Design
grid can make or mar your
site precisely depending
upon what you wish it to
work for you. All users
benefit from clear and
consistent Web site design,
but for some users it is
critical . It is also
critical for you that take
design grid in its right
earnest. Design grid happens
to be instrumental in
developing a site which is
consistent, impactful and
compelling.
On the web, success is often
measured by how quickly and
effectively
you communicate your ideas
to the user. Design grid
undoubtedly provides one of
the answers meant to serve
that end.
So, are you design grid
conscious in order to have a
distinct edge the way your
site looks like? Here are a
few nuggets of wisdom and
underlying considerations to
leverage the potential
design grid.
Design wisdom in
Cyberspace
With a lack of effective
design grids, spatial cues
and with radically different
approaches to navigation, it
is far too easy to get
disoriented or lost on the
Web.
In the long run, there is
really no place on the Web
for a clever, quirky, or
highfaluting design
approach. Cyber wisdom holds
that one has to stick with a
simple design, lucid
language, easy navigation
applied uniformly and
consistently in design
Process.
What purpose does design
grid serve?
Users don't just look at
information; they interact
with it in novel ways. Users
seek clarity, order, and
trustworthiness in
information sources, whether
traditional paper documents
or Web pages. Effective page
design can provide this
confidence.
The spatial organization of
graphics and text on the Web
page can engage readers with
graphic impact, direct their
attention, prioritize the
information they see, and
make their interactions with
your Web site more enjoyable
and efficient
Points to ponder
Design grid is about the
tactical decisions about
what your audience wants
from you, what you wish to
say, and how to arrange the
content to best meet your
audience's needs.
The screen is smaller
than a printed page
Graphic designers often
create page grids that look
great on their extra-large
monitors. In the process
they forget that most users
cannot display more than
about half of the typical
Web page at any one time,
and only 10% of Web surfers
ever scroll the page.
Width of page graphics
Computer screens are
typically smaller than most
of the books or magazines. A
very common mistake in Web
design is spreading the
horizontal width of your
page graphics beyond the
area most viewers can fit on
their 14-15 inches display
screens.
Design grids for HTML
pages
A Web page can be almost any
length, but you are provided
with about 30 square inches
at the top of your Web pages
to capture the average
reader. This is all they
will see as your page loads.
If all you offer is a big,
slow-to-load graphic, many
casual readers will leave
before they ever see the
rest of your Web site .
Graphic dimensions for
web pages
Web page graphics should not
be more than 535 pixels wide
or more than about 320
pixels high, or the graphic
will end up being too wide
to print on letter size or
A4 paper.
