are free floating and the eye instantly falls down to the content seamlessly.
an interesting thing here is that this layout could have been monochrome, but i used the hard light blend mode to accent the entire image.
choose your colors wisely
a common mistake i used to make is background color. believe it or not, background color can be the make or break for your layout. sometimes by the time i am finished with a design, i go back and change the background color to make sure there's no better color for the background.
for a background color, choose something soft on the eyes, and one that doesn't look bad when it takes up a considerable amount of space. the background color doesn't even have to necessarily match the rest of your image, it just needs to be easy on the eyes. that's why i use grays a lot.
this layout, for example, has a horrible background color:
it clashes badly with the rest of the layout. and by clash, i mean it just hurts to look at. the color is very irritating and there was a lot of potential with the image, but i didn't capitalize on it. using a more lavender-y color would have been a good idea.
in this layout, the colors are very easy on the eyes and the background color looks good when it covers that huge amount of space. sometimes a color might look like a good choice, but when you fill your screen with it, it's rape to your eyes. always look first.
keep your resolutions
and i'm not talking your new year's resolutions, either. be courteous to your audience and keep in mind that you want a layout that is viewable on any/every type of screen. having to scroll back and forth just to read your content is enough to send someone into the loving arms of another website:
that layout is so big i could park a plane on it. and there's no use for it, either. the space isn't even well used. be sure to keep it 800 by 600 or smaller on BOTH planes. i don't want to scroll down for a million years before i find your content, either, a mistake i've yet to make.
busier is not better
don't overwhelm your vierers by having so much in your layout that it leaves them in a diabetic coma:
that layout has so much going on with it, i don't even really want to look at it. my teacher used to have the KISS rule (keep it simple, stupid). sometimes having a clean layout with a lot of space for the eye is not such a bad idea. busying your layout up is just a sign of incompetence and that you don't know what you're doing with the space you have:
this layout is very basic, but it gets the job done, does it not? it's a very good use of space.
make it clear
in coherence with the last tip, people want to know what they're looking at. making all these wispy clouds and crap to cover up your image is a horrible idea. people want to know what they're seeing and don't want to be confused by your graphics:
what the heck is that? exactly.
don't keep your viewers in a fog. no, it's not mysterious when they can't see your subject, no, it does not make it cooler or prettier. don't even throw the word "abstract" around when you're using photography. that's an excuse i used to make, and i can smell it when other people say it too.
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