Design Thinking Web Designer

What does design thinking mean?

My free web design guide for businesses begins with 'Design Thinking' - Design thinking means using experience and innovation to your advantage. Instead of making dangerous wagers based on intuition, you make choices that grow your business with what future customers will want or need in mind.

Why Design Thinking is Critical

Design Thinking is a constant process that seeks to understand your customer. Businesses that think this way will always rethink what is expected of a certain target market, look beyond stereotypes, and lead with innovation and creative ideas. In Web Design, Design Thinking encompasses passion for creativity and an interest in learning more about our customers, the users who use our products or services. We use it in web design to get a better understanding of common problems, and it helps in finding diverse ways in which we can approach them, or help us find better solutions.

So how can you use Design Thinking? Experimentation! The idea is to think like a designer to address what humans want, with what you achieve technologically while keeping it commercially possible. Some major brands like Ottawa's own Shopify E-commerce platform have adopted Design Thinking.

The 4 Phases of Design Thinking

Research and Inspiration

I start by process-mapping each and everyone step of the user experience, from first contact to project completion and do some research on what others are doing.

Creative Ideas

I look beyond mediocre solutions to get to the real ideas. No ideas are bad ideas at this stage. This is where every possible idea is collected unfiltered.

Action Phase

I go through all the ideas and implement those that are possible. This is where I turn mediocre ideas into fantastic ones!

Create a Relatable Story

I use my new-found knowledge to help you forge a partnership with your customers. Your business becomes more human by sharing its story.

Telling a Story Through Design

The Power of Storytelling

Why did I tell you this? Telling a humanistic story is the ultimate goal of Design Thinking and therefore Web Design. Stories are important because they help our customers visualize what it is that they can do with our products or services.

Elements of Web Design

The core, basic purpose of Web Design is to present a company, product, or idea in the form of a website, meaning it's the production process from the original idea to the final launch. Web Design is broader than that, however. It's even broader than Graphic Design because it encompasses all of it, including layout and typography, hence all those elements are used to tell a story that can connect with your users and make your brand more human. Using Design Thinking and the basic blocks of Web Design, we can create magic!

Layout

This is the way the information is presented. The purpose of the layout is to present information that is balanced and consistent.

Colours

Colour can influence many things in Design. Understanding the psychology of colour can be a very powerful tool that can be used to sway your target market.

Imagery

Powerful images are the cornerstone of your presentation, the driving force behind your storytelling efforts. A strong, emotional image in your main hero banner can set the tone for how your users perceive your brand.

Typography

Typography is a big part of storytelling. Using web fonts from sources like Google Fonts, a designer can compliment the images, branding and layout by placing font elements strategically.

Content

Your content is what connects with your audience. It needs to be organized in a way that can be scanned and understood easily. It's the final piece of the puzzle.

Creating The User Interface

Giving Your Website Personality

Of course, any design project should be based on a strategy. One of the key aspects of a successful website is research and preparation. The information architecture, or sitemap, is a crucial part of visualizing and understanding your end-goal. With that in mind, I proceed to the user interface.

Leverage your branding

I use the branding you have to get a feel for your design. It doesn't need to match exactly but it should always be connected since that's how users have come to understand your business.

Know your competition

I always scan your competition to see who is doing what well, and how we can make it better. Understanding your competitor is key to getting a good overview of your sector.

Use intuitive layouts

I am a strong believer in custom, unique websites, but that doesn't mean they should be complicated or hard to understand.

Ease of navigation

The user should be able to navigate to and from anywhere as they please, without any complications.

Conversion optimization

Finally, what is the purpose of Web Design if not to convert users into customers. I use strategically placed call-to-actions using all the best tricks in the business.

Choosing the Right Platform

WordPress and Shopify

Choosing the right platform can often be a topic of internal disagreements, but what is really important is to remember what's best for your users. I most often choose WordPress for corporate websites, and Shopify for e-commerce.

Why I Use WordPress For Corporate Sites

Not only is WordPress the most popular CMS on the web, it's also the easiest to learn, the best to manage, and it's got all the right tools for SEO, blogging, or selling. WordPress powers 75 million websites, that's roughly 20% of the entirety of the world wide web. That number is not all that surprising, considering marketers will often discuss WordPress more than any other Content Management System. In the fourteen years WordPress has been around, it has completely taken over the internet. Learn more.

Why You'll Love Shopify For e-commerce Websites

Ottawa's own Shopify is so easy-to-use that you can focus on web design rather than going through the hassle of the initial setup of other CMS's. It's a self-hosted platform as well, which means you don't have to worry about finding a hosting provider and getting your domain connected to it – Shopify handles all that for you automatically. Shopify also has tons of free and paid premium themes that are beautifully designed to make a powerful first impression. From apps, to designs, there are endless possibilities. It's also great for SEO. It makes it easy to integrate meta titles and descriptions for every product, and collections as well. But that's not all! Shopify is also known for it's amazing security and speed optimization, which is a big digital marketing help! Learn more.

Contact Me

I Make Amazing Websites

That's the bottom line. I make great websites that stand out from your competitors. If you want the best possible quality web design in Ottawa, contact me to start today!

Free Web Design Guide