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C.R.A.P. Website Design principles, are they really so crap?

Posted on 5th Jan, 2010. Posted in: Optimisation

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If someone is telling you that your design is crap, they’re actually giving you a positive reinforcement! What that actually means? C.R.A.P. stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity. Good web design practice is to consider and rate your design in terms of ´crap´ before we do any coding and things get more complicated to apply any additional major changes.

C.R.A.P. Website Design principles explained

Contrast

Elements that aren’t the same should be very different so they stand out, making them ´a little bit different´ confuses the visitors into seeing a relation that doesn´t exist. Strong contrast between page elements allows the user´s eye to flow from one to another down the page instead of creating a sea of similarity that’s boring and not communicative.

Repetition

Repeat styles down the page for a cohesive feel – do style related elements the same way in different areas, continue that trend for consistency.

Alignment

Everything on the page needs to be visually connected to something else, nothing should be out of place or distinct from all other design elements.

Proximity

Proximity creates related meaning: elements that are related should be grouped together, whereas separate design elements should have enough space in between to communicate they are different.

Conclusion

The C.R.A.P. principles (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity) are good ways to double-check your design work. When I think about my design I consider it as a crap and that reminds me about those principles. To find out more about C.R.A.P. design principles, check out the book called The Non–Designer´s Design Book by Robin Williams.

That´s it! I hope you like it.

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