< - - A Few Tips For Designers - - > Not a subscriber? Click here to subscribe!I've had a few comments and messages recently asking for information on layout design and graphics and whatnot. Here I'll just give you a few basic pointers as to what will make an awesome layout. 1) Love the subject matter. It's no good making a layout for somebody else if you haven't researched characters, history or lyrics. If you have that element of 'I love this film, I'm going to do it justice' , then nine times out of ten you will succeed. 2) KISS your work! No, not literally. It's an acronym an old English teacher of mine once told me. Keep It Simple, Stupid! [KISS] Too many brushes, too many fancy doodles and your visitors' eyes will wander or bleed. Have a main image or focal point for your layout. Anything else you do around this; make sure it doesn't take too much attention away from it. 3) Be color-coordinated. I hate seeing layouts with messy, clashy colors. Stick to a palate of tones and don't wander too far in the opposite direction! This goes for any images too. (If you have Photoshop CS - try using the Image - - > Adjustments - - > Match Color option). 4) If you have music on your site; make damn sure your poor visitor can switch it off if he or she wants too, without scooting quickly to the 'back' button. Nothing puts me off a site faster than music I hate that cannot be turned OFF! 5) Text can be just as important as the layout! Don't cover everything in writing unless you're going for the Turner Prize, and make sure any text is relevant to the subject matter. The amount of people that put any old gobbledegook in a graphic as a faded background...it will all add to the overall feel of your creation. It must be relevant! Make sure any headers or titles are also carefully selected and prepared, just like your images. Noone likes sloppy text. 6) Be original. It's okay to take inspiration from other designers (otherwise there'd be no designs!) but show that you're not some copycat with no mind of your own. Do something different; vary the text, try out different filters and try not to keep reworking the same design. You will find that as you progress, you start creating your own inspiration and your own style that will work for you. 7) Be careful with textures. They're there to add a bit more pep to a graphic and not make it look like someone's spilled their tea over your work. Make sure you use faded layers. 8) Lighter is better than darker. Now I found this out the hard way. Most people want to come to an open, inviting light-colored website, rather than some dingy squalid emo-pit. It is easier to work with dark colors if you're just starting out - but remember that light colors look good on every monitor and make it easier to navigate and even read what you've put! If you do use dark colors, make sure you use some contrast in the site title, text or main picture. 9) Don't go nuts on the credits. Make sure your creation is copyrighted to you, but don't go sprawling your name over everything that moves. One small line in a small, faded text somewhere innocuous or fitting is fine. 10) Experiment! Even if nothing comes of you having sat for five hours non-stop staring at a computer screen, messing about with layers, this is the best way to learn. If you don't know your work station like the back of your hand, then look up some web-based tutorials to walk you through the basics. This way, when you get hit on the noggin by a sudden unexpected whack of inspiration, you'll be ready to express it the way you envisioned it! 11) If you're not happy with a layout, odds are noone else will be. (Unless you happen to a Virgo. Goddamnit) Make sure that what you put out to be freely and publically used is something that you yourself would happily use. 12) And finally, have fun designing and don't let Time disappoint you. Creating good layouts is about personal satisfaction. It may take weeks, months or years to get to a standard whereby you might think of getting your own domain to host all your graphics! But however long it takes you, remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and that each web designer was once a know-nothing n00b overawed by the simplest of graphical creations. S. Majere x | 
