Art Direction

In the process of coming up with a visual layout for a website project I'm currently developing which hopefully I should be blogging about soon, the importance of art direction as part of the design process became re-emphasized. I was having trouble coming up with a satisfying design concept so I started just adding and removing things without much thought. I was frustrated and eventually realized that that just was not going to do. The concept of design with a purpose was one of the first things I learned as a designer.

As far as Art Direction goes, it is a term without a specific definition. The words below help to explain what it is from this excerpt from our good friends at A list apart

What is art direction? That’s a hard question to answer. In the movies, art directors are usually responsible for creating the “look and feel” of the film. In advertising and print work, art directors (often teamed up with a copywriter) come up with “concepts,” the creative ideas which communicate with us on a gut level through such devices as theme, metaphor, and symbolism.

One of the first things a designer learns is this - "Good design informs". As I browse the web more and more these days, I get blown away by impressive designs constantly that inspire me to be better at what I do and give me ideas for my own work. Very often though, it is very easy to get caught up in just publishing a website based on a little bit here and a little bit there that you forget to think about what you are doing. Why is that icon there or why did you choose that color? What is the audience supposed to get from the design of the website? How does the design help the overall purpoose of the project?

For now, as I sit back and think for a little bit, part of my design process will involve asking myself - yes, it looks pretty, but why do like the design for a certain website that I want to borrow a concept from? How do I feel when I look at it and how did the designer accomplish that?
A little thought on those questions go a long way to help me build the concept for my designs and ultimately come up with something that isn't just visually appealling, but is aesthetically satisfying.

In terms of visuals, the CSS Reboot has some goodies.