Graphics, Animation, and more...

They don't call it web-design for nothing! Supported by vivid imagery, whether in the form of still pictures, charts and graphs, or stunning animations, websites have come a long way from the text-only web pages of yesterday. Coupled with well-proportioned layout and logical visual flow, today's website really should be a work of art. The web designer's palette has expanded over the years in just about every area, and graphics are certainly no exception.

 
Photographs, cartoons and drawings can all be rendered on web pages, and when appropriately placed, can have a great deal of impact. Generally, when a client provides me with images or image concepts for a site, that's only the first step. Images must be web optimized, in terms of resolution (the Internet imposes some pretty rigid constraints there), brightness, color-correction and sizing. Remember also, that many mundane page objects like 'buttons' and logos are also graphics, and require very special attention if they're to be successful. Often such attention results in very subtle changes, but they sure are worth it! (For example, take a look at my logo at the top-left of this page - see how the background 'brightens' slightly behind the logo, almost as if the logo lights it up? Sometimes it's the little things that really make a page 'pop'!)

Whenever possible, I like to use custom imagery for a site, whether it is provided by the client, or I shoot it myself, this brings a freshness and vitality to the project with the added bonus of freedom from copyright constraints, which are a very real concern.

A word about animation...  Making things move around on a web page used to be completely impossible. Then came the animated GIF - a simple and small self-contained graphic...

Then came DHTML - dynamic HTML, the combination of JavaScript, CSS and HTML that enabled simple motion like you see with the menu above (if your browser has JavaScript enabled, that is)...

But for truly rich animation experiences, the world would have to wait for the introduction and eventual mass-acceptance of FLASH! Pioneered by Macromedia, this ground-breaking software is able to produce animations ranging in scope from simple 'widgets' to entire website interfaces. My stance on FLASH is that when used sparingly, in conjunction with a basic HTML framework that makes sense for the site it serves, FLASH animation can add a vibrant, lively quality to a site. I do create flash animations (see the Glitterworks Studio and Jordan Schlanger sites), but do not consider myself a high-end FLASH designer.