The many faces of design

You may notice the word “design” often used in a very general sense. That is because designing a website does not just mean “web design”. There are many aspects of web development that involve design, and the role of a good design is usually crucial to the success of a project.

Some of the types of design that we at Kintek encounter daily are:

Database Design
A database can’t just be hacked together with very little thought. To ensure it is extensible for the future, secure from attackers and easy to program for; a database has to follow a well thought out design.

Graphic Design
Whether it is logos, icons, product images or any other type of image: Good images are proven to play a critical role in presenting yourself well on the web.

Marketing Design
The role you choose to play for your customers, the way you structure your latest campaign - all are design decisions, if not in the orthodox sense.

Interface Design
A web page can’t just look good - it has to be intuitive and easy to use too. Does the user know where they are? Where they are going next? These are very important questions that a developer has to ask themselves when designing a good interface.

Software Design (code)
This is a bit of a geeky one, but one I, myself am far more familiar with. Efficiency, Extensibility, Readability, Robustness, etc are just a few of the considerations that a software developer needs to make when creating good software. An especially interesting one too, since clients are not aware of any of these design decisions. Some developers think this means they can be ignored, but good developers know that doing so will come back to haunt them.

And of course last but definitely not least:

Web Design
The culmination of all of the above - the design of a web page requires many considerations above and beyond simply what looks good.

Of course there are many many more aspects of design that are central to a successful project - designing a good SEO strategy is just one that immediately springs to mind.

To finish this post, I thought this link provides a humorous insight into the way different people approach the same project - a reminder that it is important to deal with people that have an appreciation for all facets of the design process!

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