Elements of Web Design

why good design is important

Website design is changing. While some constants remain — such as the need for relevant, timely, and engaging content — additional elements that can boost website impact continually emerge.

"Design is intelligence made visible." -- Alina Wheeler, author.

Some of these elements help tell stories and explain the essence of your company, while others work to immediately capture user interest or improve the experience on any device. Using every element simultaneously isn’t required (this can lead to a cluttered and confusing experience), but selecting specific elements that align with your brand and website goals can help boost overall impact.

Here are 5 common contemporary graphic elements compiled by Lorenzo Demi you can use to improve a nice website design, with both an eye for the present and the past.

Macro-Layouts: The Half-Page

Pretty common, pretty simple, and often used for landing page heroes. It allows you to create contrasts and play with layers, giving the illusion of depth.

Macro Layouts: The Framed Viewport

This technique is often used to present vital CTAs in fancy ways, and generally formal websites, with a technical or technological background.

You basically limit the scrolling area in a frame of the full viewport, keeping both on top and left/right spaces.

Macro-Layouts: The Dynamic 3D Object

Often this kind of layout is used for energy drinks and similar products, where while a pre-rendered video or a 3D scene works as a background, the scrolling content is synchronized with it. Extremely powerful, but requires some serious coding.

Singular Graphic Elements: Rotated Text

Pretty common in graphic design posters, rotated text is pretty aesthetic and can bring an editorial look to your website. Beware: like marquees, this text is not usable, so use it for decoration only.

Singular Graphic Elements: The Animated Cursor

Thanks to Javascript, you can animate objects using your mouse position. It’s a great way to add custom cursors, like circles or more complex figures. This kind of cursor can also contain text, that appears when hovering.