For independent graphic and Web design contractors, the work is both fun and fulfilling – so much so that sometimes the way they design defeats their purpose of doing so. In the cyber realm of the Internet where contractors are hired to create and design, what clients are looking for is Web design that in and of itself is already a marketing tool. A website of their business or company is a major branch of their constant branding and corporate image building campaigns. This means they hire contractors to design and market at the same time.

The problem arises when designers tend to design for themselves and not for the website’s target audience. Sure, they still work within the technical standards and requisites set by their clients, but sometimes the artistic license ignores the marketing requirements. Web designers are not meant to be Da Vinci’s and Picasso’s whose artwork are both vague and ambiguous, lending themselves to different interpretations. A Web designer does not deal with the abstract, but instead he deals with the concrete and defined. In efforts to achieve pleasing aesthetics, he always needs to come up with efficient, ergonomic aesthetics.

Efficient Aesthetics: Design that Advertises

An efficient Web design is both pleasing to look at and functions as the first line of marketing effort the website launches upon its audience. This does not entail that annoying marketing taglines and sales pitches be strewn all across a website’s design, what this means is that there should be a balance between the artistic value and marketing potential of a design.

Take postcard printing for example. The design should be aligned with the image the company or business wants to portray. Should it be a professional image? A friendly image? An image suitable for kids or teens? The colors are a huge part, especially the background and text colors, which affect mood as well as recall and cognition, respectively.

Ergonomic Design: UI that Works

Another factor of Web design that merges onto Web development is the UI or user interface. The navigation of a website should be central and ergonomic – it should be reader-friendly enough but not blatantly oversimplified. Again, the design of the UI and nav would depend partly on the image the business or company wants to portray. Of course, the aesthetic design and efficient UI should also work seamlessly with each other.

Designing and Marketing

A key concept that designers and artists may overlook is that they are not designing for themselves, but for a specific audience. These days designers need be as effective in marketing as they are artistic in creativity.

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