Posted by Michael Laplante on 05/08/06 20:08

"Jim Moe" <jmm-list.AXSPAMGN@sohnen-moe.com> wrote in message
news:ne6dnfF27c6XacPZnZ2dnUVZ_sSdnZ2d@giganews.com...

> You confuse graphics design, layout design and implementation.
> Layout design is placing those elements in a way that works for the
> medium, the WWW in this case.
> Implementation how it actually happens, HTML and CSS in this case.

Good explanation.
>
> What you are complaining about is poor graphics and layout design. Many
> of us are quite good at implementation, and poor at design.

Technicians versus designers thing.

Accessibility (an implementation issue) "imposes" on graphic design to some
extent. As a graphic designer, I like to see certain specific fonts, sizes,
etc. I like to see images, banners etc pinned down to achieve a certain
nuance or look. Accessibility = fluidity though which goes against that
philosophy.

So as I see it, in a business world I have to make some hard decisions about
one versus the other. To pick one obvious and easy example (to my mind):

I'm designing a site for a manufacturer of a luxury car.

I would want to design a "brochure" site. The site should have a level of
sophistication suggestive of the car itself. The colour scheme, font
choices, layout, graphics, etc should re-inforce that image. For example, I
want a rich, sturdy font that says classic -- I want a serif font, maybe
Times New Roman since I know most people will have that. I DON'T WANT my
potential six-income executive to be looking at my ad with a Balloon font,
say because he happens to be sitting at his kids computer at home.

To a large extent I would probably decide to take away from the fluidity of
the site's design so as not to compromise the message of the website.

Now, I'm designing a site for a trades college.

In this case, my message is one of inclusivity. I want everyone to feel
welcome to come to my college so my site should reflect that accessibility
in its fluidity of design.

Thanks for the "3-way" model insight. That's VERY useful. You should write
an article on that, if you haven't already.

M

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