Copyright 2006 SubtleWebDesign.com www.subtlewebdesign.com

TIME - SPACE - FORM, these are the cornerstones of  my web design philosophy. Each of these elements plays a

significant role in determining what your page will look like and how it will function. The following text outlines my

personal design process and the synthesis of these three essential concepts.



TIME

The first aspect of time relating to webpage design is responsiveness. This is the time it takes for a specific page to

load.  Unnecessarily complicated designs may look impressive, but only if the user waits around for it to show up.


If the requested page from your website takes too long to appear on the screen, your visitor may decide to go else-

where. And when visitors go elsewhere, you lose more than a visitor, you lose money!


A second aspect is the time it takes for visitors to navigate your site and to find what they are looking for.  People

value their time and appreciate those who help them make the most of it. It is therefore imperative for your website

design to be as natural and intuitive as possible. This means a navigation system that is easy for anyone to use, not

just people that spend their entire life on the computer. Ideally an 85-year-old grand-mother should be able to point

and click her way to exactly what she wants.


A third time element is the historical one. All images and forms have a potential correlation to real time. If your site is

selling the latest electronic gadgets, you want a very modern look. If you are in the medical field, you want a bit of

tradition and technology added in. If you are the Hungarian Historical Society, you want to remind people of the past.



SPACE

Space is the source of all visual phenomena. All web pages begin as empty space - space that is just waiting to be filled

with ideas, thoughts and concepts that eventually become real form.  Ideally, the content that fills this space will marry

the aspects of form described below with the space that remains to create a sense of intention. This relationship between

form and space must represent the meaning and feeling you wish to create with your site.



This relationship needs to be:

• visually attractive
• cleanly presented
• meaningful
• easy to navigate    

And there are actually two spaces that concern us - the inner space (the essential nature of you or your business) and the

external space (your site and the space that your site inhabits - the world wide web). What happens within - also happens

externally. The trick is to be able to present / project the inner space of you onto the external space of your website and

the internet. And this is what I do.



Through dialogue with you, we find the best way to project your inner space into the external space of the internet. The end

result is a website that presents you or your business to any visitors or clients in the way that serves both of you in the best

possible way.



FORM

The form of a website is comprised of what is visually perceived on the computer screen. All images and words are forms -

forms contained within the space of your web page. These forms project your distinct personality or vision into the minds of

the visitors to your site.  


How the visual form projects depends upon:

• color
• texture
• spatial relation
• rhythm
• flow
• function

Assembled and presented properly these 'particles of form' create an inviting, alluring and successful website. 


The form of a website is also determined by what is unseen by almost everyone but the web designer. Behind the images,

the html code, java script, flash, etc. determine the eventual functionality and usability of the website.