Website Development

It’s fitting that I should choose to begin this (my first design blog) where all design projects begin…with “a blank canvas”. I would like to emphasize how blank space can be a useful design element if used properly. I’ve noticed that many designers rush to fill in the canvas with anything, and everything they can, as though the canvas were something to be ashamed of (even to the extent of placing animated flame gifs on their sites). Sometimes we are afraid to show a design-in-progress for fear that others will see our designs half dressed. Well I’m taking a stand to liberate the web. Don’t cover it up, learn to love your canvas. Now obviously you can’t always control the amount of content, or imagery that is required for every site, but a well spaced layout is far more appealing than you may have realized. When you clutter a design you lose symmetry quickly, and symmetry is one of the primary principles of good design. Large fonts, and big logos are the most common violations in this regard. These are usually the first elements used in the design, and thus their size is often increased to fill that shameful canvas. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not promoting minimalism on the web, I’m just hoping to reduce some needless clutter and maybe increase the symmetry.

I wasn’t sure how to go about trying to make this interesting or exciting, but now that I see the headline written out I can tell that I needn’t have worried - the thing practically jumps right off the page. Being invited to ITT Technical Institute’s next Advisory Committee board meeting might not sound like alot of fun to you, but our own Mr. Golden is pretty excited about it. This invitation will allow The Karcher Group the chance to help guide the ever-evolving corriculum for the School of Information Technology - an opportunity that a) gives us the ear of the people teaching our future employees (regarding issues such as having pop-ups on your homepage and building your site in Cold Fusion…), and b) furthers our work with the movement to keep technology-minded young people living and working in Northeast Ohio. Fun indeed people, fun indeed.