I recently had the chance to get my feet wet with responsive web design for one of our clients. Yes, it’s the flavor of the week in terms of design and development trends, but we didn’t choose it just to be trendy. We chose responsive web design as the solution because it was a good fit for our client’s needs. The company was re-branding and selected a target audience of women in their 20’s, a group that is very mobile-oriented. We felt it was critical to create an experience that would serve their mobile preferences, one that will continue to rapidly grow. The budget was developed for just a desktop execution, not a mobile one as well; therefore, a responsive design was the perfect way to parlay our desktop effort into one that was more optimal for the mobile environment.
The responsive design approach brought many challenges, but our team’s expertise quickly grew, and we had some fun with it as well. I’ll share some particular insights, from a design standpoint, that were collected along the way.
Keep It Simple.
As a designer, what I create typically has size parameters around it; therefore, I can tailor the design to fit the situation. But what happens when the situation becomes completely fluid and the size parameters are large and small and everything in between? It forced me to keep the design very simple. The aesthetic could be whatever it had to be, but the construction and layout of elements had to be simple enough to where it could adapt for larger and smaller viewports without being compromised. With the help of my team, we worked through the complexities of needing a chameleon-like interface and, in most cases, the simpler we made it, the better our results.
Be Flexible.
“You must become one with the universe.” I don’t mean to get all cosmic, but I have to say that embodying responsive design’s key quality of flexibility made things easier. Embracing flexibility helped me to deal with the constant battles that arose at every turn. The nature of most designers is to be pixel perfect. In this case, I had to let some of that go as I could not always predict or control every instance of the design. It caused me to have to lean on other team members (writers, information architects, engineers) as we went through trial and error and, a lot of times, huddled around a computer together to figure out solutions to problems on the fly. This required letting go of the control a little bit, which is tough for an exacting designer like me. Ultimately, though, the combination of flexibility and team collaboration made things come together so well in the end.
Collaborate, Collaborate, and Collaborate Some More.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. How about it takes a village to create a responsive design website? I have to say that the one thing that was most critical in creating and launching this site was working very closely with my team members on a daily basis. To be honest, it’s a lot easier when you don’t have to deal with a lot of other opinions. However, in this case, two heads, or in some cases four heads, were better than one. I took a lot of enjoyment in working with the team, as our energy and passion around the project really aligned us from the beginning. But it was our constant interaction throughout the project that really made the difference. As things moved forward each day, we all became more like-minded and, by the end of the project, we were practically telepathic with one another. This is where I felt the “magic” happened. There is no substitute for great collaboration.
Don’t Be Trendy Just to be Trendy.
I’ll finish where I started: responsive web design shouldn’t be the choice just because it’s all the rage. Trends in the digital space come and go like shooting stars in the night, and, it seems, with how fast technology is moving. Therefore, before you embark on this approach, make sure it’s ideally suited to solve the problems at hand. Make sure you aren’t pursuing it just so you can say you did it or to get your design listed on mediaqueri.es.
Now that the site is live, it feels great to have been part of a team that took full advantage of this wonderful new technology and design approach that really fulfilled our client’s needs.
Responsive Web Design: Design Insights
by Perficient Author on January 4th, 2012 | ~ minute read
