The ever-evolving face of contemporary web design
THE EVER-EVOLVING FACE OF CONTEMPORARY WEB DESIGN
Creator of the World-Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has expressed that this movement towards user participation was always part of his initial concept (Berners-Lee, 2009).
During the first few years of the millennium, the Web 2.0 movement began a tidal wave of changes in the design of user interfaces. Many prominent web designers have spent time over the past decade, walking in the shoes of the user, to underline the key ingredients that create effective sites.
User-Interface (UI) design has reached a turning point, as designers are ever increasing their awareness of user expectations and how human computer interaction occurs. Steve Krug shortens it down to the best one-line description with the title of his book – “Don’t make me think!” Krug’s statement synopsizes the ideas behind ever-evolving face of UI designs.
Today’s web users simply want less question marks and head scratching during their experience. Emerging from this change are new trends resulting in more user-friendly, simplistic designs. Behind the scenes, designers are working overtime to keep it that way
(Krug, 2000).
This essay will delve into the importance of user-centric interface design and the trends that have emerged and grown over the past decade since the Web 2.0 movement began.
“At the beginning of the millennium, the Web had over 80 million users, and has profoundly changed the way we do business, exchange ideas, and socialize with one another” (Berners-Lee, 2000).
At this point in history, though the majority of the world’s population did not yet understand how to browse the Web, it had already made monumental impacts on society (Berners-Lee,
2000). Since these changes began, the expectations of the Web’s users have evolved as their knowledge of the internet has spread (Berners-Lee, 2000).
Users will now rapidly lose confidence in a site if they are unable to find the information they need quickly. This is
Creator of the World-Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, has expressed that this movement towards user participation was always part of his initial concept (Berners-Lee, 2009).
During the first few years of the millennium, the Web 2.0 movement began a tidal wave of changes in the design of user interfaces. Many prominent web designers have spent time over the past decade, walking in the shoes of the user, to underline the key ingredients that create effective sites.
User-Interface (UI) design has reached a turning point, as designers are ever increasing their awareness of user expectations and how human computer interaction occurs. Steve Krug shortens it down to the best one-line description with the title of his book – “Don’t make me think!” Krug’s statement synopsizes the ideas behind ever-evolving face of UI designs.
Today’s web users simply want less question marks and head scratching during their experience. Emerging from this change are new trends resulting in more user-friendly, simplistic designs. Behind the scenes, designers are working overtime to keep it that way
(Krug, 2000).
This essay will delve into the importance of user-centric interface design and the trends that have emerged and grown over the past decade since the Web 2.0 movement began.
“At the beginning of the millennium, the Web had over 80 million users, and has profoundly changed the way we do business, exchange ideas, and socialize with one another” (Berners-Lee, 2000).
At this point in history, though the majority of the world’s population did not yet understand how to browse the Web, it had already made monumental impacts on society (Berners-Lee,
2000). Since these changes began, the expectations of the Web’s users have evolved as their knowledge of the internet has spread (Berners-Lee, 2000).
Users will now rapidly lose confidence in a site if they are unable to find the information they need quickly. This is
Bibliography: Berners-Lee, T. (2009). What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software World Wide Web by its Inventor. Published by The MIT Press Bookstore. Retrieved June 25, 2013 from Neutrality. Retrieved June 25, 2013 from http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~se4921/PDF/TheWeb.pdf Friedman, V. (2008). 10 Principles Of Effective Web Design. Retrieved on June 21, 2013, from http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/31/10-principles-of-effectiveweb-design/ Krug, S. (2006). Don 't Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. New Riders Publishing - Berkeley, California USA York, USA. Retrieved June 26, 2013 from http://www.theusers.info/dev/mobile/RESPONSIVE-WEB-DESIGN-EthanMarcotte.pdf Rocheleau, J. (2013). Web Design: 20 Hottest Trends To Watch Out For in 2013. Retrieved on June 22, 2013 from http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/web-design-trend-2013/ Rocheleau, J. (2013). Beginner’s Guide To: Building HTML5/CSS3 Webpages. Retrieved on June 26, 2013 from http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/building-html5-css-webpages/ Tran, L. (2010). The Use of Grids in Website Design. Retrieved on June 21, 2013 from http://www.designer-daily.com/the-use-of-grids-in-website-design-6639