It is important to recognise the difference between graphic design and web design when building a website so that you do not end up employing someone who does not have the necessary skills to turn your dreams into reality. Web design is an entirely different medium, but does not always get treated as such by graphic designers who believe that they can make a simple leap from their field into the world of web design.
Designing for the web and designing for print are two completely different skills. Just because an individual is amazing at creating striking images for magazines, leaflets and other printed paraphernalia does not mean that they will be any good at designing the look of a website. You really need to do your homework when choosing a web designer to ensure that they have the knowledge and experience required.
Also web design includes a lot of psychology to figure out where items should be placed on a page so that a user can navigate your website easily. This is no necessarily included within a graphic designers skill set.
Some aspects to consider…
Font:
For a graphic designer creating a printed item it is easy and enjoyable to play around with fonts, and they can do this safe in the knowledge that what they create will be printed with the font specified in the design. For a web designer this is not the case as a font may look totally different depending on the browser being used to access the website. It is best for a web designer to stick to Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana or Helvetica as these fonts are supported by all browsers.
Resolution:
Resolution refers to the quality of an image and is measured in Pixels Per Inch (ppi). In the world of graphic design images should not be created any higher than 72 ppi or they will be too large and will cause the page to load slowly.
GIF v JPEG:
JPEG (Joint Photographers Expert Group) files are used by graphic designers as the colour and details of images are retained well as this sort of file, making it ideal for printed work. GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) files are supported by all web browsers and support 256 colours, making them ideal for graphics viewed on a screen.
Before employing a designer make sure that they are familiar with the above. If they do not appear to be schooled in the difference between web and graphic design do yourself a favour and keep looking.
Our resident web designer Adam is an excellent choice for anyone looking to employ the skills of an experienced individual who recognises the specific and unique requirements of designing a user-friendly and eye-catching website. Check out our services (http://www.rabbit-media.co.uk/#rabbit=%23Services) section for more information contact us (http://www.rabbit-media.co.uk/#rabbit=%23Contact-us) if you want to know more.
--The Rabbit Media team