Graphic design cannot be simply applied to a website once the functionality is in place. Equally, the graphic design cannot be allowed to dictate the functionality of a website. Both have to be handled as one integrated activity.
The starting point for any website design is its overall structure, which must reflect the anticipated content. This structural design encompasses the overall organisation of the website, the page structure and the general use of the space available within in page.
The website is normally developed in the context of an existing business, so the customer will have a preference for certain colours and logos, if only to ensure compatibility with their existing brand image. This information and the overall structural design requirements form the brief for the graphic design of the website.
The graphic design is concerned with the styling of the website, including the use of particular shapes, colours, fonts and imagery. The correct combination of all of these factors is essential in order to achieve the desired overall effect.
The design process passes through a number of stages involving both the customer and those responsible for the functionality of the website. Firstly, several graphic designs, or visuals, typically three, for several of the key pages are produced and amended as required to ensure that the overall structural design requirements are met.
This is normally a process of refinement, starting with several different design schemes, from which particular features may be selected for incorporation into a single design. This design is then applied to each main type of page on the website, to ensure that their individual structural design requirements are met. The final set of designs for each of the main pages is then submitted to the customer for approval.
Although these steps are taken to ensure the correctness of the design, it is normal for minor adjustments to be made to the design during the website development process.
Once approved, the colours, etc. used in the design are used throughout the website and are used to ensure that any subsequent changes made via the content management tools comply with the overall look and feel of the website.