Interview

Interview with a Graphic Designer: Web-Document Design

by Dalya Goldberger

Julie Laframboise is a talented graphic designer with NIVA Inc., an Ottawa-based communications firm. She is the creative mind behind the Writer’s Block Web design that debuted in the fall of 1996. As the popularity and potential of the World Wide Web skyrockets, hundreds of government and private-sector organizations are jumping onto the Internet bandwagon. The move to convert hardcopy documents into Web documents, accessible by virtually anyone, is creating a demand for designers who can apply elements of good design to the new medium. We asked Julie to share her Web-document design experience with Writer’s Block readers.

WB: How did you learn to design documents for the Web?

JL: Until a couple of years ago, I hadn’t designed any Web pages, so I had to research and basically learn from those around me. As a first step, a co-worker and I surfed the Internet looking for information on how to create a Web graphic. We also read articles about Netscape graphics. I found the Netscape colour palette on the Web, and from that I created my own palette, because in Netscape you’re only allowed to use 216 RGB colours. [RGB stands for red, green, and blue.] After that, it was just practice and learning little tricks along the way.

WB: Did you encounter any difficulties initially?

JL: Yes. Originally, I created my Web graphics on the Macintosh because of its "anti-alias" ability, which is just a method of smoothing out the edges of a graphic and making it look better. I encountered problems, though, when I switched back to the PC, where I do most of my work. When I moved the work onto the PC, the colours would change because of the different platform.

WB: Does a designer use different skills to create a design for a Web document than for a "traditional" paper-based document?

JL: I think a designer would apply the same skills to a Web design. With the Web, though, you have to possess very good computer skills, because all Web designs are created on a computer.

WB: What type of information do you need from your client before you begin designing a Web document?

JL: I need to know the purpose of the document or site, the audience for the site, whether special graphics or logos should be included in the design, and whether the client has specific standards that we must follow. I also need to know the screen resolution. If you’re creating a Web design for the Internet, it’s best to create a design that can be viewed by any screen size or resolution. If you’re creating a design for an intranet, the client may be able to tell you confidently that all users will be viewing the design at a high resolution. Along those same lines, knowing the kind of browser that the audience uses on an intranet could affect the way the design is constructed. Some browsers don’t support frames or certain [HTML] codes.

WB: Many Web documents are based on hardcopy versions. Should a Web document try to mimic its hardcopy counterparts exactly?

JL: Not really. A Web document is not a hardcopy document. Hardcopy documents tend to be constructed and read in a linear fashion; in Web documents, buttons and jumps are added to help the reader navigate around the document or even skip to documents at other Web sites. Of course, the Web version should borrow design elements from the hardcopy version, but it’s important to remember that the Web is a completely different medium.

WB: Is your approach to creating a Web-document design the same as your approach to creating a hardcopy design?

JL: No. Designing for the Web gives you more freedom in terms of the colours you can use. Often there are no limitations on colours and, because the Web is such a popular medium, you may be able to get away with something "funkier" than you would for a hardcopy document on the same subject—although this still depends on the client. Also, a large graphic that works in a hardcopy document may take too long to download in a Web document and may, therefore, be inappropriate.

WB: Owing to spending cutbacks, government clients seem to be more conservative than private-sector clients when commissioning a design for hardcopy documents. Does this generalization apply to Web designs?

JL: Not necessarily. I find that many government clients tend to be somewhat conservative in terms of design compared to private-sector clients, but not as conservative when commissioning a design for the Web.

WB: Are your audience considerations for a Web document the same as for a hardcopy document?

JL: I think that the same considerations apply for both types of documents, though the questions I ask regarding the audience for a Web document may be different than for a hardcopy document. The main difference would concern the types of tools that the audience has at its disposal.

WB: As HTML is not a design tool, how great are its limitations in creating a design for use on the Web?

JL: Any tool has limitations. As a designer, I just need to find creative ways to get around those limitations. I don’t believe that HTML poses major restrictions. Special indenting and bullets are a little tricky to incorporate. Designs that are difficult to realize in HTML can always be imported as a graphic. The challenge is to ensure that you haven’t created a secondary problem, such as great-looking graphics that take ten minutes to download. Many Web documents and sites that I’ve seen have over-compensated [for design limitations] with so many large graphics that the viewer gives up waiting for to download and moves on.

WB: Is the World Wide Web a better forum to display your ability as a designer than the more traditional print environment?

JL: From a graphic designer’s point of view, a big plus for the Web is the potential for more people to see your work. Not everyone is a designer, but just about anyone can create a Web site or post a document to a Web site. As a result, sites that have been constructed with help from a designer really stand out. By contrast, it’s rare that a designer doesn’t have a hand in the artwork for a print document and so the variation between a really bad design and a good one is less apparent.