Design from the heart

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and, for me, the special time with my family is the best part. However, I also enjoy the cheery pinks/reds and beautiful handmade items. In fact, handmade items hold a singular charm for me. They aren’t perfect, are uniquely individual and hold a special connection to the item’s creator. Even though I don’t make handmade things too often, I get excited just going to a craft store and looking around.

As a web designer, it’s interesting to think about the design relationship between a physical, handmade item and a virtual website. Of course, since a website is inherently more distant from its creator and viewers (in the physical sense), how can it take on the warmth and uniqueness of handmade designs? Now, this isn’t just a philosophical question. Many designers seek the handmade look in order to convey a more informal feeling about their websites (see the “sources” below). By achieving this informal/personal look, designers can help companies to better position themselves as friendly, helpful, relatable etc.

• Use lots of texture/layering in your site design—Things in real life are three-dimensional, not flat and two-dimensional. By creating depth, you’ll be helping your design to “pop” from the screen.

• Or, go the opposite direction and do a hand-drawn look—By using illustrations that look hand-drawn, you’ll give the site’s viewers the feeling that they’re part of the action.

• Give the site a less boxy feel by using rounded corners—Handmade items are made by hand, not a machine. Don’t keep reminding your site’s viewers that they’re using one.

• Select a color scheme that’s more monochromatic—This point is more my own personal design style, but it can still relate to the handmade look. By using subtle color variations in a website design, you’ll give the design a calm, soothing feel.

So, in the end, it all really comes down to this…whether you’re making valentines for family/friends or designing websites, just make sure that your message is heartfelt.

Sources:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/03/hand-drawing-style-in-modern-web-design/
http://www.webdesignshock.com/review/design-trends-for-2011/
http://designm.ag/resources/hand-drawn-design/