Website Design- Is a formulaic approach to design constraining true creativity?

[Claire Meldrum]

When designing a successful website, is a formulaic approach, like following a set of guidelines or rules, constraining true creativity? Do you use a set structure to design your site, if so what does it involve? Do you apply this to every design, or does this change depending on brief/client requirements?What design elements do you believe make a website successful?

Please get involved, I would love to hear the views and opionions of designers from places other than my small county that is Clakmannanshire! Any techniques or methods you can share with me to aid me in my journey would be greatly appreciated!

[Roy Umphrey]

I personally started designing web sites in the 80's and have been in design for many years of my life. It seems that everyone wants to follow a certain guide for their site these days, but in my opinion to truly design something, website, logo, whatever, it comes from the imagination of the designer, and to just be restrained to some of the set formats that a lot of people are using does take away from the design itself. I can honestly say that I have done a few pretty much from a template, but I myself prefer to design from my own imagination. I don't even like doing business cards that are just basic, the standard black on white with the words in arial. I prefer to do design work from the heart, or whatever you may call where the designs come from :) I guess that was a long opinion :) All in all though, I feel that design is something that you continually develope over the years, I know that I am still learning every time I design something new, and I personally have stayed away from websites that require security, maybe some day I will get around to learning that too :) Roy

[Lewis McMillan]

I started designing websites very young but my goal has never changed. I have always wanted my sites to be instantly recognisable and leave an imprint on the user. One thing however that has changed over the years is the way in which I have set about achieving this goal.

Before going to university I used to jump straight into a project without thinking of all the requirements, However now I like to take my time and set myself specific goals before I even think about the overall look of the site.

As my main interest is the development side I try to gain an understanding of the underlying structure before creating the front end. There are certain coding standards that are put in place that must be followed as I like to ensure my sites not only look good but are equally efficient. Once this has been done I then dive in to my programs of choice (Photoshop, Fireworks and Dreamweaver).

I personally am not a fan of the whole web 2,0 look and feel, however it seems that most websites nowadays conform to this set style. I feel that if you try too hard to stick to this style it will undoubtedly hinder your creative side. The key is to get a balance of both usability and a creative look. I myself usually set out my menu areas either on the left or at the top and let my mind do the rest.

[mike mckenzie]

Designing a successful website should involve some research into the industry in which your designing for. Understanding the target audience for the client, functionality and layout should be dictated by that.

[Carly Bannerman]

I feel having a structure to follow when designing a website is very usefull.It does not mean you have to hold back on your creativity i just feel it stops you from getting carried away and reminds you that a website has to be straightforward and easy to navigate for the users and without any guidlines i think that people would forget this and just see it has a piece of artwork. Obviously how you design a website changes with every brief but i like to keep the same structure to every design-this also helps it to be recognisable to me as a designer.

For me the most important element within a website is the layout, the layout of a website sets the overall look for the whole thing. If the layout is not straightforward or there has been to much crammed in, this will put people off and make it hard to navigate around.
However i do think that every design element within a website is important and they should all connect.

[Leigh Bourne]

Hi Claire

Following guidelines is always a good thing, layout being the most important aspect. Make it as user friendly as possible.One thing though never hold back on your creativity when designing.
It also depends on what the client wants at the end of the day.

Leigh