Go for Easy

You can improve the quality of your web projects by collaborating with designers. You can also improve the quality of your web projects by learning some fundamental graphic design skills. It doesn’t have to be a difficult thing to do. If you make it an integral part of your development process, you’ll easily be able to incorporate both coding and design fundamentals into your web projects. Later on, you won’t find yourself poring through analytics reports, looking for the causes of high bounce rates.

Your design should be consistent across all pages of the site. Elements should be aligned and balanced, and the pages should be visually attractive as a whole, with no particular element overpowering any other element. And the most important thing is this: know the problem you’re solving with the page, and who you’re solving it for.

Here they are, 7 Design Principles 

Alignment

If you’ve ever used a word processor like MS WORD, then you’re already familiar with Alignment.

Alignment is a basic design principle that describes the way that the text and graphics components are arranged on the page. An example of alignment is choosing “justified” rather than “centered” text. Alignment creates the boundaries between areas on the page, making it easier for the user to see and read the content.

Repetition

“Repetition” can mean several different things, but the most common meaning is the reusing of a pattern, text, or graphic element throughout the entire design. By repeating elements, you can create a sense of consistency and harmony throughout the site.

Repeating an element, such as an image, doesn’t require that it be an exact duplicate, or even that it’s aligned in a particular way. Even slightly changing the look of a reused element is a valid creative technique.

Hierarchy

The use of hierarchy creates a sense of importance between the elements, as they relate to each other.

Creating a hierarchy is often accomplished by using a larger font size or font weight for the most important elements. You could also use a different font altogether, or you could make it a contrasting color to the other elements on the page.

Calls To Action (CTA’s) should be at the top of the hierarchy because they are more important than other page elements, and visual attention should be called to them.

Balance

Balance is a design principle that uses symmetry and asymmetry, and space, to ensure that no individual element overpowers another on the same page.

Symmetry is a type of visual balance; where all elements are the same distance from the center.

Asymmetry can also be used to create balance. Using asymmetry, heavier looking elements would be on one side of the page, with lighter looking elements on the other side, further from the center, and using more of them.

Try to counter the “weight” of a large element by grouping several smaller elements together on the opposite side.  (If this arrangement consisted of real physical objects, they’d actually balance-out, in the real world.) The design feels balanced when element-distribution is consistent, and when you achieve this challenge visually, you’ve achieved balance on your page.

With practice, you’ll know if it doesn’t “feel” or look quite right, and you’ll also know when it looks and feels balanced.

Contrast

Contrast creates a type of visual interest by combining “opposites”. You can use contrast with textures (smooth and rough), and colors (light and dark), you name it. Get creative with contrast!

Using Contrast is important to make the page visually interesting for the user to look at and engage with.

Color Psychology

Color choice is an important aspect of design because when used effectively color can influence specific emotions (for example, blue has been shown to solicit calm feelings) or trigger brand recognition (for example, red and white is used for Coke products).

Keep your projects’ color palette simple; four to five colors at most.

Typography

Typography refers to the style and appearance of your written content. Like color, it can be used to influence a variety of emotions and inform users about the nature of your brand.

Use no more than two unique fonts. Using more than two has the potential to cause difficulty in reading the text, competition with the overall design or confusion about the purpose of the site itself.

Helpful Resources:

Google Fonts: HUGE cache of free web fonts.

Coolers: upload an image and automatically create a color palette based on the image colors.

Have fun designing your web pages!

Questions? 

[email protected]

My Contact Page

Other articles you might like:

-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings

-10 Things to Do After Creating Your Website

-6 Tips to Make Your Blog Post SEO Friendly

 

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

Keep it simple

Use images that complement the text, but are lightweight and will download faster. Images that have lots of patterns, textures, and colors are often large in size. (For those less experienced: I’m not talking about the dimensions of the picture, but the file size or “how much it weighs” as in how many KB or MB it is.) When you use images in this way, it can actually help you to improve SEO rankings.

Images with words superimposed on them will tend to weigh more than images that don’t have words on them. If you absolutely have to have words superimposed on the image, save that image as a PNG file rather than a JPEG. Illustrations with words superimposed on them work better than photos with words. You could also save the photo as a GIF, but experiment with that. Sometimes GIFS are treated as animation and will have a “play” button on top of them.

Keep in mind that using other types of features in your images can also make them larger. For example, adding drop shadows and gradients will increase file size.

Remember: images need to load quickly, and very quickly on smaller mobile devices.

Compression

Make your image smaller but don’t use HTML or CSS to do this because you won’t save any weight. The image will render at a smaller appearing size (the number of pixels) but the weight will stay the same.

Instead, use an app like Irfanview to compress image files and maintain their quality. Irfanview (www.irfanview.com) is free, and resizing an image takes literally just a few clicks. The image will weigh less but will retain its original quality, all within seconds. Upload the compressed image to your site to improve SEO rankings.

Relevance

Ensure that your images make sense and are relevant to the content. Don’t use them solely to make the page interesting-looking or attractive. Doing that would add weight for no good reason and your page would load slower, giving your visitors a sub-par experience.

Accessibility

Make sure all of the page photos and images are accessible to seriously-visually-impaired and blind people. Always use the “alt image” field to describe the photo, rather than using it as an opportunity for keyword stuffing.

Also within the realm of accessibility, you may want to limit the use of emoji’s and GIFS and to consider using color-contrasted text and buttons so that visually impaired people will be able to enjoy using the site.

Don’t forget to add “alt text” and captions, so that screen readers will be able to inform the visually impaired user of what’s on the screen.

With a little forethought and planning, your site could rank a little higher because of your images, and how you used them to improve SEO rankings.

Questions? 

[email protected]

My Contact Page

Other articles you might like:

-How your personal brand makes the difference

-5 Tips to Stay Sane when Working from Home

-Use a customer thank-you page to avoid missed opportunities

 

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.

Visit Image and Aspect to learn more about your web presence options

Diane M. Metcalf, M.S.

1. Outdated Formatting

Today’s resume’s require style, design, color, and are visually & esthetically pleasing. They provide an attention grabbing stage with which to market your work experience as well as your professional accomplishments and values.

One resume’ tip is to add a pop of color to your resume’s headings, or use a colorful personal logo or graphic. Use a contemporary font like Calibri, Cambria, Palatino, or Verdana, which are still standard typefaces but translate well between operating systems.

Design tip: Use two fonts at most, or use just one font but bold it (or italicize it) in the headings. Leave plenty of white space on the page so reading doesn’t cause eye-strain.

Including graphs and charts is a good idea to add visual interest and to demonstrate how you’ve positively impacted previous employers.

Here’s an example from my own resume’:

2. Listing every job 

“Recounting unrelated experience from the distant past is a surefire way to make your resume’ seem dated,” says Fortune 100 recruiter and author of Signs of a Great Resume’, Scott Vedder.

“There’s no law of resume’s that says you must include every job you’ve ever had”, says Vedder.

Highlight your jobs from the last 10 to 15 years, and include a “quick nod to a job from long ago when it relates to the opportunity you’re pursuing,” says Vedder.

This helps keep your resume’ to two pages or less, with one page being best. 

3. Outdated skill-sets

Employers prefer professionals who have current and relevant skills. Stating a proficiency in old software or in an irrelevant program will draw unwelcome attention. If you need to brush-up on some skills, or learn completely new ones, it’s OK to mention what you’re doing to bring yourself up-to-date.

The same idea pertains to soft skills such as “good listening” or being a “problem solver.” Employers should be able to ascertain that you have these skills based on your work experience.

It’s not a good idea to list obvious skills such as those required for Microsoft Word. Everyone is pretty much expected to have those skills already.

Another resume’ tip is to use the “skills section” of your resume’ to highlight proficiencies that show you’re current with industry trends for the job you’re seeking. If you’re in sales, you’d mention  software like Salesforce. If  you’re not sure what skills are in demand in your field right now, look through job postings to see which skills are being sought by potential employers.

4. Your email address 

A professional resume’ writer,  Dawn Bugni in Atkinson, N.C.  says “It’s ridiculous to think something as innocuous as aol.com at the top of the resume’ will knock you out of the running, without further consideration, but there is a chance that it might.”

Instead of outdated hotmail or AOL addresses from the 90s, get with it and create yourself a free Gmail account. You’ll thank yourself later.

5. It’s hard to reach you 

To save a prospective employer the hassle  of searching for you online, make it easy for her by including a link to your LinkedIn profile and your professional social media accounts. I put them right in my header. 

Create a hyperlink on your email address too, so it’s easy to contact you.

Design tip: Create a custom LinkedIn URL to your profile page by going to“Edit public profile & URL”.

If you’re in a creative field, it’s a great idea to link directly to your online portfolio or work samples.

See ImageandAspect.com for ideas on how to get an affordable online portfolio, resume’ or CV.  Online, you can express yourself uniquely and in ways that aren’t always conducive to paper.

6. You have a “career objective”

Get rid of the career objective already. It’s ridiculously outdated, irrelevant and takes up valuable space.

Instead, use this resume’ tip: write a headline describing your profession and level of experience. Lead with your focus on the prospective employer’s needs and compose a career summary to show how you’re able to meet those needs. Explain your skills, experience and what you’ll bring to the company, in about 50 words, specifically how you’ll add value.

7. Inadvertently revealing your age

Although the Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits employment discrimination against persons 40 years or older, lots of over-50 workers see how discrimination can still be a problem.

In a recent AARP survey, 44% of respondents who’d applied for a new job in the past two years reported that they were asked their age or graduation year.

Dont include your high school or college graduation dates on your resume’. I’ve done this as a 50-ish job seeker and I began to wonder if it could be the reason I wasn’t getting any calls, even though I was fully qualified for each job.

I decided to “experiment”, by leaving off my oldest degree and graduation date (1982) and including only the 2 most recent from 2003 and 2013.

If you had to guess my age using my resume’, it would appear likely that I’m in my 30’s (having graduated from college in 2003.) And guess what? I started getting called for interviews.  

Interesting.

The best approach is to simply leave those dates off if possible. When applying online, the application won’t move forward to the next screen until you fill in those dates. And of course lying is out of the question. So, there’s still THAT particular obstacle to deal with.

If you have experience with that, or have ideas about how to deal with that scenario, I’d love to hear from you.

Fair? No. Legal? No. But it happens. 

For tips on answering age-related interview questions, check this out.

8. Wasting resume’ real-estate

The phrase “references available upon request” is no longer commonplace. You’re always expected to provide references. Don’t waste valuable space on your resume’ with this one.

Questions? 

[email protected]

My Contact Page

Other articles you might like:

-How Your Personal Brand Makes the Difference–

-Use a Thank You Page to Grow your Subscriber List or Customer Base

-Using images: Tips to improve your SEO rankings

About the author

I developed Image and Aspect because I believe that professionals need to have an impactful web presence. One that showcases their unique talents, skills, and abilities as well as their values and style. A presence that focuses on social engagement and connection.

I’m passionate about what I do; I like helping fellow humans, I like having all kinds of social connection with others, and I want to give back, to make the world a better place.

I do much of the designing and coding myself, and I also have a wonderful network of professionals that may contribute as well; photographers, copywriters, branding experts.

I love designing and coding beautiful, elegant and responsive web creations. I ALSO teach and help others who want to learn how to do it themselves.

‘Tips and Snips’ is my blog, and it’s full of information and inspiration to help transform any online persona from “meh” to AMAZING! Sign-up HERE to get blog posts right to your in-box every Friday! I write about Design, Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Branding, Vlogging, Color Theory, HTML5, CSS3, Bootstrap, WordPress, Social Media…anything you’d want to know to get yourself noticed online.