DocB's WebDesign Clinics

Purpose/Audience

Tone/Message

Layout/Design

Site Storyboard

Templates

Great Content

Great Graphics

Multimedia

Universal Design

Quality Control

Reach the World

WebDesign Clinic#2:
Setting Your Site's Overall Tone

"OK, Doc, I've got my topic chosen, my purpose clarified, and my audience identified (see WebDesign Clinic #1.) So can I start coding now?" Almost....

First, for a most effective website you should decide on an overall TONE for your pages. This will not only guide the style of your content, but all your design and graphic decisions as well. You'd expect an MTV site to look and feel different from one for an accountant: the colors, the graphics, the 'noise', as well as the content.

The tone of your site should be determined by your purpose (sell, convince, entertain, inform, etc.), your subject (serious, fun, technological, etc.), and your audience. Now's the time to refer to the mission statement and notes you developed in Clinic #1 to help determine:

your color scheme: should it shout or whisper? Reflect liveliness, prestige, serenity? Wild psychedelics or conservative monotones? Our consulting business site, designed to attract top level corporate executives, is done quietly in textured grays with occasional yellow accents, while a site promoting school safety programs designed for educators and parents uses primary colors against a notebook paper background.

your graphics, typography, and 'gimmicks': goofy entertaining site or a nature retreat? The first calls out for funky cartoons and dancing icons, the second for serene photos and soothing music. That corporate consulting site (you know, the sedate gray one) uses familiar Times Roman type and business-oriented graphics, the school safety site, 'kiddie' graphics and crayon squiggle icons.

Make your site a visual metaphor for your message and audience 'mood' (as funky as MTV, as conservative as the Bank of England, etc.) Now the next step, your choice of your consistent design elements like logo, background, navigation buttons, etc. will be easier and serve your purpose more effectively. That's what we'll cover next.

NEXT: WebDesign Clinic#3: Creating Basic Design Elements