Contemporary Web Design 101

Contemporary Web Design 101

Stuart Horton-Stephens | 15/09/2011

‘Design’, be it web, fashion, print, industrial or otherwise,  as a practice is a fickle business. Based on the subjective eye of the creator and ultimately the viewer, design is an ever evolving aspect which is hard to control and even harder to let wander by itself. Trends come and go, designers pick up on them and go with the designer flow. And alot of them keep going until the style is all but used up and ‘so last year’.

Designing for the web is no different. In fact some would say its at the forefront of what’s new and contemporary. Considering the fact there were 20+ million websites added in the last year, the concept of change in design and styles would seem pretty relevant. Online design has the ability to chop and change at the touch of a button (literally), if something doesn’t look quite right, upload another image. Redesign a page and upload it quickly. If the same design were sent to a printer, you’d be looking at the same piece for the next year.

Therefore the ability to constantly keep up to date and freshen the design of an online marketing campaign is incredibly simple and quick. Being seen as ‘dated’ online is a sign that you either don’t care or you have no concept of what contemporary design can do for your business. Believe it or not, users care for decent web design, it creates a sense of confidence and loyalty from the viewer, which in turn will benefit you and your goal.

As Australian designers, we tend to look over the waters towards Europe and the States for inspiration, manipulating and ‘borrowing’ these styles to suit our environment. Not a bad thing really. We are all influenced by our surroundings: Abstract Expressionist Mark Rothko used to leave his canvas under a dripping ceiling, waiting for the water to ‘start’ his inspiration. That’s not to say that web designers only rely on what is already produced, it just seems to help get the creative juices flowing. And then work on top of it. Alot.

tags: Web Design