With the development of time and skills, the process of web design is quietly producing great changes. Precise and specific design delivery list is no longer the only yardstick of web design, and the proportion of static page design in the whole design process has gradually declined. Just as Stephen Hay said, what we design is no longer a simple page, but a whole system including many components.
Not only the content and information are changing rapidly, but also the equipment and content models used by users are changing rapidly. These are all related to web design information, and there is no sign that this change will slow down. Our design, as the carrier and emerging carrier, should be in front of them.
The previous web design process seems to have been unable to perfunctory today, so it is urgent to repair it. Agile development, team collaboration and adaptive adjustment are all at the forefront of the design process, and the boundary between design and development is becoming more and more blurred.
Mobile terminal priority
The slogan "mobile terminal first" has been chanted for several years. A truly visionary web designer should be very clear that this sentence is far more than just a slogan. Mobile terminal priority will definitely involve the design process. We should start from small screens, design simple layouts, and then increase complexity for them. Based on them, we should design for larger screens.
As the usage of mobile devices exceeds that of PCs, mobile web reading has undoubtedly become an important channel for users to obtain information, and the priority design of mobile devices should naturally become the norm.
Unless your website is very special, or you have very persuasive and special data to support your idea, the design of mobile terminal priority is logical.
Compared with reducing the complexity of all designs for small screens, it is easier to adapt mobile terminals first and then improve their complexity. Recall that we design web pages according to the previous process. We are always tired of responding to customer requests, and we have to adjust the design and code back and forth in the later stage. Unfinished pages and mobile end pages that are not easy to use, and holes that cannot be filled.
The desktop page is always finished first, and the mobile page that is basically modified here always seems a bit crude.
Then let's not take "mobile first" as a simple slogan! From now on, we will design the small screen of mobile terminal in a real sense!
Build instead of dismantle
Design is an accumulation process, and each improvement is gradually established on the basis of the completion and success of the previous step.
The design plan based on the small screen is logical. I prefer to build it brick by brick rather than dismantle it bit by bit.
The best analogy I can think of is "atomic design", which is to build things by gradually promoting complexity. In short, with this idea, the design is done as follows:
The basic layout combination, size and color application must be based on these basic settings. The design of small elements such as form fields and labels must be based on the above design. Perfect the design of large elements such as the complete contact form. Build these constructed web elements into the page. Repeat the above process
It is these inconspicuous elements that build your page, and it is this simple method that can also complete the page design that looked very complicated before. As long as you use this design process well, the possibilities it brings are endless.
Compared with designing the page at the beginning, it is easier and more convenient to complete the design of these "bricks", and the whole design process is more perfect and fluent from the mobile end to the desktop end. Think about the things you and your customers need to focus on in this process. It's just to add details continuously.
When discussing the design process of responsive web design, we spent a lot of time on the balance between the media query of breakpoints and the design of existing hardware equipment. The key to this situation is the content of the website.
If possible, try to work closely with the content and marketing team at the later stage of the design, and pay more attention to the structure and division of the content, so as to prevent the final impact on the design of the web page on this issue and the emergence of accidents.
Even so, from the beginning of the design to the later stage of the design and even the launch of all the pages, the content of the web page may have been changing all the time. The title is getting longer and longer, pictures are changed, blocks are changed, etc.
"If possible, try to design with real content."
A truly well-designed system should be able to retract and release freely. Therefore, if you really convert the Word documents provided by the marketing and content teams into a reliable page, this should not be a headache for you.
Although some details need more attention, my experience tells me that I should not think too much. Most of the time, a compact and intelligent Style Guide can make everything go smoothly.
Testing and implementation
It's really good to carry out prototype design, but the problem with prototype design is that it is still a "closed door" design and has not been verified by real users.
Share design with users on real equipment, so as to get the best design feedback. Even if you just draw a wireframe, you can test and communicate with users on real equipment.
test Responsive website construction The design of should be a broad and diverse process. Find a smart phone, put your design draft in it, ask colleagues and friends who don't do design, and let them see whether such design is feasible. Next, replace the iPad and desktop equipment step by step.
A new world
To deal with complicated problems from a new perspective, everything we have to face seems new. Promoting the cooperation intensity of team members and blurring team boundaries can speed up all design processes. Our design should constantly adapt to new needs and new states, because our content, business and the world change faster.
