Posted on October 13, 2006 in Web-Design, with 0 comments.

“If the headline is big enough, it makes the news big enough.”
Citizen Kane, 1941

As a designer it’s easy to forget that you control the flow and the feel of your site. Between trying to create something original, sifting through piles of unorganized content, and desperately tying to make the color cheme match the logo, a site’s design can certainly take on a life of it’s own.

But, when it comes down to it , controlling the importance in your design in vital to reaching your site’s goals. Are your ads the first things your users see. Is it your header?

Depending on your goals for whatever site you are designing, certain things may be more important to others. If you’re selling shoes, for instance, it might make more sense for a photograph of the newest and greatest tennis shoe to be most prominent, not necissarily your company’s logo.

On the other hand, if your designing for a client who’s main goal with their website is to enhance their coprorate identity, more emphasis needs to be placed on the logo, and maybe their slogan.

When I design, nearing the end of the process (before I get to coding it all) I always run a little experiment on my layout. If possible, i’ll take a couple days off from looking at what i’ve created. Then I load up the page, close my eyes, and upon opening them I literally point to the spot on the screen that catches my attention first.

Sometimes it’s not necissarily the part I want to be seen first, sometiems it is. Either way, stepping back and looking at what your’ve created, with a clear sense of the goals you want to accomplish, can really help to optimize your design.

Heres a few tips to keep in mind:

• Pictures draw attention much more than text.

• Certain colors (like red, orange, and yellow) can draw attention no matter how little they’re used.

• Elements that break barriers, or stand outside the traditional grid draw attention.

• Big blocks of text can be easily overlooked in a design. Adding a headline, or breaking up the text into easily scannable chunks can help.

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