Headers
STEP 2: MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL
During this step, we’ll see how visual design can
elevate the impact of what we’ve created. Adding
visuals to purposeful design can tether a powerful
connection to the user but go too far and the design
will start to look too artistic. It’ll look nice but it’ll
distract from the point and wind up confusing users
who came to find a solution to their problem.
Let’s make what we already have beautiful. Don’t
add more things, just because. Leave the UI elements
for the time being, as this is something that we
really can’t afford to ‘overdo’.DEPTH
At the moment our design contains all the
ingredients for a successful conversion but they need
to be baked into something edible. This step isn’t just
about visuals but usability too.
First of all, we need the text to be more readable,
so let’s fade the hero image into a black background.
Black because it’s sophisticated, adds depth and is
also neutral, so it doesn’t ‘say’ anything that we
don’t need it to. Purposefully, we chose an awesome-
looking image that already says a fair amount.COLOUR
We need to infuse our brand colours into our design.
If the user leaves, at least they might recognise ourAbove left Don’t create
too many paths and
options. Keep it simple
like this: “Co-working in magical Hogsmeade”.
And perhaps we could add: “Superfast Wi-Fi. Free
Butterbeer. Community.”
Obviously it’s not all that aesthetically pleasing
(yet) but it does hook you in and makes you wonder:
‘Hey, I think I might like this space; it has everything
I need!’ That being said, anybody in their right might
isn’t going to start handing over their money just
yet, so how do we persuade the user to do so? It will
take a combination of patience and an obvious and
clear call-to-action.
DEVISE A CALL-TO-ACTION
The objective (at least for now) is to create desire
and edge the user towards action. There will be
several opportunities to impress later down the
line, so we don’t have to cash in on all of our ideas
(visual or not) right away. Let’s just keep our design
minimal and ensure that we don’t keep adding
visual distractions until we fall in love with how the
design looks.
The Hick-Hyman law states that the more
decisions one has to make, the more time it takes
logarithmically to make one. But in today’s media-
saturated world, users will spontaneously jump ship
when something seems too complicated, regardless
of how inviting the website looks. Keep it simple,
make a clear path.