Web Design

Web design, like various other forms of design, involves a long process that begins with an idea and ends with a finished product. In this sense, web design resembles various other forms of design related to forms of media, such as newspapers, magazines, leaflets, advertisements as well as images, still photography and video files.

The difference lies in the way in which this process plays out. Web design is complex and involves a form of language unique to computers, meaning that it is not as simple as making a leaflet where typing, cutting and pasting can leave you with a finished result. Instead, the decisions are realised with coding languages, the choice of which can depend upon whether a website will be static or dynamic, though examples can include the likes of Java Script and Actionscript amongst others. It means that whilst a counterpart designer might use a simple word processor to realise a design, cutting and pasting images in and printing, a web designer will have to use more complex methods to bring their idea to the World Wide Web.

One way of looking at it is by seeing the internet as one of the most important and groundbreaking technical achievements to emerge in the later half of the twentieth century. Web designers are the artists who are responsible for ensuring that the internet remains a good breeding ground of information where people can seek out facts effectively and with ease. It means that web design itself is a brand new art form that relatively speaking is in its early stages of life.

One choice that might occur to a web designer is the aforementioned decision between static and dynamic web pages. Static web pages are just as the name suggests – static; they do not change unless the administrator of the site specifically changes something. Dynamic websites on the other hand can include many moving parts, including flash movies and interactive designs. These kinds of choices can have an effect upon how people perceive and relate to the website, with the more expensive site that represent larger companies often featuring many flash menus, videos and gif. files.

It goes to show that choices made by a web designer can have a large effect.