March 18, 2024

10 Easy Steps to Become a Better Web Designer

A great designer is one who can create great designs long after the latest trends have passed. When in doubt always go back to basics & the fundamentals you learned when starting out. Here are some steps I personally take that have helped me become a better designer. My hope is that this will remind you of the little things we sometimes take for granted. Please feel free to add to the list if you have tips – interacting with the community & sharing the knowledge is what it’s all about.

1 . Trends

Keeping up to date on the latest trends is important – however “trends” does not mean “copy”. Get inspiration and create your own style. See this highly effective post of 2008 Design Trends.

2. Learn & Develop

Great designers are always learning and stay fresh on the latest styles. A great resource for finding specific collections for interface design on the web is PatternTap.

3. Think on Paper

Sketching should be your best friend, especially if your in the beginning stages of a wireframe or even simple list ideas. Getting away from the computer and onto paper gives you less distraction. Check out The Importance of Sketching.

4. White Space

Sometimes less is more. Don’t clutter your designs – readability is key to the success of a website. Minimal or Simplistic does not mean boring. For some great examples check out MinimalSites.

5. Technology / Applications

Keep up on the latest programs in your field (But Don’t Upgrade to CS4!) and if your looking for online training I suggest checking out Lynda.

6. Read

These are some great Magazines I recommend flipping through: .Net, Communication Arts, Computer Arts Magazine

If your having an inspiration block check out: Feeling the need for some Inspiration.

7. Know your Audience

Revisit the original creative brief, just because your designing something you like – doesn’t mean the client will like it. You have to look at the age group and demographic target your trying to reach, all these things are very important and you should take extra steps to not lose site of this.

8. Ask others Opinions

Recently I was redesigning a logo and simply “tweeted” on Twitter. I received over 45 replies as well as in depth detailed comments on my Flickr page where I posted the comps. You don’t have to show everyone either depending on the content, ask a colleague you trust. They may point out problems or errors that didn’t cross your mind.

9. Build a “Toolbox”

I keep a harddrive full of assets, code, old work & forms that I made need to grab someday. I organize it by the type of work (ex. CSS, Flash, Vectors, Forms). When your searching for something while working on a project it’s a lot easier when your organized. Trust me it will save you time!

10. Competition

Take a look at what other web designers are doing. Being aware of what’s happening in your industry is a must. There is not a shortage of gallery sites around but these are the ones I visit most: (http://screenfluent.com/) (http://www.lightondark.com/sites/) (http://bestwebgallery.com/) (http://www.faveup.com/) (http://www.webcreme.com/) (http://www.designbygrid.com/)

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31 Comments

  1. Patrick Algrim Reply

    This is some really good information. I really like the whole competition part, it goes really well with my article on design research. Sometimes checking those design galleries, gives you a good idea of what other people are doing, and what other people are NOT doing.

    Great job!

  2. Timberooni Reply

    One thing I always try to do is look for inspiration outside of your medium, ffffound.com is a great place to see all different types of design work and is a great jumping off point.

    I find that by looking at CSS web galleries too much tends to make your stuff look like a direct rip. EXIST outside the grid! I know Patrick loves his grid based design, but you can break out of it!

  3. Edwin Reply

    Great article. Short and to the point. Also good external links added to read further. Thanks for this interesting post! 🙂

  4. adelle Reply

    @Jaswinder Better pull up a seat & some coffee and catch up on your reading / rss feeds 🙂 Wouldn’t want you to neglect the good stuff!

    @Edwin glad you found it interesting and I’m sure the external posts will keep you busy for a short while!

  5. Tyler Hayes Reply

    This post is perfect for one reason: not only does the author talk the talk, he walks the walk. Posting sites, resources, and giving a snippet of your own life’s experiences makes articles like this stand out above the rest. Kudos!

  6. Aaron Irizarry Reply

    Adelle,
    Another great article… congrats!

    Love the points about “Competition” “Toolbox” and “Minimal Design/White Space”.

    I have recently just started recycling resources/code that I have collected for various projects in the past.

  7. Shawn Bouchard Reply

    Hi Adelle,

    Thanks for this resource. We’re always trying to help our design partners with suggestions and resources on design. I’ll be sending them to your site.

    I might also suggest that integrating some form of content management system is a good idea. It turns a static website into a communications platform.

    Thanks!

  8. j_hatfield Reply

    In regards to the first tip in following trends, I’ve noticed that a lot of the mobile sites that are coming out don’t consider the limited space of the medium. I ran across this blog that talks about when you design a mobile site its important to do less.

    here.

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