"Form follows function" - that means: no unnecessary decoration, no ornate embellishments. But how does this motto affect web design today? Influenced by the Bauhaus, the guiding principle is an expression of a radical idea of pure functionality. Bauhaus and Deutscher Werkbund set themselves the goal of educating people in "good form". It was all about the simplicity of things: "Less is more" - sometimes less is more. But sometimes less is also boring.
There are certain design guidelines that are generally adhered to. But only those who know the rules can break them. No, they should even break them from time to time. Because if it were just about functionality, the world would become a boring uniformity. Everyone remembers from their school days that one party pooper who obsessively followed all the rules in the hope of gaining respectability. The girls, on the other hand, favoured the one who rebelled against authority and rules. The rule-abiding milk boy lives by the motto "form follows function". He gets through his life, which is characterised by mediocrity, well and without much excitement. But only those who are courageous can land the big coup! This does not mean that every rebel should immediately declare a revolution. Applied to the topic of web design, it means that good web design is always a symbiosis of function and aesthetics, a fusion. Not to say "sex for the eyes". But that doesn't do it justice: good web design appeals to different senses and creates an experience that cannot be achieved with simple minimalism.
In web design, people and their needs take centre stage. Nowadays, people not only consume, but also communicate and interact. Surfing the web, mobile shopping etc. are expressions of give and take. Online retailers earn their money on the web. Users want a unique shopping experience in return. Today, design no longer just means making something beautiful. It's about creating concepts and strategies. It's not just the look that counts, but the experience that is created and the feelings that are associated with it that are remembered. Good web design appeals to the heart and brain.
Orgasm of flavour meets sexy web design: website relaunch for www.viani.de
In order to retain website visitors or customers in the long term, familiar preferences must not be ignored. One usability orgasm after another, but the user doesn't feel at ease? To prevent this, the wheel does not have to be completely reinvented. There are certain conventions such as reading direction, page layout and familiar icons that users are familiar with because they have "grown up" with them. The floppy disc as a symbol for saving, for example, is common and is still used, even though it is long outdated. Rather than being a simple accessory, graphics support or explain the function and follow the aim of the website.
Good web design is not something for a one-night stand that follows fleeting trends at will. But you don't have to be satisfied with conventional flower sex either. There is plenty of room for manoeuvre in between, just waiting to be passionately conquered by web designers and developers. As with an interpersonal relationship, the body or shell (i.e. the functionality of the website) isn't worth much without the soul (concept and aesthetics) to bring it to life.
In online shops, the goods cannot be touched like in bricks-and-mortar retail. With targeted webshop design, this supposed weakness can be turned into a strength. Mobile shopping and responsive design - technical developments and the expectations of the target group pose challenges that need to be overcome. In our checklist, we reveal how successful online shop design can be implemented and what needs to be taken into account.