Web designers draw upon visual aspects used in print media, so even those unacquainted with the internet instinctively know what looks appealing and what doesn’t. Laurie Buruss outlined in her instructional video how to create pleasing aesthetics and why we find them pleasing. Buruss used an analogy of a house with a website, when you walk into a home you instantly draw conclusions about the type of life that is lived their and where the rooms are located. Similarly, when you enter a website, the homepage should create a feeling of familiarity. She drove home the importance of simplicity, meaning and consistency in all aspects of design.
One lesson that Buruss taught that I found valuable was how to work the navigational toolbar installed in firefox which allows you to strip away design elements in order to understand the architectural aspects better. The toolbar allowed users to see the barebones of the website, practically illustrating the history of the designing process. When dealing with images the tools allowed you to take them away or find out their dimensions. The outline button creates a sort of wireframe by blocking each individual element. Other functions allow seeing all the links, or seeing the site in total linear format.
I felt that lesson was crucial for understanding web-layouts because it allows potential web-designers to see a blue print. In creating a wireframe, you need to grasp how a website is structured without being distracting by stylish designs. However advanced a web-site looks it usually has a simple construction, most web-sites use this same template. To create a feeling of familiarity that allows easy navigation web designers should abide to this rules of designing.
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