THE ROLE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN IN WEB DESIGN

The World Wide Web has become an integral part of many organizations, and groups as diverse as Coca-Cola, the United States government, and high school students have sites that bring their messages to the world. In the years that the Web has become popular, Web design has gained in popularity, as well. Most users can quickly name sites that they like and don't like as well as sites that are easy to use. However, most users do not recognize that the difference between those sites is the application of graphic design principles. This research considers the role of graphic design in Web design, including the difference between the two, how graphic design can enhance the image of the Web site, and the outlook for the role of graphic design in Web design.

When the Web first began gaining popularity, there were some who maintained that effective Web design was simply effective graphic design brought to the computer screen. On-line Web pagesùinitiallyùwere not treated differently than online documents or even printed documents. While it is certainly true that Web sites need strong graphic design elements to be successful, Web design extends beyond just the visual presentation of information. The data that is displayed and entered on the Web site must be processed by databases and applications in the "back office" of the organization, and these processes must link seamlessly to the Web site.

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design--has been adopted much faster and users have come to expect certain design elements. For example, users associate the length of a text field with the expected amount of information that they should enter. Drop-down boxes that offer too many choices and no way to sort through the choices can be confusing. Radio buttons that are not lined up with their choices, or that offer too many choices, confuse users, as well. As with print design, too much text on a Web page discourages use and may lead visitors to leave the site if they are casually surfing, or become frustrated with the Web site provider (Fichter, 2003). Although print design and Web design share many of the same goalsùguiding the reader to important points, encouraging them to continue readingùWeb sites are interactive in a way that print is not. Web sitesùparticularly commercial Web sitesùencourage the users to enter information and buy products. Providing logical navigation through the site, including information about what the company does, what the purpose of the Web site is (is it to inform or to sell?) and how the user is expected to move through the site helps ensure that the user will reap the most benefit from the interaction with the site and the co
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Approximate Word count = 1401
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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