The Psychology of Website Design

Why Websites Are the Way They Are
They ain't what they used to be

I’ve been managing creative people for a long time. As it turns out, I’m a better Art Director than I am an artist. But one thing I do very well, is observe. And the thing I like observing the most are design trends. In particular, website design trends.

Needless to say I was thrilled when I was asked to create and present an advanced training session for the WSI Global Convention just a few months back at the Trump Hotel in Doral Florida. This was a convention of Digital Marketing Consultants from around the world, and chance to pass on my thoughts on the direction that web design is headed.

I was even more thrilled (and honored) when they asked if they could take the video of my session and edit it into several digestible chunks of wisdom. The result was a well-edited 6-part series that I’m making available to you.

Once you get past the obligatory introduction of myself (I hate that part), I take a fun look back at what famous websites looked like back in the day. Ever wonder what AOL, Amazon, and Microsoft looked like in the late 90’s? It’s actually mind-boggling when you look at what cutting edge design was back then. Seriously cringe-worthy stuff by today’s standards.

Then I move on to some cutting edge website examples and explain why they look the way they do now. A few of the things I cover in this session are:

• How Mobile devices are dictating the way websites look like on a desktop computer.
• How hand gestures (the type you use on your smartphone) are affecting design trends.
• Why the “Fold” is dead
• Creative navigation ideas
• Why websites have to load faster… and have to be faster to understand.

So if you like the sound of my voice as much as I do, next week I’ll move on to part-2 where I focus on well-designed sites...and interesting navigating concepts.