BFM Blog

It is a question I am often asked yet, for some reason, find so hard to articulate. But the other night at dinner with my husband, I knew I had to find a way to explain it. It’s a designer’s curse that we cannot just accept a design for what it is, but rather analyze every aspect of it. I couldn’t open up the menu without critiquing the font choices and image placement. It’s at the point where my husband dreads going to dinner with me. We’ve had the argument many times but he doesn’t seem to get it. Maybe if he knew the thought process that goes into a design he could appreciate the work that went into it. After all a great design doesn’t just happen. A lot of time and effort goes into every decision. Even though most graphic design is computer generated, it is by no means clip art. It is art that has been executed on a computer. And just like an artist spends hours on a painting, a graphic artist spends hours in Photoshop or Illustrator creating a design.

The re-designed menu on the left was created to be more functional while still being aesthetically pleasing. To achieve this, there are fewer menu items on the page making it less crowded and easier to read. Instead of the large grape vine border, the main imagery focus is on a food item with subtle textures and imagery in the background to compliment the style. I will discuss design principles later, but a few that were used in this layout are:

1. Unity and Variety: through fonts and design elements that have complimentary styles.
2. Scale: size relationships of the Menu title, photo and the rest of the text
3. Hierarchy: through different fonts and text sizes.
     

To get a better understanding of how I arrived at the re-designed menu, let’s start at the beginning.

Unlike traditional art, graphic design is the juxtaposition of imagery and text. It is a process of decision making that leads to a means of communication. It is not only about creating something that looks good, but it also must make sense and be easily understood. Effective design must attract attention and be appropriate. Poor design decisions can be distracting and detract from the message.

To say there is one clear cut answer to every design problem would be wrong. The path to creativity is a process that is different for everyone. And for each design project there could be millions of different outcomes. We’d all like to think that designers have that ‘ah ha’ moment where the first idea seems to fit and then everything falls into place from there. But it’s definitely not that easy! It takes a lot of hard work and decision making to arrive at the final design.

My design process, along with many others, starts with initial thoughts or brainstorming. First, it’s a good idea to do some research into the client and gather ideas on how this new project will fit into their existing brand. This helps define the target audience, or the group of people the message will be directed at. After some initial brainstorming, my next step is to look around for some inspiration. You can find inspiration literally everywhere. I’ve found inspiration in magazines, television, music, nature, online, etc. It is important to use inspiration as a starting point and continue to develop an original idea.

Now that I have been inspired, it’s time to execute the layout. Have you ever wondered why some text is larger than others? Or why an image is in the lower right corner of the layout rather than in the center? Different text sizes establish the visual path of what the viewer will read first, second and so on. And the placement of images also helps to establish movement in the layout by emphasizing order of importance. Every element in a layout serves a purpose.

So how does a graphic designer know where to place text or how large to make an image? By using basic principles of design as a guide, these decisions become a lot easier. A few of the design principles are listed here:

Unity is the organization of text, graphic elements and imagery in a way that they all compliment each other. Variety is being able to make slight variations that still coordinate with the initial design.

An arranged order in a design where each element’s size creates an order of importance in the viewer’s interpretation. It creates a visual path for the viewer’s eye to move throughout the composition.

A size relationship between 2 or more elements in a design that creates visual depth in a layout. Scale also helps to establish hierarchy between elements.

The two types of visual balance are symmetrical and asymmetrical. Asymmetrical designs tend to offer a more dynamic layout because they aren’t what the viewer expects to see.

While these are just a few principles of design, all of these are important in creating a dynamic design that engages the audience and creates visual interest. Using hierarchy it is easy to decide on the size of each element in relation to each other. Each element needs to be visually larger or smaller than the other elements in order to create the visual path for the viewer. A good design allows the viewer to gather the most important information immediately and then continue to look for the details to support the message.

Now it’s time to decide on the text. It may seem that imagery is the bread and butter of the design, but the font choice is just as important. The wrong font can ruin even the best design. With hundreds of fonts to choose from, selecting the perfect font for a project can be a difficult decision. There are two main categories of fonts:

Unity is the organization of text, graphic elements and imagery in a way that they all compliment each other. Variety is being able to make slight variations that still coordinate with the initial design.

Unity is the organization of text, graphic elements and imagery in a way that they all compliment each other. Variety is being able to make slight variations that still coordinate with the initial design.

Again there are some guides about fonts that help make the decision on which font to choose an easier one. Serif fonts are generally better for large amounts of text because the strokes offer smooth transitions from letter to letter making it easier to read. Sans serif fonts are good for headlines or small amounts of text because their bold letterforms demand attention. There are also fonts that have a more modern feel because of the roundness of the letterforms. In addition some fonts are better for viewing on the web because of their readability on a computer screen. When choosing fonts for a layout it is important to think of the look of the design and decide which font would be most appropriate. For example, if the style of the project is a ‘Wanted’ poster, a sans serif font like Futura wouldn’t be appropriate. Instead a slab serif font like the classic posters use would make more sense. Just like with imagery, it is very important not to go crazy with using a variety of fonts! This goes back to the unity and variety design principle. A good rule of thumb is to use no more than 1-2 fonts, or maybe even 3, depending on how text heavy the layout is.

Now that you know a little more about the design process, you can now share in my design curse. Next time you open up a menu or glance at a billboard think about the entire process that went into that design. Do the fonts seem appropriate and is there a clear order of hierarchy throughout the layout? After all it’s you, the consumer, who has the final say if the design is effective or not. And now you’ll have a better idea of what makes a good design good.

You may think that your current website works fine on most mobile devices, and that there’s no reason to create a mobile version. However, many factors show that this is about the farthest thing from the truth.

Mobile websites are designed to have less content organized in a straightforward way. They’re also built to the size of cell phone screens, which are much smaller than your standard desktop computer.

As you can see, a traditional desktop website on a phone is tremendously small, and forces your customers to zoom in and scroll around your website, searching for the information they need:

In spite of all this, you still may be thinking to yourself that not enough potential customers will be searching for your business on their mobile phones. However, a growing number of local businesses are using mobile marketing and have launched their own mobile sites. If you don’t have a mobile site, potential customers may be more likely choose a competitor over you.

Mobile sites can help establish a local presence around your region as well. If someone is searching for businesses like yours, and your mobile site comes up in the search, your local presence will grow, and your business will gain more recognition.

All content is visible without having to zoom in, and buttons are big so the site isn’t difficult to navigate. Phone numbers become clickable and if necessary, users can access your desktop website at the bottom of the page. In addition, remember that even if your company has a mobile app, that apps are limited to certain mobile devices, whereas the mobile web is open to everyone with mobile internet.

Google saw an increase of 400% in mobile searches last year, making the mobile browser the number one way of getting local information. The amounts of mobile websites that exist are still a fraction of the number of traditional websites.

This makes going mobile now especially important - your company will appear much higher in mobile search results, because there aren’t as many websites competing for that spot.

Mobile sites are also very important in the growing world of social media. More than 75% of mobile internet users access social networking. A third of Facebook’s users use Facebook mobile. Letting people connect to your social media on a mobile device will grow your social media presence on the web.

  A major shift is occurring in the way people access the Internet? Most studies show that by 2014, more people will access the web on a mobile device than on a traditional computer. Just from 2010-2011, mobile traffic has increased by 32%. People today already buy more mobile phones and tablets than computers, adding to the two billion people in the world that have a mobile device today.

  Because this shift is just now starting, it’s important to be ahead of the game and have your company prepared for the shift to a mobile web. Did you know smart phone purchases have risen 34% in this year alone.