Are you ready to enter the world of organic web design?
In the beginning of this century, many web designs were focused on a more technological theme. They had their roots anchored in science fiction than the world, and generally had effects on them to that effect. Now this era is being replaced with websites that [...]
Are you ready to enter the world of organic web design?
In the beginning of this century, many web designs were focused on a more technological theme. They had their roots anchored in science fiction than the world, and generally had effects on them to that effect. Now this era is being replaced with websites that have an “organic” feel to them. Or in other words use more earthy materials to promote feelings of nature, and the real world.
For a website to be classed as organic, it must try and recreate a similar image from the real world. It not just materials such as wood, or fabrics such as muslin, but it can be images that recreate the flow of nature.
The idea and the origins are behind this new wave of web design, are not entirely clear, and like many new waves are formed by several concepts. Green issues, farming methods, and interior design trends, all play a significant part in the real world in many arenas, and obviously this is now influencing many web designers. As one yourself, it would be wise to keep up with the trends to stay ahead of the curve.
So this begs the question, what else is there to organic web design. It can’t just be forests, rivers and tables, can it?
Indeed it isn’t. If you look at websites with an organic feel about them, you can see that even the choice of brush stroke is used to simulate a piece of the world, like grains of sand for example. Sometimes, the design may have been influenced by an element from nature, like a river or a mountain. Very often this is applied very subtly, and this is very effective way to bring an earthy feel to a website.
Colors play an important part in the design, and spins a few design concepts on their heads. Earthy colors can often be vibrant, and use to highlight areas of the design, where as brighter colors can be used to give a natural sheen to an image. Also, mixing the colors can give some imaginative effects, such as burnt orange, or purple spliced with grey. As with all web design, it is about the effect you are striving for.
It can also be about taking a modern environment and softening it a little. Making the colors more earthy, or rounding the corners to make curves. There is plenty of splicing of web 2.0 in organic web design. The term organic is a little loose. So something man made that has deteriorated through time and neglect can also fall under the umbrella of organic web design. This brings with it more options and more scope for your creativity.
Blending the imagery is another trick used in organic web design, as organic materials such as wood, fabric and paper, are spliced with steel and plastics. It is the feel of naturalness that is the goal, and the desired overall effect, no matter what materials are used in the construction of the design. This can also include urban scenes too, organic does not necessarily mean forests and rivers.
Like all web design it is easy to over do it. What you want is a balance whereby you only add what you need to, to realize the goal of the web design. Anything extra is a waste, and superfluous. Nature and ecosystems are about balance, and you should try and emulate this balance with your web designs.
As a web designer, it is important for you to keep up with trends and current thinking on web design projects. As organic web design is a concept like web 2.0, it is one you should make get acquainted to, if you have not already.
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