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Website design might seem quite easy but creating a marketing website that makes money does require much more than creating a website that just looks good. One needs to consider things like what their potential visitors want and how best to design a website to display this information. Let’s face it you only have a few seconds once a visitor lands on your site to capture their interest and to read about what you have to offer them.

This article will discuss some tips on what you need to do to keep people’s interest so that they remain on your website and at least read what you have to solve their problems or address their desires.

1. What Do Your Website Visitors Want?

Before you even think about the design of your website you need to know what your visitors want and how you can address these needs or desires so that they will be interested in your products and/or services. Most of your visitors will arrive at your website via either a search engine link, advertising link or from another website. You need to know what search term they used or the information that caused them to click that link through to your site. What problem or desire are they trying to solve? You also need to be able to grab their attention very quickly as most people will only quickly scan a site before they click away.

2. Design Your Website To Capture Your Visitors Attention.

Once you know what your visitors want and how to address these needs you need to consider how to design your website to quickly attract their attention and have them continue to read your content. The more products and/or services you offer the harder this will be for you to do. The reason is that you need to be able to focus your visitors attention on something they want and not get them confused by offering them way too much information or too many products.

If you have multiple products it may be worthwhile creating separate pages for each of them and then driving traffic to these pages instead of just the main page of yo website.

3. Single or Multiple Page Website?

As mentioned above if you only have one product then you can just use a one page website to focus your visitors attention. Squeeze pages and sales pages are good examples of one page websites. If you have multiple products then it is a good idea to have a separate page for each product. If your products compliment each other then you may be able to add links to the other pages of your website. Try not to give your visitor too many choices as this will only confuse them.

4. Plan Your Website Navigation.

Design your website so that people can easily navigate through it. If your website navigation is badly designed then some people will give up and leave before they purchase your products or sign up to your services. A good rule of thumb is to make it as simple as possible and to allow people to easily go back if they want to verify something they previously read before purchase. Remember the smallest things can can put people off.

5. Design of Your Website.

Once all of the above have been considered it time to consider the design of your website. A good design will make the difference between a money making website and one that may not make you any money. A good design should fit your business branding and not just look pretty. In fact it does not have to look pretty at all but needs to create a certain feel to your website. Colors, for example, need to be considered as different colors can reflect different moods and can help build up your trust in the eyes of your visitor.

So before you create a website think about who really are your visitors and what do they want. Then you can design a website that meets these needs and desires and also sets the mood for people to trust you enough to buy you products or sign up for your services. For more information http://www.superteammarketing.com

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Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design Review

Fresh Dialogue 2 presents new voices in graphic design art, capturing over 200 color images illustrating graphic arts designs for various products and web sites. Any with an interest in the new, changing graphic arts world will find this a fine coverage of the latest new works.

Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design Overview

Shopping for the freshest new design talent? You’ll find them here in Fresh Dialogue 2, the latest entree from the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

Showcasing three exciting new voices–Warren Corbitt and Matt Owens from One9ine; Kevin Lyons; and Susan Parr from ReVerb–Fresh Dialogue 2 presents their design ideas and practices through discussion and vivid color images.

One9ine is a design company specializing in visual communications for print, broadcast, and interactive media. Corbitt and Owens share a broad and in-depth knowledge ranging from editorial redesign to brand identity and website development. Their current client roster includes Wieden and Kennedy, MoMA, I.D., and Bartle Bogle and Hegarty.

Kevin Lyons has worked for Urban Outfitters, Nike, Jordan Brand, Stussy, and the Spike Jones-owned Girl Skateboard Company. He was recently named one of the “top forty designers under 30″ by I.D. Magazine.

ReVerb is a design consultancy, research bureau, and trend-watching agency. Led by Somi Kim, Lisa Nugent, and Susan Parr, the 10-year-old company has evolved from an experimental design collective to a hybrid team that provides an integrated approach to the design, messaging, and execution of communications in diverse media.

Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design Specifications

Each year, the New York chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) holds an evening of talks featuring emerging innovative designers. Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design reflects the batch who made their presentations on May 10, 2000. They included Kevin Lyons, One9ine partners Warren Corbitt and Matt Owens, and Susan Parr of ReVerb. This book re-creates the experience using transcripts of conversations with each and is illustrated with generous color images from their bodies of work.

Kevin Lyons’s clients include Adidas, Nike, and Urban Outfitters, and his designs incorporate graffiti and rotoscoping-style techniques in textured, multilayered compositions. He casually and openly discusses his education (undergraduate studies in film at RISD, graduate work at CalArts), his work process (”My process is to wait until the last second and then go crazy…”), and appropriating street culture or hip-hop to make a design relevant. One9ine partners Corbitt and Owens discuss how being a relatively small studio makes them a good choice for small budgets, despite the fact that the rich designs they produce for such clients as the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and MOMA show no sign of limited funds. “Honestly, good things come from smart people working in a small group making smart decisions.” And Parr and her ReVerb cofounders Somi Kim and Lisa Nugent discuss their process for creating branding solutions, whether for the retro-hip Avalon Hotel, Metrius, or Nike.

The dialogues don’t address the clients and projects in great detail; this book isn’t about how they arrived at specific designs. It’s more about the overall process of starting a career, tapping into creative inspirations, and finding novel solutions. The voices are open and frank and fun. Reading Fresh Dialogue 2 is like dropping by three hip studios, checking out the work, and then relaxing in a coffee shop afterward for a friendly chat. –Angelynn Grant

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The question of what makes good graphic design is one that cannot be answered simply or succinctly as there are a myriad of factors and variables to consider when it comes to the colourful world of both art and design.

While art is more open to personal interpretation and considered to be a subjective matter, graphic design is instead used to serve a distinct purpose, whether it’s selling a product or promoting a person, place, or thing, or whatever the case may be.

Good graphic design begins, of course, with a good graphic designer as well as a clear picture of the goal or message that’s meant to be conveyed. A designer must know how to do a number of different things in order to create a final product that gets results including being skilled in typography, page layout and chromatics.

Graphic designers must be not only artists, but also highly professional individuals who pay great attention to detail while understanding what their client is trying to achieve. Any effective graphic design is created by first considering the target audience. Will the imagery used appeal to the specific group or groups of people you’re trying to reach? And, equally as important, is the message that is being conveyed clear and easy to understand?

Good graphic design is the result of the designer having the ability to imagine themselves as an average member of the target market. Does the design motivate? Inspire? Grab one’s attention? Does it follow with the client’s existing branding or image? And, is the text easy to see and read?

When photography is a part of the equation, good graphic design includes images that are crystal clear and free from any pixelisation or unintentional blurred edging. Pictures should be original and unique, and ideas should be presented in a professional manner relevant to the product’s main message or purpose. The colours used in photos should complement the rest of the project’s image, tying into the overall design while perhaps using a contrasting hue for prominence.

Colour, of course, is absolutely imperative to any type of design, especially so in the realm of graphic design where logos and product branding are at the forefront of competitive industries. Perhaps one of the very best aspects regarding the use of colour in design is that it can be used to suggest and inspire a great number of feelings and emotions. Colours have an intensely powerful effect on the human mind, either alone or in any one of the endless combinations possible.

In the entertainment industry, graphic design is an integral part of not only the scenery and visual effects, but also in contributing to the storytelling aspect of the piece. It can become invaluable when it comes to promoting a new product, film or television programme using posters, flyers, direct mail, TV and radio spots, t-shirts, toys, or other promotional means.

And finally, good graphic design can speak volumes, visually telling an entire story without ever actually “saying” a single word. Whether it’s for optimising sales, increasing brand or company awareness or introducing a new product, effective graphic design is something that is continually in great demand.

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who represents a number of UK businesses. For the very best in innovative Graphic Design Services he recommends Hampshire-based Studio Republic.

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