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Site design without a computer: Sketch it first. |
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Written by The Frugal Web Designer
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Thursday, 31 January 2008 |
Ok, you can't build a website without a computer. You can help your creative process by sketching out your site using pencil and paper.
Before any of you baulk at this, I am not an artist or a trained graphic designer. Drawing sites by hand is simply a tool to help create better web designs.
So how can sketching do this? Here are some benefits I have found:
1. It gets your creative engine started.For each web project I do I have a set of requirements. My job is to construct a
site that meets those requirements in a visually compelling way. I
have to be creative.
Creativity is not a random spirit that descends upon artists at random times. Creativity is a muscle that needs to get warmed up, stretched out, and used.
My sketching helps begin the creative process.
2. It highlights design problems before they become problems.
A good layout has a lot of thought put into it. It's not just boxes on a page. When you sketch you have to think about what each element brings to the page visually.
If you have an element that sticks out like a sore thumb, you can address how it can be integrated into the whole of the page.
3. it ultimately helps you work faster and more efficiently.When sketching and brainstorming layouts on paper, you cannot help but
think how it will translate to HTML and CSS. You almost subconsiously
start strategizing where the divs and tables are going to be.
The end result is when it comes to wrting the code a lot of it is already written in your head.... How cool is that?
4. It keeps you from being distracted by technology.
I am tweaker. If I am writing something in MS Word, I will spend
probably 15 to 25% of my time playing with the formating. That is just time wasted.
Coming Soon: Tips on how to make the most of your sketching.
If you have any thoughts on this or any other article, feel free to add a comment.
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