6 Qualities That Promote a Web Designer from Good to Great

Web designing is something more than what meets the eye. Aside from the grim coding and advance textbook aesthetics, an intuitive sense of originality and self-confidence is at play. Any web designer who wants to prove his mantle must be able to exhibit out of the box qualities. These qualities not only help him prove he’s worth his salt, but also helps his work stand out against the mainstream products. In this article we will expose 6 qualities that every great web designer has and uses to win his gig.

1. Stay True to Your Design Principles

Firsts off, you need to acknowledge the principles of web design. To develop a primal instinct about these principles, you must know how they tend to react with other web elements and how they can be used to your leverage.

Colors

Color is what sets apart every element from each other and defines the importance and preference within the pages. Its helps build the theme and motif of the the design while creating a hierarchy of content with palettes, tones, tints and shades. To understand how colors intermingle in web design, you can visit the color psychology and assign your elements with their roles.

Flow

The visual movement experience by the site visitor is known as Flow. It stands for the usability a design offers and how well its elements are functioning. For a good Flow of a web design, everything from depth, color, hierarchy, shapes and lines should be in harmony with each other. You can also use Flow tools such as spacing, perspective and facial detection.

Proportion and Balance

The next thing is balance and proportion. This represents the stability of the web design and the level of equilibrium it shows when the user interacts with it. Its presence is imperative since some elements need more attention than the others and giving them an exclusive angle can boost conversions and revenues. Elements such as CTAs are always high on the radar and thus require greater attention.

White Spacing

White spacing or also known as ‘negative spacing’, is the empty unused space that surrounds elements. It is one of the most cardinal principles that decide if a website is worth being visited or not. There are several benefits associated with the right use of white spacing for the visitor. It increases readability factor, sets balance with the theme and gives an optimum user experience.

2. Make HTML Your Slave

HTML is often times associated to developers only and cast away from the circle of web designing. This is completely wrong. Although knowing HLTM is not a necessary requirement for becoming a designer, but to excel you must be aware of at least the basics of HTML. This makes the designer a well-rounded resource ready to jump into the action and create his work independently. This will help the designer see through things on a much deeper angle and capitalize on the unique selling points of the design.

3. Work on Your Copywriting Game

A designer that understands the dynamics of his field can do well in his work. But what makes a designer great is the ability to absorb and adapt with other skills that can make a web design second to none. A similar skill is the ability to write a killer copy. Being hired as designer, you will be surrounded with copywriters if you land in a good web development company. You will need to work together in several circles to produce a good piece of design. But to have this synergy, you must be aware what the copy writers want with the design and how you can help them integrate their content in it. Learning to write content is not difficult if you know the basics. Once you get into the swing of things it will prove to be a formidable asset to your web designing arsenal. It will not only improve your marketing skills, but also put you on much better terms with the copywriting team.

4. Develop Street Smart Business Skills

Although working for top tier organizations is fun and good with the green, but some day you might as well consider working on your own as an entrepreneur. It opens new doors to projects and clients all across the world, while adding more skill and technique to your designing capabilities. However, in order to communicate with clients and pitch your proposals, you must have a stellar understanding of how to market and sell your product. You can start by watching tutorials, reading informative how-to articles and then trial testing your skills in the field. It will help your secure projects in the competition and raise your communication level with the client especially when things go south.

5. Make Listening Your Plus Point

Being a designer, you will come across several stages of client communication. You will be exposed to the chain of command, following orders and fulfilling requests made by the clients and superiors alike. Listening to these voices patiently and thoroughly is what makes a great asset and designer out of you.

Failing to listen or refusing to listen can cost you dearly especially in the field of ecommerce. You need to make sure you are all ears when the client or your boss speaks. This will secure your professional code of conduct and help you produce your work with pin point accuracy.

6. Stay Tuned with Technology

The final tip that will make you an absolutely invincible graphic designing mean machine is, never stop learning. Graphic design in about technology and most of the gear used in creating it based on era to era appropriate devices and gizmos. A designer who once used a Pentium 4 to design his web template now most probably has his hands set on a Microsoft Surface Pro. Staying in good terms with technology will help you stay sharp and introduce efficiency in your work routines. Similarly, new web tools, application and designing techniques keep coming and for a designer, they must be met with a positive and welcoming notes. Staying updated will make you the ideal pick when a top shelf project knocks on the door.

Author Bio:

Simon Walker is an expert ecommerce consultant with over 7 years of experience in web development and design.  He currently works for FMEextensions – a Dubai Web Design Company. You can contact him through Twitter and Facebook.