WWW: Beyond the Basics

10. Graphical Design

10.5. Conclusions

The web is in many ways a radical new medium with a host of peculiar idiosyncracies for designers to learn about and overcome. At the same time, it borrows from things that have come before, as all new things do. It does not stand alone, but rather it combines aspects of hypermedia, printed media, multimedia, and more within a new framework. That framework itself is still evolving, and it probably will continue to change for several years yet. Such is the nature of new ideas.

All of these peculiarities make the web a challenging place for today's graphic designers. It is often frustrating trying to hit such a rapidly moving target. It is just as often elating when a design finally comes together and everything clicks. Of course, the same extremes exist in all fields of design. And the web is not the only medium that changes rapidly. Pick up an old book or magazine sometime and compare it with today's designs. Style, like the web, is constantly evolving. You never master design because of this constant change. You can only master the techniques that allow you to change with it. It is a situation familiar to anyone working in a technological field.

To this end, there is perhaps one cardinal rule that underlies all the many different forms of media -- a rule that has held true for hundreds of years. A good designer working in any arena must develop a skill for observation. You must learn to look critically at designs that other people create. When a particular design grabs your attention, you must examine it and figure out what it is that sets it apart from the rest. You must learn to adapt the things you see to fit your own design needs, to pick and choose from a toolbox of design tricks that will grow constantly as you train yourself to notice these details. Look at magazines and newspapers. Look at web sites and their HTML code. Look at cereal boxes and gum wrappers. Graphical designs surround you every day of your life.

You must simply learn to see them.

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Copyright © 1996 Joseph W. Reiss, All Rights Reserved

Joe Reiss <jreiss@vt.edu>
Last modified: Sun Oct 27 18:50:52 1996