Design Vocabulary: Introduction

The web is, first and foremost, about content. But we cannot separate content from form. That is, the design of a page is as much a part of its content as the text and images on it. So, as we begin our exploration of web authoring, it's important for us to have a common language to discuss design.

The goal of this assignment is to use that common language to discuss the design of actual sites. But before we get to that, let's start with some intuition:

Find a page you think is well-designed. This can be any page you know and visit, or it can be a page you happen upon while surfing something like Cool Homepages. Open up a word processor and write a paragraph or two (or more) about the design. Essentially, answer the question "What makes this good?"

Print and save what you write. I'll be collecting it next class.

OK, so that's something of a "pre-test" about your sense of design and the ways in which you already know how to talk about. So now let's move into some specific terms. Note: these terms are an amalgamation: some come from print design, some are commonly used when discussing web design, and some I almost think I just made up. But, all are useful.