Useful articles

Today everywhere in internet we are being flooded with ads, urging us to make our first step to our presence in internet. Ads, using the phrase "Web desing" everywhere - flashing, glowing, showing up suprisingly sidelong.

But what is web design? Does the ordinary internet user know and understand the meaning of this word?

In the common case under web design is being understood the overall web development. It includes graphic design, software elaboration, multimedia - everything. But this is just one way to interpret those two magical words.

Let's separate the two mates and think what each of them means. Web is internet, the virtual web, the infinite space. The new land of unlimited possibilities. Web or also internet consists of a certain number (not that I know it) of servers on which there is a certain number (don't know it again) of web-sites. These sites consist of software, which makes them flash, rotate, scroll, disappear and reappear suprisingly from behind, and of a graphic part, visible for the user and symbolizing its creator's thinking. Exactly this part is the graphic design in the web-site.

In most cases this design can't really be called design, but it is accepted to call it that way. In order a design to be real and to deserve to be proudly called DESIGN, it should be pleasant for the senses, it should provoke feelings, bring joy or sadness, direct the use, guide him like a patient teacher. It should gradually reveal to him the web-site's secrets.

In most cases though design:

• serves as nothing more than a graphic wrapping of the contents
• is a way to express its creator's incompetence
• is a way to wrench the visitor's eyes with bright green letters on a vivid yellow background
• provokes feelings in the visitor as if though he has misused 2 litres of methyl alcohol an hour ago
• kills everything pure in the observer
• shows original perverted ways of composing a web-site

I must say that all these goals are noble but I don't think that this is the most important thing...

The frivolous usage of the words web and design together leads to serious consequences for many people's health. That's why I ask of you not to let yourself be fooled. Design is not a toy! In the hands of incompetent people it could be dangerous!

Author: Niko - designer / Fixar web design studio

In today's dynamic market conditions the development of competition in all economy parts is of extreme importance for a firm to win and keep its clients' trust, to expand its market share, to conquer new markets.

Every firm is recognized by its name. Its products or services are branded with this name under the form of a trade mark. Exactly the trade mark of every firm is its way of achieving individuality among the sea of similar products or services.

The trade mark could be a logo, slogan or design, associated with a particular firm. When a good trade mark is present, the firm gets integrated more easily into the market and wins cients. For a firm it's not enough of course to have a unique and well elaborated trade mark. The firm needs to produce also a product which will have its own distinctive marks and is no way inferior to the competition's ones. But the trade mark is one of the most important things which helps to distinguish the products of a particular firm from those of the rest.

When a customer walks in a store, he wants to buy some cheese. He goes where the cheese is and sees in the fridge a couple of different types of cheese in different forms, wrappings and sizes. His decision doesn't depend on the contents of the product because he can't try it. Important is the trade mark on the wrapping. By it the consumer orientates himself, he remembers it and afterwards he chooses the same, tryed and allready favourite product.

Thus, the trade mark should be:

• Easy to pronounce
• Easy to remember
• Attracting attention
• Hinting the client's benefit from the product (Example - EasyPay)
• Licensed

According to research a memorable, simple but effective trade mark (logo) could pull up a product and stengthen it on the market and the same goes for the contrary - with the same product a firm with a weaker trade mark without individuality and style will have vastly lower income.

Branding means quality. The client expects from a trade mark whatever the logo's design is showing. If this design is unconsidered, quickly made, unprofessional and compositionally wrong, than the client would see the product like a rotten apple. The look of the product itself, combined with its trade mark, sells.

After the client has allready tryed the qualities of a particular product, the role of the trade mark again is to be memorable so the client can find this product among the competitor's ones easily.

Like I allready said, the trade mark - this is the logo, name, slogan or any design element. Let's take as an example the more famous logos like those of Coca-cola, Hewlet Packard, IBM, Nokia, Nike. The common thing between them is the simplicity, they are easy to remember and aren't overdone with gradients or, god forbid, clip art.

In order for a logo to be really good, during it's creation:

• gradients should be avoided (gradients do not show the same way when cutted from folio for window displays and signboards)
• not too many colors should be used (in general more than 3 colors are unnecessary and torment the observer)
• it should be made with vectors (so it can be increased and decreased in size without any quality loss)
• the usage of a human face as a symbol should be avoided
• it should be made in such way that it is easily read on small souveniers as well as on big billboards, without the influence to be lost

The good trade mark and in particulr the logo are of great importance for the firm's success. The market doesn't bear amateurs and the professional logo is the face of a firm, speaking for its professionalism in its work, as well as for the quality of its products.

Author: Niko - designer / Fixar web design studio