"The most important steps in design happen well before the first web page is ever created!" iDS guides you through the principle steps of developing an online design strategy.

STEP 1: Define your website's ultimate PURPOSE and primary AUDIENCE.

For your website's PURPOSE, consider:

• Personal vs. Professional:
  Professional sites must follow stricter guidelines than personal sites.




• Money-making vs. Informational:
  An e-commerce site should lead to a contact or committment.




• Instructional vs. Entertainment:
  Instructional sites flow sequentially; entertainment sites are free-flowing.

For your website's AUDIENCE, consider:

• Cultural Influences:
  Be senitive to race, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, etc.




• Traditional vs. Modern:
  The center-of-gravity of your audience influences how they interpret your content.




• Gender Differences:
  Typically automotive sites are "Mars"; cooking sites are "Venus". But maybe not?




• Age/Generation:
  The Net Generation processes information differently than older generations.




• Location:
  Local, national, or global? Play off of the regional influences of your target environment.

STEP 2: Choose a handful of visually-creative design INSPIRATIONS.

• Your product category: Food, wine, sports, animals.
• Your best selling item: A photograph, an article of clothing, a CD cover.
• A personal style item: Your favorite t-shirt, favorite flower, favorite band logo.
• A professional setting: Your company's corporate office, meeting room, etc.
• A familiar geographic site: City skyline, nearby park, sports stadium.

STEP 3: Select appropriate DESIGN ELEMENTS.

• Color Choices:
  
  
  • Color choices alone are sending specific messages to your viewers.
  • Colors have an effect on our emotions within 90 seconds of viewing.
  • Colors not only intensify items, they greatly influence our behavior.
  • The effects of color differ among multiple cultures.




• Font Choices:
  
  
  • Most Popular: Arial, Frutiger, Futura, Gills Sans, Helvetica, Lucida.
  • Most Recommended: Verdana, Trebuchet, Helvetica.
  • Font type conveys your site's personality: casual or formal, silly or serious.




• Shape Choices:
  
  
  • Shapes add interest to you site and help to organize contant.
  • Geometric Shapes: Squares, rectangles, circles, rounded edges
  • Natural Shapes: Leaves, trees, clouds.
  • Abstract Shapes: Alphabetic characters, icons, symbols.

STEP 4: Outline an intuitive NAVIGATION and PAGE FLOW.

• Determine the total # of web pages.
• Decide between a simple or a content rich site.
• Divide content into 5 to 7 primary categies.
• Identify multiple secondary categies.
• Determine if advanced programming or databse design is needed.

STEP 5: Finalize the optimal website LAYOUT for your project.

• Analyze Data:
  Make decisions based on the information collected in the previous steps.




• Linear Design:
  Best for news/instructional sites, older browsers, and mobile technology.




• Spatial Design:
  Great for entertainment sites. Commonly uses Adobe Flash for graphics creation.




• Navigation Placement:
  Left navigation is most common. Top navigation is considered the most effective.




• Content Format:
  One-column formats are easiest to read. Two-column formats are also common.




• Website Templates:
  iDS accelerates the development process through templates and Drupal themes that are optimized to avoid confusion and meet web user expectations.

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