When designing the look and feel of a web site, there are a few elements that you’ll want to take into consideration. Of course, the functionality is one of the most important aspects of web design. However, it’s also very important that your website is aesthetically pleasing.

You don’t want an outdated or cluttered website. It’s too easy for people to use the visual aspects of a website in order to judge credibility. Because of this, you want to make sure your site is sleek, perhaps simple and easy on the eye.

Above is a photo of Fibonacci’s spiral. This is also popularly known as the “Golden Ratio.” Many designers still use this as a general guide for the perfect arrangement and flow of movement on any given page or design element. However, this particular topic deserves an entire post, so we won’t focus on it much further for these general purposes.

Rather, here are the main design elements to focus on for the best visual appeal:

• Balance – You should always be sure you’re creating a balanced layout. In web design, a heavy element refers to large and dark colors whereas light refers to small and lighter colors. If you want to correctly achieve balanced web design, it’s important to make sure you’re using the correct proportions of each.
• Contrast – If you’re looking at the color wheel, colors that are contrasting are those placed opposite one another. Designers will also consider contrasting sizes, textures and shapes in order to lure visitors eyes to the desired areas.
• Emphasis – Emphasis basically refers to a design principles which intends to highlight particular elements on your website. Of course, you must be select in what you’re emphasizing as if everything is emphasized, then really, nothing is.
• Consistency – Consistency is also considered repetition or rhythm and is an essential part to the flow of design. You want your site to be consistent in both appearance and functionality. This is what creates the tone and “voice” of your website.
• Unity – “Unity is the relationship between the various parts of the website layout and the composition as a whole.” This basically refers to the way our brains organizes information by grouping each element into categories.

Using each of these design elements with purpose and precision will ensure that you’re on the right path to good web design. Stay updated for more detailed information in our upcoming posts.