The merits of good design
Design is not merely concerned with aesthetics in general. It is also about making something work the way it should, become useful and user-friendly as well. These ideas all point to one thing, and that is purpose. Purpose is what drives design, and this is nowhere more evident than in the Internet.
Assessing the value of any given website in terms of it being purpose-built requires its inspection with regard to the three aspects of functionality, usability and accessibility. Specifics such as search engine compatibility and font styling to suit particular user groups should be found in a good web design. These days, it is imperative that such are present in websites, especially commercial ones, to remain operational and even to keep within the boundaries of the law.
It should be noted that, sadly, advances that simplify the process of web publishing have led to the proliferation of bad web design online. Typically, web pages sporting bad designs have visuals that positively scream ‘eye strain’. Their color schemes are in a way that makes reading text content difficult at best. Quite obviously, no thought was given to the more important aspects of a good webpage layout prior to launching these sites in the internet.
The ability to cobble up a website using Frontpage or Dreamweaver does not automatically qualify an individual as a web designer. These applications merely provide users with tools that makes designing easier and faster, but should not keep these users from following tenets that are mandatory for a professional look in the outcome of their design projects.
Bad design is not restricted to aesthetics. There are eye-candy websites that easily draw viewers to their beautiful appearances only to turn them away in frustration with their unwieldy user interfaces. Either the navigation is difficult to comprehend or the page load time is longer than what is reasonable. Or the needed information, one that should be on a particular website, was inadvertently omitted as a result of sheer carelessness. There are many ways to spoil an otherwise stunning visual layout with crummy interactive features in a website.
In all instances, the designs behind these inferior websites have favored visuals over function, or vice versa. These cannot be considered good web design.
Therefore, the merits of good web design are grounded on the practicality and aesthetics of any given website together. One cannot afford to leave behind one or the other. Looking good and being user-friendly go hand-in-hand when talking about websites with good, working designs that are worthy of their spots in the Internet. To be otherwise would only contribute to the further degradation of an opt-abused information databank.
