For my product, I decided it would be best to make a Website to convey my idea. As this is the case I felt it would be useful to research the psychology behind web design so that my web design would be pleasing to my audience.

I found that to make a good website there needs to be an understanding of what is appealing to the audience. There are four major areas which have a big impact on the psychology of web visitors:

Content

• People visit the site to access information and so it is the most important part of the website.
• In today’s society we like to get quick access to what we need. Therefore content needs to be highly organised so that it is easy to find what you are looking for.
• Too many words in one area can be overwhelming and stressful. It also makes it more difficult to find what information people are looking for. This means only the necessary information should be included and it should be split up into sections.

Space

• White space plays a very important role. It acts as a visual resting space for the visitors so that they are not overwhelmed by a busy page.
• Minimalism is a very popular design currently. This includes a lot of white space and no unnecessary clutter. The key is to keep it simple.

Colour

• Colour affect how people feel and so its important to pick the right colour pallet and know what its conveying.
• Neutral colours (such as tint and shades of black and white) should be used as they act as white space. This would then usually be used alongside with main colours. Neutral colours should take up the majority of the page to stop it from looking busy.
• The type of colour can also have an impact:
  • Cool colours (blue, green)- Inviting and relaxed / cold.
  • Warm colours (yellow, red)- Warm and invokes creativity/ can invoke stress and anger.
  • White- Open atmosphere/ dull
  • Grey- Slick and modern/ uninviting
  • Black- Clean cut/ overpowering
• A good way to make the website inviting is by using a combination of warm and cold colours so there is a balance.

Typography

• There are many typefaces which are designed to be used in specific situations. For example, serif fonts are used for a traditional look, whereas sans serif is used for a modern look.
• There are several other factors to conciser such as spacing. if the font is too tight, the website would feel crowded, more spaced out would convey an airy atmosphere, plus it is easier to read.
• Another factor is font size. If too big it would feel like you are shouting the information to the reader, whereas too small would feel like whispering. You need to find the right balance.

 Buffalo

Buffalo is a web design company which successfully follows these rules.  Their website is clean and so therefore inviting, it has clear directions  without the need for lots of information. The colour pallet works well with mostly neutral colours (grey and black) with splashes of colour (blue and orange) which are toned down so they don’t take the full attention of the website. Sans serif is used to tie in with the modern style.