How We Work
Comprehensive Web Design Services
We provide a comprehensive set of services that includes everything you need to take your site from conception to launch and beyond. I develop a customized site which has its structure, function and appearance designed to provide the best possible presentation of your business. And I work with you to effectively communicate your marketing message while exploiting the unique advantages that the web offers to businesses today.
What Kind of Website You Can Expect
At the completion of our collaboration you will have an attractive, easy-to-navigate website that is focused on increasing your sales. Your site's visual appearance will be completely custom built to be a unique reflection of your or your company's individual style and personality. Your prospects and customers will enjoy visiting your website because they will find it easy to locate the information they are seeking about your products and services. Every page of your website will be designed to engage your visitors and to persuade them to take the next step in the purchase process.
Our Web Design Philosophy
First and foremost, your website is about marketing your products and services. We keep this principle clearly in mind throughout the design process. We help you to write copy with a strong marketing message that draws your website visitors into your site and encourages them to make contact with you.
Keep it Simple
We're fans of Steve Krug's book Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. Krug argues that website visitors shouldn't have to puzzle over a web site's menus and buttons to figure out where to go or how to find the information they are seeking. Like Krug, we believe that websites should be easy to navigate and web pages should be cleanly laid out in a way that enhances scannability and quick location of the desired information.
We recommend Don't Make Me Think to businesspeople who aren't web designers but who want a better understanding of how to create great websites. It's a thin book and an easy read.
“Form follows function”
Louis Henri Sullivan originated this famous dictum which is a valuable way of thinking about any design process. Sullivan was saying that the way a thing looks or is structured is dictated by its intended function. Within the functional parameters there is still room for variation in appearance or decoration but the form or the visual design aspects must not impinge on the usability of the thing.
In the context of the web, the function is your message, your content. Therefore, unlike many web designers, we begin by working with you to create your content and from there we move on to creating the design. Your content — the information about your products and services — is what brings visitors to your website. Therefore, it's imperative that the content be the central focus of your website development and it's important that it be developed thoughtfully.
Later, Frank Lloyd Wright elucidated Sullivan's thought by saying: "Form follows function — that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union."
Taking Wright's enhanced version of the saying to the web means to us that all of the design aspects of a website should be working together to reinforce your message. The page layout, the images and the typography should all be carefully chosen to emphasize and clarify the message embodied in the text. The appearance, the website structure, the navigation and other interactive elements should all be integrated in order to support and reinforce your marketing message and your company image.
Beautiful Websites
A website can and ideally should be beautiful. The arguments above for simplicity and function are in no way opposed to an elegant and attractive website. Just the opposite, in fact. Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture melds architectural function with a sense of place into beautiful designs. Similarly, by thinking holistically during the website design process, the images and other visual elements for your site can be selected and designed in such a way that they clarify and reinforce what the text is saying.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. A visual style that works for one type of business may be entirely inappropriate for another business. And what is attractive to one audience may leave another audience wondering “What were they thinking?” It's important to design the site to appeal to the intended audience. So, the styles and visual idioms of each audience must be kept in mind when creating the form to support the function.
How Are We Different from Other Web Designers?
Artistic Web Design owner David Salahi is a software engineer with the eye of an artist. His 30 years of software development in the civil engineering and mapping industries gives him the experience needed to build sophisticated websites using whatever technology is appropriate for a given website. And his love of photography and the ability to see like a graphic designer enable him to craft visually attractive websites.
In addition, we listen carefully to make sure that your wishes are embodied in your website. We communicate well both verbally and in writing and make a point of keeping you posted about the progress of your website. We return your calls and emails promptly and I seek your input where needed. We don't limit you to an hour or two of phone support like some web design firms. Our primary interest is your complete satisfaction.
Our excellent written communication skills allow us to help you with your copywriting if you should desire assistance in that area. And we go beyond just editing your text for spelling and grammar. We pay attention to what you're saying and how it is being said. If we can think of a way to improve upon it, we'll suggest it to you.
Finally, we're always looking for things you might not have thought of or things about your business that you might take for granted that could be helpful to your website visitors. When we work together, we endeavor to become like a partner. We work in close collaboration with you to find the very best way of communicating your information to your community.
Learn More About Our "Distinctive Websites That Sell" Package
Please visit our Custom Websites page to learn how my Distinctive Websites That Sell package can provide you with a new or redesigned website that will help to grow your sales.