JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD...

It is a funny thing; design. With the advent of all this technology that surrounds us, design in it's pure form is more and more difficult to find, and of course, with all this computer aided design, everyone and their cousin is calling themselves a designer these days.

You have to be born with a certain amount of creativity. Then that creativity has to be honed, over a period of years, and of course, the learning never stops. As designers mature, they become comfortable with their own creativity and tend to explore other mediums in order to have a multitude of vessels that can be used to illustrate a brand or concept.

Without a doubt, the most difficult and unnatural part of design is to realise that 'less is more'. Early on in traditional design and art training, one is taught to learn the importance and necessity of white space. We learn that white space is not an empty hole, but rather a balancing tool and an element to be embraced in design. It is this 'white space' that sets apart a true designer and someone who invested in a computer who now calls him/herself a designer.

In my 9 years overseas, working for various design departments from consulting to banking and agencies, my hardest task was always how to tactfully tell my clients, that just because a presentation CAN have words whizzing in from the side, or screeching tires as a sound bite, doesn't mean you should. That translates to web design as well. Just because we have the capability to create flash-heavy websites, doesn't mean you should.

Here are a few pointers on why:

You HAVE to consider your target market. Many people surf the web during their lunch hour. Many of these people work for large corporates who have strict rules and regulations regarding downloads, and their firewalls prevent this. Therefore, your site should be fast loading, simple, easy to navigate, and attractive. You have only 3 seconds to capture your viewer, before they get impatient and move elsewhere. Keep it simple. Flash heavy sites have had their day, and until South Africa gets its internet speeds up to the same level as Europe, leave them alone. There is nothing worse than a [34% loading] on the front page to turn a prospective customer elsewhere.

Fussy websites detract from the message. There is no point spending a ton of money on a over-the-top website, if the user gets so wrapped up in the design and navigation and curly bits that they lose track of the most important thing; your product.

Put yourself in their shoes. You want to visit France. You have a basic understanding of french. You visit a ton of sites, and all you want to know is if the establishment has a pool and its proximity to the local pub. Fancy language is silly, it bogs the user down, frustrates them and forces them elsewhere. Keep it simple. Bullet points suffice. Highlight your best points using photography. This goes for print work too.

So, to sum up; good, clean design is difficult to put together so use a professional, and always, when designing a site, or site plan and putting together the content, consider that the end-user (your client) knows nothing about your business. Navigation must be set out cleanly and in a user-friendly manner. A client must be able to find the information they are looking for within 3 clicks and a few seconds. Any longer and you have lost them, and with them, your all important profits.

BSP INSIGHT
Bronwyn Pirrie
Creative Director BSP
2 February 2009