Overview: Graphic Arts

Thus there has to be a menu on each page. Since this menu is usually in the same place on each page, either at the top of the page in the header position, or at the left side of the page and must be consistently the same through all your pages, these positions have become the industry standard. Another industry standard is that these areas can contain graphics, which thematically hold your website together. We say thematically, rather than identically, because you can vary the graphics, but to achieve unity in your website you should vary them according to a theme.

You will note that the elle A Designs website demonstrates these standards and also goes out of its way to break the rules as well. We have made almost all of the header our main menu. We have included another menu in an unorthodox position, on the right hand side of our page. Our subsection menu echoes our main header menu with the use of coloured rainbows in each subsection. When you go to the subsection you will note that the header graphic changes to reflect the subsection colors and that graphic illustration changes. Yet the theme is maintained, so you know you are still on the elle A Designs website. We think we are quite clever in breaking the rules so brilliantly. (Just kidding). But really, why not break the rules. It works, looks great, why not? If you know what you are doing, the rules are just standards, not rules.

Our designer, elle A, loves Salvador Dali, the surrealist artist. She approached our web design team with a challenge; to design a website with the concept of drawers, that could be opened and closed, just as Salvador would paint drawers into his paintings. Our design deviated away from surrealist painters, but maintained the concept of drawers containing various layers of clothing and articles so that we came up with layered colours to represent the contents. Our submenu opens and closes like drawers, and without the challenge, we would not have come up with the concept.

Our web team loves a challenge. We would like to hear what inspires you. It could be a photograph of a favorite holiday spot, your favorite scarf, food, fruit, vegetable, painting, CD cover, tea cup or sculpture. You will find many themes reflected throughout our website. Pick one of our themes and we will put a personal spin on it and create a tailor custom made website for you. Our point is, do not be afraid of Graphics. They are necessary to your website so that it will not be bland, boring and white, like a book. Websites are not books. They are informational marketing tools -- e-zines. A picture speaks a thousand words.