You need to establish the targeted style, voice, and point of view of your web site. This is particularly crucial when you are working for a client whose organization is not thoroughly familiar to you.
The overall style of the site is determined by analyzing information collected from an array of sources. Marketing departments often have a good deal of investment in the public image a site should present, but you may have additional insight based on your early user needs analysis, where you’ve heard from interviewees or focus group participants what style the users prefer.
Defining your web site style requires understanding your clients and their position within their domain and business environment. Should they portray corporate image, a playful image, or a contemporary image?
You won’t know this unless you have close ties to your clients, or you do a lot of probing and investigating. Get your clients to provide you with a list of competing companies. If they have web sites, be sure to have your clients take a few minutes to go over the sites with you. Identify ways in which they are successful and ways in which they don’t succeed.
The second half of the Client Interview/Web Site Information Worksheet provides a place for recording information about the content that needs to be included in the design and provides a means for gathering any information on preestablished style guidelines that a given company may already have (e.g., specific fonts used, logo requirements, etc).
Once the style is established, your design elements will need to be created to fit this style. Thus, the style may affect the font chosen (e.g., corporate vs. playful), the icon style (e.g., bulky vs. elegant), the color (e.g. striking contrasts and bright colors vs. subtle and subdued), or any element on the page. They style you establish provides the voice for the web site, implying a frame of mind and providing a point of view.
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