After you have laid out your site and decided how the information is structured, where the navigation will go, and generally the layout of content on the page (all under the User Interface), it’s now time to paint the website’s canvas with the graphic design. But what makes great graphic design? Eyecatching? Minimalist? Impactful? Pastels? Unobtrusive?

The User Interface, or UI, is the communication between the computer and a human being, or in the case of the web the mechanism of communication between the website and the visitor. A “good” user interface can mean that the design fulfills a visitor’s expectations. A “bad” user interface only gives you few clues about where you are or what you’re supposed to do, leaving you with the sensation that you’re drowning and don’t know which way is up!