Keys to Creative Site Design

Creativity in site design is often defined by imagination, originality, and inspiration. A creative site grabs the attention of a user and makes a great first impression. However, those two actions are just the first steps in the effectiveness of a website. Underneath that, a website needs to be one that visitors actually want to use. That’s where data and research come into play. 

What it Looks Like, What it Achieves 

The keys to successful creative site design are the scientific plans that serve as the backbone for something unique and intriguing. As you imagine what your website could look like, consider how the team creating it can dive deep into the intentions of your users and the business goals you would like the website to help you achieve. The following three elements can go far in turning a creative idea into a productive reality. 

Research & Prototyping       

Creative site design is most often best applied as answers to a set of questions. In other words, creativity alone can’t always be expected to power the usefulness of a website. User research at every stage of the design process, on the other hand, contributes to a site that is enjoyable to use. Building upon best design practices, the development team applies data gathered through research to validate a hypothesis. This ensures that creative design ideas are contributing to the website’s end goal. 

In some instances, a development team will build a prototype before the final product is even started. A prototype is a lightweight, interactive design that allows both the development team to experiment with new concepts and users to provide feedback. This way, your website starts as a simple concept and pivots as answers to questions reveal themselves. This, in contrast to a conclusive creative concept materializing, leaving the team to work backward and deconstruct/reconstruct things as they find and receive feedback on what isn’t working. In short, a prototype leads to a design that is as thoroughly thought out as can be because the user has been put first every step of the way.       

Experience Design

User experience design encompasses the tools and solutions that are focused on how users interact with technology. At the forefront of experience design is the concept that users are often visiting a website to solve a problem. Whether that is a consumer purchasing a product to fulfill a need or an employee handling a workday task, the user wants to be able to find information quickly and perform an action easily. The reason experience design is a key to effective creative site design is because, without it, there is such a thing as a site being “too creative” to be as useful as visitors want it to be. 

Another consideration to balance in creative site design is accessibility. Not everyone interacts with a website the same way. Some users may depend on voice assistance or readability tools to access the information they need to solve a problem and it is up to the team designing and developing the website to ensure that it serves everyone. The data gathered in the research and prototyping phases of a site build go a long way in creating a digital product that is helpful to all. 

Interface Design  

So far, we have discussed the scientific aspects that drive the effectiveness of creative site design. Interface design, on the other hand, is what makes the site aesthetically enjoyable. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder and there is no limit to what creativity can produce, there are a couple of “rules” that guide best practices in designing a site. 

Creativity produces unique functional aspects of the design, such as buttons, menus, and forms. Making these components reusable will not only help orient the user while they’re on the site but streamline development and testing as well. Secondly, the best creative sites relay a message through visuals. The design bolsters the copy and the artistic components demonstrate tone and personality. Art and function are what help make a website beautiful and useful. 

The Impact of Guided Creative Site Design

In itself, creative design makes life on the internet interesting. The guiding components of research, UX, and UI, make life on the internet practical. Creative site design results in a digital product that works hard to help organizations achieve their goals and users fulfill their needs. If you’re looking for a team to help you match the value and voice of your brand with a great online first impression, our enthusiastic team of experts here at Wolfco is here to talk.