According webconfs.com, Search Engine Optimization is considered the more technical aspect of Web marketing – it encompasses the elements of marketing while also requiring an understanding of HTML and web design. Webconfs.com also states, that generally, SEO is the activity of optimizing Web pages or whole sites in order to make them more search engine-friendly, thus getting higher positions in search results.

Webconfs.com advises that SEO is not advertising, and that it should be understood that it may improve your numbers, it will because your site meets ideally with what someone is searching for. SEO is making the information and content of your site easiest to find for someone.

SEO helps provide better results when someone uses a search engine, it may increase your page views or direct someone to a more specific source. Search engines scan the web for words that are relative to the terms searched for, that means that though my web site may be the most dynamic and beautifully rendered, if it the content that I offer isn’t represented accurately with text, you may not ever find my site.

I think it is necessary to understand your audience and what they may expect from you when determining what you will offer at your website – that’s the marketing aspect of developing a website. But you also need to identify and highlight the content you offer so search engines, and more importantly the people searching, can find you.

I think the current design is effective. There are a minimal amount of design elements used. The different colored circles in the background add unity and are balanced within the background image of the site.

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The top half of the site consists of all the content for the site. The various projects the designers have completed are displayed here – there are quite a few, but they are compressed in the space dedicated to them. The scrolling is minimal here, yet it allows for you to view sizable thumbnails. I did like the mouse-over animation; a shade-pull effect that drops down changing the color of the link container, but not the link.

There is good use of space and balance. The content at the top of the page is copious, but it manages not to over-powerful the still, unnerving image of a heart emerging from what looks like a cardboard box.

Also the entire site is viewed at “homepage,” there is no clicking the back button. All navigation is done within the site, which is cool in terms of urging visitors to hangout at the site a little longer. The site even loads cool!

There is an overwhelming use of white space in the design – I appreciate the usage though. I think it adds a sense of high-definition and the design itself resembles a online news site, something that might impress upon visitors a sense of reliability.

The color scheme, like the design, is simple. Cool aqua adds some contrast and personality to the design. The illustrations for the different regions of the company’s operations display an excellent use of line and reinforce the simplistic, but effective design.
Though there is an abundance of white space, the design is balanced well and doesn’t overwhelm any one area of the site.
I also appreciate the minimal usage of the text in the design.

The real time clocks are a really cool feature on the site too.

The design contrasts from the top and bottom of the page, giving you space when the page loads and the lion’s share of the content deeper within the page. Some of the things I liked about the design is its bucking of convention. The nav bar isn’t placed in a typical place. In addition to the nav being located in an atypical place, the designer added links to his profiles on social networking sites. Links to Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In are shown in a quote bubble for a One-man Band illustration.

There are other illustrations throughout the page which, to me, reinforce the uniqueness and theme of the design. The illustrations are probably original and instill the individuality of the designer. I liked the Highlighted Work area because it allows you to see some of his work, but it is not the main focus of the site.

Douglas has an awesome site and it shows another example of great design; not exactly form over function just an evolved relationship between the two.

These are a few of the pictures for my Web Design Project 1 Assignment. I think there might be some cool and interesting things with the graphics and logos on the container.

Well I guess, we’ll see.

It looks like a newspaper to me – there are “articles” in the center of the page with columns wrapped around them. The font is definitely conservative and even though there is about half a scroll, this page is packing text into just about every inch on the page, save the header. There is an interesting image as part of the background though. It looks like the heart of a metropolis, with the areas of red blotches inferring fire. The designer also has a texture beneath the text that adds something to the background.

But not enough to distract you from the mash-up of words on the page.

It’s a mess to be honest and I think it serves as a reminder that space, color, and balance are key elements of web design. I’d like to think that this web site in the series is a “cautionary page” to give users some visual choices to perhaps avoid. If that is the case then great, but I wouldn’t explore this site too long. It gave me a headache for the short time I was there.