The five components of Web Development
3. Visual Design
Visual Design encompasses the characteristics that make a web site usable, engaging, and memorable to the visitor.
Web design is a complex multi-disciplined group of tasks which range from technical considerations (such as choice of coding in which to implement a site), through the organizational requirements of a business (encompassing security and file access issues for instance) and on to the aesthetic requirements (such as the need to follow a set of style guides).
In implementing a successful website then we have a whole host of considerations and development stages to take on board. As freelance developers we need to wear many hats in succession. Some of them may not fit:-) but we can do the best we can to include them.
So it is too with visual design Visual design. This also has many facets and I have brought together some of the major one's below. One again this list is just small a sample of visual component considerations within a web site. I think I have though targeted the 'big players' and given a flavour of the whole process.
Company/Owner/Site Analysis
- Clarify the Owner/Organisation's Goals
- Identify the Target Audience
- Identify Target Audience Goals
- Requirements Gathering from the client
- Determine Site Constraints
- Determine Site Content
- Define Site Architecture
Page Layout
- Technical Considerations
- Usability Considerations
- Aesthetic Issues
- Storyboarding: Sketching the Layout
- Page Layout and Accessibility
- User Interface Evaluation
Color
- Color Theory
- Defining Colors for the Web
- Choosing a Color Scheme
- Color and Accessibility
Graphics
- Principles and Terminology
- Image Formats for the Web
- Acquiring Images
- Creating and Editing Images
- Background Images
- Hints on Working with Graphics
- Animation
- Graphics and Accessibility
Typography
- Typography Basics
- HTML / XHTML Text
- Graphic Text
- Text and Accessibility



