Chapter 6

A navigation system is there to guide the user through a website. The look and feel of the navigation should mesh with the overall personality of the site but the navigation elements should not overpower the content. Once a user has selected where they would like to go, the navigation should fade out of the user’s focus.

It is important to give consideration to the visual elements which make up a navigation system. High contrast borders around buttons may interfere with the intended visual hierarchy and detract from what the function of the button is.

A common practice in effective web design is to avoid large blocks of body text. When a user encounters a lot of text in one group, the tendency is to move on. Create body text in small sections and open it up by using a couple more points of leading than you might use in print design. The text becomes more approachable and more readable.

Visual hierarchy within the body text of a web page is important for communicating to the user different levels of importance of specific lines of text. To create this hierarchy, manipulate fonts, size, color, and weight and keep the choices consistent throughout the site so from page to page, the user will find that headlines are presented in a similar fashion, as are captions, footnotes etc.

Images are used as an important visual tool to help reinforce the personality of a site. In choosing images, be sure that they fit the personality decided upon for the overall website. Each individual image does not stand alone, but is part of the entire visual presentation.

Images may be used to create visual interest by reflecting geometric shapes found elsewhere on the page. This technique can help to tie elements together.

Most users will have a preconceived notion of what they should be able to find in a footer based on the conventions that have developed. A footer will usually contain information regarding the designer of the site, copyright information, the date when the site was last updated, basic contact information, or some combination of these things. If this information is not placed in the footer, some users may not know where else to find it and they may not try to find it.

Footers are usually fairly small and with the amount of information expected to be there, the designer should choose carefully what will be included and how it will be presented. If a footer is too full or has too much weight it will be out of its place in the hierarchy and become distracting to the user.

In creating a form, there are many different types of questions that may be asked of the user. It is the designer’s responsibility to anticipate all possible user responses and to choose the best form element for each question (i.e. a drop-down menu, text field, etc.). If the user is given the opportunity to enter information into a text field, the designer must clearly specify any formatting restrictions. In the case of a phone number, should they include parentheses around the area code and should they include hyphens between each set of numbers.

Forms should ideally be created with a nice visual flow. Often a user may make a mistake while filling out the form. If the form is created with consistency, it is easier to add in an alert element which will stand out to the user and allow them to immediately see what they have done wrong.