Inspiration has struck. Now what?
Before I do anything, I decide on a color scheme. There is a lot of information out there about “color theory”, how color impacts emotion and what colors are best for marketing that is worth reading and considering. I like to visit the Color Schemer Gallery, where users post their latest color schemes, and scroll through until one strikes me as right for the design I’m working on.
If the project is a web site and the client also needs a logo, I always design the logo first and get that approved before moving forward with the site. For me, the whole look of the site starts with the logo. Then, moving on to the site design… the common wisdom in among design experts is that you should do a sketch, something I frequently skip, but really need to do more of. I will have already done a rough site map, and have in mind what kind of site navigation I’ll need. I create the look of the site in Illustrator, creating the main page, and maybe a sub-page or two if the look will be slightly different. I don’t think too much about how I’m going to acheive the look through the code because I think that restrains the design. I’ve never had a problem figuring out how to code it, and if it’s especially difficult to figure out, that just pushes me to improve my skills.
Once the client and I have agreed on what the site should look like, it’s time to start coding! Next time…
