ExploreWeb2

When I started out in this web world, I started with programming. I did both programming and scripting languages. I didn’t know about the web designing world. But today I design and develop websites using Photoshop CS3, Dreamweaver CS3 and open source CMS like Wordpress, Joomla, CMS Made Simple.Here I would like to share how do I design clean and simple websites coz I believe in the saying that goes “Beauty lies in simplicity”.

I’m not a Photoshop geek either. Before designing any websites, I hunt and collect inspirations and designing objects. I have subscribed for CSSMania’s RSS feed which gives me enough new websites for inspiration. I often visit Kuler and ColourLovers for color inspiration. And for effects, abstracts and objects to put in the design, I simply prefer Photoshop brushes, layer styles and gradients. Using these brushes, layer styles and gradients ain’t that hard.

These are some that I designed using the afore-mentioned three elements of Photoshop within 4 hours and 0.5 hour respectively.

Resource information is already there in the zillions vase of world wide web. But what does make difference is finding the right and effective one. So to make your life easier, here are some resource links from where I download my designing weapons often.

• Web2 Gradients, Layer Styles
• Brushes (Deviant Art, Bittbox and Brusheezy)

Here is a brief process how to design clean and simple web2.0 website in photoshop.

1. Create a blank canvas
2. Make an outline for header and footer using Marquee tool and fill it up with the gradient either using the downloaded web2 gradients or with your own choice of color via swatches
3. Write a name of your website using the Type tool. Use the smashing free fonts. To give it a logo look, apply some web2 layer styles over it
4. Create your navigation menu keeping the consistency of the design
5. Splash up some relevant brushes over your design to give a cool and modern look
6. Decorate your body and sidebar (if you’ve) with Loreum Ipsum texts
7. Give your design some more professional look using free images
8. Your clean and simple website design is ready

Hope this will help some beginner designers to boost up their design skills.

In the next post I’ll give a PSD design file designed using the above simple checklist and a Wordpress theme based on the same design.

So, stay tuned or subscribe to ExploreWeb2 feed not to miss it.