Inspect Element

Web Design & Development Blog

The Principles of Good Web Design Part 1: Layout

September 17th, 2009 — 31 Comments

Good web design doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, there are many aspects of design that come together to achieve this. The first one that we’ll be looking in this 4-part-series is layout.

Layout is an interesting beast. There are no definitive right or wrong ways of approaching it. What you need to do is make sure that the layout works for the site that you are designing.

Layout primarily consists of the following aspects:

Showcase of Great Video Game Related Web Designs

September 14th, 2009 — 6 Comments

Video games and web design share one thing, visual design. A lot of work in both industries is geared towards visual design. Some games keep the artwork consistent between game and website while others communicate the look and feel of their games through their web design. Here is a look at some of the best examples of video game related web designs.

Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead is a zombie survival horror game, although a very action orientated one. The design of their website follows on from first game. An example of great header design. Saying that, the way the header has been built is not exactly great. Open up firebug, Webkit’s web inspector or view the source code to see what I mean.

Nintendo DSi

Nintendo uses a big javascript slider to show off their latest handheld gaming device, the Nintendo DSi.

Sidhe Interactive

Sidhe  is a game development studio. They came to my attention with their PS3 game, Shatter. Very clean and uncluttered design with links to sites for each of their games.

Pop Cap

Pop Cap are probably the king of casual games right now. There is a huge emphasis on fun in their games which is carried over into the design of their website. The header, background and footer are all customised to promote their latest game.

Rock Band

The strong illustration as seen in the menus of the Rock Band game are carried over into the header of the game’s website.

Forza Motorsport

The visuals of Forza Motorsport 3 are very clean and crisp which is reflected in the website.

The Orange Box

The Orange Box contains five different games that could sell for full price individually. Very simple design that is striking at the same time.

Gameloft

Gameloft are one of the biggest mobile game developers in the world. The light colours evoke the kind of find that they try to achieve in their games.

Star Defense

ngmoco uses a picture of an iPhone to display videos of their tower defence game, Star Defense. All of this is displayed on a great looking background image.

Nintendo

Nintendo has laid out their main page in a grid based layout. The combination of this and and strong imagery makes the page easy to scan.

Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog uses a background image of concept art from their soon to be released PS3 game, Uncharted 2. Certainly one I am looking forward to myself as I’m currently thoroughly enjoying the original.

Wrixel

Wrixel is a gaming blog that makes good use of colours to highlight different areas in the navigation. Also, good use of a jQuery slider to highlight their latest articles.

Battle.net

Battle.net uses a visually stunning background image and transparency. It is also an example of how to use buttons to improve usability that I looked at here on Inspect Element last week.

Next Level Games

Simple, clean design for game developers Next Level Games. Good use of proactive words as navigation.

Rolando 2

Rolando 2 is a fun and colourful game just like its website.

Capcom Europe

Capcom Europe’s website does something that I haven’t seen before. If you click customise, you can upload your own image to use as the background of their homepage.

Plus

ngmoco’s social gaming network’s site, Plus, has a great, consistent interface and is another example of how to use buttons to improve usability.

Konami

Konami uses a big image to show of their latest project allowing them to attract attention directly to what they choose.

WoW Insider

World of Warcraft blog, WoW Insider, utilises a big search bar for users to easily find what they want. There is also an area towards the top that displays their latest, top content.

The Beatles Rock Band

I’m not a fan of the Beatles at all but the website for the Rock Band game is quite good looking. As you move the mouse around, the layered header moves with it. A similar effect happens to the stars when you scroll up and down.

Codemasters

Codemasters uses a customised header and background to show off their latest game. In this case it is Colin McRae Dirt 2 which has an innovative in-game 3D menu. See a video of it in action.