by Jonathan Cohen, FAIA

After the development of a site map, the next step is to design an interface, the so-called “look and feel” of the Web site. Again, take your cues from a careful analysis of the site’s purpose and intended audience. A site designed to catch the eye of a potential client with snappy graphics has a different look and feel than one designed to distribute documents to a project team. The latter will likely be lean on graphic accoutrements that might slow down a site intended for quick information exchange.

The interface is the mechanism through which visitors understand and interact with the site. A good interface gives visitors assurance that they will be able to find the information they need when they need it. The design problem lies in integrating all elements into an easily comprehensible and consistent information space. You want to give visitors a sense of control; they are making the choices about where to go and what to see. You also want clients and business partners to be comfortable there. The interface you design can be a graphical representation of your signature mode of operating. Just as clients become familiar with the names and faces of your firm, they will also know you by the interface you create.

The Web site of this German design firm uses the spatial metaphor of a multilevel building to aid site navigation. (© ViceVersa Neue Medien Kommunikation GmbH)

In interface design, predictability matters as much as clarity. Once your users have learned how to use your system to access a particular kind of information, don’t make them relearn a new way for similar information. For example, if they pull down a menu for this, don’t make them click a button for that. Interface design is more than two-dimensional graphic design. Information space reveals itself to the user just as architectural space unfolds as one walks through a building or landscape. In the same way that visual and spatial cues help to guide people through physical space, good interface design can convey to Web site visitors where they are within the information space of the site. The interface may even have a spatial characteristic; after all, it might be a substitute for the meeting room, the drafting room, or the job-site trailer. Everyone is familiar with how to navigate a book; the conventions of using tables of contents, indexes, page numbers, and the like evolved over a long period of time. But visitors interact with Web sites in ways that are not possible on paper. The Web is too new to have its own widely accepted standards, which is why good site design is so important.

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