Digital design encompasses information architecture, ux design and branding as well as creative, design flair
Designing for digital applications requires many more processes than designing for print. Digital artwork is artwork that appears on devices with screens, so the design has to be flexible enough to work across a range of screen sizes and resolutions. If there are multiple pages than we have to give thought to how the content is structured, plus we have to give thought to how the user will interact with the design. This is something we have a great deal of experience in at North Devon Design. Digital design covers such things as:
- Websites
- Mobile apps
- Smart TV
- PoS
- Digital menus
- Digital advertising
- Presentations
- Multimedia
Information architecture
This is a term used to describe how information and content is structured. Most people are familiar with the concept of menus to access information, whether it is a website, app or tv remote control. While accessing this content may seem logical and easy, a lot of thought, planning and testing will have gone on behind the scenes to make sure the information is structured in a logical and accessible way that is easy to use. Once this stage is complete, the next stage is the UX design.
User Expereince (UX Design)
The user experience, more commonly know as UX design is the process of designing wire-frame drawings to ascertain the placement of navigational aids and to design the users journey from the home page or main menu through to the the content or information they are trying to find. On the journey, the user may be met by choices that appear in pop-up modal boxes which will determine what happens next in the process.
The initial stages may be sketched out on paper during a meeting, later to be redrawn digitally using software. Drawings can then be turned into working wire-frame concepts with working links in order to test the process. Once this process is complete, the next stage is to hand the concepts to a Graphic Designer.
Graphic Design
The job of the Graphic Designer is to apply branding and creative flair to the wire-frames to give them an aesthetically pleasing look. Careful thought is given to navigational elements such as buttons to ensure the user knows it is a button and needs to be pressed. On a website, the designer may work closely with the marketing department to ensure that specific features or promotions are highlighted and to encourage the visitor to follow a specific route or take a specific action.
The Graphic Designer will create a set of mock-up designs for approval and once designed will then create pixel-perfect Photoshop files which can be handed to the development team for building.
Development
The development team’s job is to build the digital application, making use of different technologies for different applications. The development team will structure and build the application based on the Graphic Designer’s Photoshop files, working closely with the designer to ensure their visuals are interpreted correctly.
What we can offer you
At North Devon Design we have all of these skills in house and all with years of experience and plenty of past project knowledge to call upon. Not only can we manage your digital design project, but we can ensure brand continuity throughout. If you require any form of digital design, please contact us to discuss the project and we can advise on costs and practicalities.