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Changing the World w/Online Design

Good design is a crucial element in any online communication - it makes a difference to our experience even when we aren't consciously aware of it. In design that consciously focuses on beauty, that difference can be significant.

Paying attention to beauty in your design doesn't just mean crafting a pleasing surface - though Goddess knows a pleasing surface can be delightful. Beauty that reflects a deeper multi-dimensional integrity can help 'humanize' technology; its presence creates a welcoming environment where people want to stay and play.

Designing with beauty in mind means paying attention to the details, all the way through the process. Even things that seem 'invisible' like clean code, or keeping in right relationship with your readers, clients and vendors inevitably ripples through to what can be seen. Offering a clear navigation structure relaxes the mind; leaving plenty of white space gives spaciousness and focuses attention on what is important. All of it matters.

Beauty itself is full of life and promise - it reflects an implicate wholeness, speaks to our senses and connects us with nature. If we keep beauty at the center of our lives and work, we can't go wrong.

Whether you design online spaces for a living like I do, need a web presence that reflects your professional needs and personal sensibility, have a community you want to support and nurture, or just want a cool profile page on FaceBook, this Squidoo lens has some ideas and resources to inform & inspire you in bringing more beauty to your online communications.

Join the Beauty Revolution today! Do your part to Beautify the World Wide Web!

(Thanks to Nancy White for this glorious photo)

Amy Lenzo's Blog on Beauty

Images

Adding images to your page can work miracles...

An image breaks up blocks of text, adds color and interest, illustrates your points, and introduces another language to reinforce your core messages.

Visual content is often even more effective at conveying the essence of your meaning than words are. Together, they make a powerful combination.

Expand your concept of what an image is. Not just photographs and illustrations - even list bullets and line separators can be beautiful. Use graphs and cartoons if they are appropriate. Try blocks of color, or background images. Beautiful or enlarged font types can as images; so can highlighted text.

Use your Imag(e)ination.

...oo0oo...

Beauty All Around Us

Photography & Everyday Beauty

If you look for it, you can see beauty everywhere.

Machines of Loving Grace

Brautigan, 1967

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
(right now, please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
(it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

~ Richard Brautigan 1967

The Art of Words

Pay Attention to Your Language

Keep your primary keywords in mind and use them artfully and often. Turn on your SpellChecker and check your copy before you publish. Be personal, specific and cultivate your own style. Avoid jargon unless it is vital to your meaning; remember who your audience is. Vary your adjectives and listen to the beat of your words. Read them out loud and change anything that makes you stumble. Keep it short. Respect your sources and link, link, link.

There are plenty more guidelines to help you write copy for the Internet (including some I've written - see the resource links, below), but to me this subject really gets interesting when you consciously use language to reinforce your values and reflect the integrity of what you want to say.

If you want to promote peace, for example, lay down the violent metaphors. To reinforce a connection with the natural world plant words that evoke the senses and sing the beauty of nature; avoid mechanistic terms and abstractions.

When you want to promote interaction ask questions and leave space for reflection; cultivate listening. When your desire is to develop connection and trust always assume the best and consciously soften any aggression that sneaks into your speech. Listen more than you write. Love the ones you're with.

Own your words. They're yours, right there in print. Make sure they reflect what you mean to say. Words have power and they can have grace; let the ones you use carry both.

Beauty & Technology

Changing the World w/Online Design

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Beauty Dialogues

Amy Lenzo's Blog on Beauty

Images

Adding images to your page can work miracles...

Beauty All Around Us

Photography & Everyday Beauty

Machines of Loving Grace

Brautigan, 1967

The Art of Words

Pay Attention to Your Language

Online Design & Communications Resource List

Here are some resources for great blogging & design

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