Great design is about much more than great looks

Of all the various facets of web development, most people feel comfortable and confident when dealing with the design. After all, it’s not that hard to tell if a proposed design has followed the established brand guidelines and hit the mark aesthetically.

What is easy to forget is that design is about much more than simple aesthetics. Great web design is very detailed and specific, working within the established guidelines of a brand to create distinct visual pathways that lead to desired actions.

Good web designers will pay attention to all the obvious elements of a website; the buttons, the navigation, the incorporation of the logo and so on. Great web designers will take things even further, working with strong principles of information architecture, usability and accessibility to define the structure and shape of each page.

Great designers balance the commercial imperatives behind the purpose of the site with the need to provide users with a fulfilling and satisfying experience. It’s the ability to identify this balancing point that makes a designer truly great.