Redesigning a black page baring a hockey team-looking logo posed an even greater challenge for graphic designer Jake

Brower than having to start his layout from scratch. This is the website that Brower, then a junior graphic designer and a student at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, had to revamp for the New York Hall of Science, a hands-on science and technology center for families and teachers. In 2009, the science museum decided to redesign their whole graphic identity. This meant coming up with a brand new logo as well as an approachable website. But more importantly, the redesign gave the non-profit a second chance to communicate a fun and playful visual message to viewers. A website is a huge piece of any institutions presence, says Brower, senior graphic designer of Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. In the end, Brower decided to stick with a simple font (scala sans) and design template, taking the whole branding process into consideration. A typical institution usually adheres to a strict style or identity guideline that graphic designers follow to maintain a professional and cohesive layout. The booklet contains information on how designers should use logos, colors and fonts. I always just respect those because Im very suited to doing institutional stuff, says Brower. Because consistency is where the strength lies in institutional branding. If things look consistent then it seems strong and professional. Maintaining consistency is only one of many elements that can help determine whether a website will leave a positive or negative impression on viewers. In order for a visual message to become a successful marketing tool, every startup, both profit-seeking and non-profit, must take at least three assets of a website into consideration: Color In his branding proposal for the Childrens Environmental Literacy Foundation (CELF), a non-profit environmental organization in New York City, Brower decided on two unconventional colors for the centers logo and letterhead. Green would be too obvious a choice because every environmental company is green, he says. I went with blue just to kind of make it a little different. In the end, his brown and blue logo was selected by the organization to be incorporated into their identity.

A Designers Guide to Web Viewership Color, Typography and Image By Kathryn Kao

Color is vital to content. When visitors skim a websites home page for the first time, the colors influence their attitude towards the content, says Ben Gremillion, a freelance designer, in an article for Webdesigner Depot. Additionally, a good design strategy involves a color scheme and an arrangement of that scheme. While there is no fixed number of colors a good designer can get away with, the risk of using too many colors is greater than the risk of using too few. Try to make your design with only three colors; otherwise the web page may look too busy.

 However, color and design choices are ultimately dependent on what the institution wishes to convey to the viewer. Imagine the JPMorgan Chase & Co. website in aqua and Barbie pink. Their reputation as one of the oldest financial institutions in the United States might be tarnished, if not heavily scrutinized. While Brower only incorporated two colors into the CELF logo, his design choices were suddenly broadened for a 35-page, full color catalogue for the exhibition Production, Not Reproduction: Offset Printed Artist Books, a show held at the Center for Book Arts in Manhattan featuring offset printed books from artists such as Andy Warhol, Dieter Roth and Ed Ruscha. Brower could make the cover more artsy and experiment with bold blocks of primary colors. Because many of the images were brightly tinted with magenta, cyan and yellow, he could pull from this palette and introduce some funky typography and simple, geometric shapes.

I always try to make the design make sense for whoever its for, says Brower. I have things that I like to do with design regardless of who it goes for, like using simplicity, bold colors and leaving a lot of white space and just kind of using good typography. I think font choices are a good starting place to decide how to start a style for something. Typography Even if a web page is flaunting the sleekest color palette, a web designer fails if typography is illegible viewers essentially rely on the text to accomplish whatever they are visiting the site for. Serifed fonts are widely used for body text because they are considered easier to read than sans-serif fonts in print. However, sans-serif

are considered to be legible on computer screens. Theres no rule for that, says Brower. It just depends on the specific context for the font. Different fonts are better for different things. The serifs dont make it any easier or harder for viewers to read text, according to Brower. But Thursday Bram, a freelance writer, disagrees. In an article for Webdesigner Depot, Bram wrote: When it comes to laying out text on a screen, sans serif fonts are almost always the best bet. When choosing fonts for a project, designers should look through their sans serif options first. In the article, Bram uses a design and development magazine called A List Apart as an example. Almost every big block text on their website is in a sans serif typeface, which makes it much easier to read. Headlines and other smaller blocks of text are laid out in serifed fonts, creating a balance between the two. It all depends on the context and building up your sensitivity to fonts and font usage, says Brower. Its a common misperception that theres a rule for sans and san serif usage in the title or in the body. Image Whether or not a profit-seeking website can immediately draw viewers to their content could make the difference between a companys life and death. Brower took this into serious consideration when he designed the website for T-Shirts Without Borders, a company that features popular Latino sayings for adults, teens and kids. The website design is heavily reliant on stock photographs representing Latino community-related objects, including colorful textiles, sombreros and maracas. A different header or photo adorns the top of the website depending on what page the viewer is on. Every model featured on the site wears a t-shirt with the companys logo scrolled across their chest. Sometimes photography is one of the hardest aspects of website design, says Brower. The fact that the photography of the people is so strong here, it really helps my design because it attracts peoples eye.

Images are a powerful part of web design according to Jakob Nielsen and Kara Pernice, co-authors of the book Eyetracking Web Usability. Good images explain a concept, conjure a feeling, convey information and enhance peoples overall experience on a site. A major component of building a website involves incorporating photographs of other people in the design. I just think that has a huge impact on drawing peoples eye to it, says Brower. Because people gravitate towards pictures of other people, especially if the person is looking at the camera, so I guess looking at the viewer of the piece. He explains that including in image of a person looking at the camera also allows viewers to relate to the picture: I guess you think about yourself when you see an image of someone else.

 However, a designer should never add images to a page simply to fill white space. Instead, lay out the page differently. Most web pages are too cluttered anyway, and users appreciate a short page with clear, large text or a single, useful image, wrote Nielsen and Pernice. Adding an image to a web page also offers the viewer a secondary stopping point for their eye, like a header or label. Therefore, a designer can manipulate a viewers actions by gravitating their attention towards a link that they can explore as an after thought. Stay clean, simple and legible A lot of the stuff Ive done has been more education oriented, says Brower. I love simplicity in design, and I love fun and playfulness. Overall, Brower tries to be very clean with his designs. Id say if theres one thing to avoid, its being busy and cluttered. Another thing to avoid is illegibility. If the person cant read it easily, then you kind of failed there, he says. So like giving things enough space so that the eye can travel. I just like having things be clean, simple and legible. In the realm of web design, simplicity is a good thing.

font = scala sans

logos, header tabs and images = simple, geometric circles

extensive use of white space

New York Hall of Science Website The New York Hall of Science is a premiere childrens science museum located in Queens, NY. www.nysci.org

stock photographs representing Latino community-related objects headlines = serif font header tabs = bright blocks of primary colors

body = sans-serif font

models on web page attract viewers

extensive use of white space

T-Shirts Without Borders T-Shirts Without Borders is a company that features popular Latino sayings for adults, teens and kids. Site features interactive photography and fully functional shop. www.buy-lingual.com