Just a stunning design is not enough
OWDT has some of the most talented website designers in the nation. We know how to design beautiful websites that stand out from the competition. But a stunning design is not enough. An effective website also needs to incorporate a coherent underlying theme that embodies a company’s emerging branding and marketing goals. We at OWDT carefully assess, research, and evaluate your core values and current branding needs to develop a compelling underlying theme.
What exactly is a design theme?
A basic design theme (some call it ‘the concept’) is the foundation of all choices made throughout the design process. Every element within your design should reflect and support your core theme. It may, for example, convey playfulness and fun, or it may personify a serious professional image to reassure clients seeking life-changing services.
We research your successful competitors and industry trends
We prefer to meet you in person to get a direct sense of your organization’s physical and cultural environment. We even ask questions unrelated to your company/brand itself because we have learned that important information may be hidden just below the surface.
We then carefully research your brand in the light of industry trends. We assess what’s working for your competitors and how we can leverage those elements to greater advantage for your company.
CORE DESIGN ELEMENTS
With all that information in-hand, we then focus on the following website design elements:
- Line: Whether you have borders, use angular (more serious) or curvilinear (more approachable and less formal) lines will either enhance or detract from your brand’s theme. The directionality of lines also impacts viewers’ perceptions (upward and diagonal lines conveying more energy than downward lines).
- Shape: Sharp edges (squares and triangles, for example) convey sobriety, but if used in the wrong context can be off putting. Incorporating circles can soften that hard aesthetic. Rounding corners to rectangles and squares has a similar effect.
- Color and Contrast: It’s often best to keep the tone light and bright. Yellow and bright blue, for example, capture the feeling of sun and sky. On the other hand, dark colors convey positive attributes such as professionalism and luxury. In addition, establishing the best contrast between light and dark tones has a big impact on a website’s visual appeal.
- Proportionality: Relative size is used to attract the viewer as it establishes a relative degree of harmony and unity between the elements of a design. We are drawn to any element that dominates the screen, which is why, for example, Full Screen Design is so effective and popular. Similarly, if something is very small but surrounded by abundant white space it stands out.
- Texture: Sense of touch is fundamental to our species so even a flat screen gives the illusion of texture. That’s why it ‘resonates’ when a website incorporates the texture of fabrics for an upholstery website, or wood textures for a hardwood floor company.
Bottom line: our OWDT staff has unparalleled design expertise. Our success is equally based on our ability to calibrate effective design themes.
