justgowithit - 2:32 pm on Jul 3, 2007 (gmt 0)

I think part of the problem here is the interpretation of what "design" means.

From a small thread like this it's interesting to see just how much the interpretation of design does vary. I guess I have a bit of an underdeveloped (or overdeveloped depending on how you look at it) sense of what design is.

I do all of my own work from the bottom up and my self-admitted weak-spot is what I consider to be "design". Being that as it is - I usually work on design last.

To me a site's design is its visual appeal and even more so the feelings that it arouses. You know that feeling you get in the very first second when you see a site for the first time? To me the site's design is the catalyst for that feeling. You haven't yet experienced the site's navigational structure or even its content, but you've already got a feeling about the site as a whole because of its design.

I look at my projects in multiple areas of infrastructure, content, navigation, design, and sometime even break marketing out into its own category. If I tried to look at all of those things as one entity my head would explode.

My two-cents:

infrastructure supports the site or the application and facilitates the purpose of the site. Infrastructure is what I consider to be the most vital feature of a site. Infrastructure would include things like a shopping cart/checkout system, a search utility, CMS, live help, etc., etc.

Content lays on top of the infrastructure and is vital to convey the message of the site or application but not necessarily deliver it…. err…. if you get my drift. Content is delivered by infrastructure in the most efficient and user friendly way.

Navigation lays on top of or is integrated with infrastructure but is dictated by a site or application's content.

Design is an aesthetic representation of a site or applications message that is dictated by its content. Design is an artistic rendering (probably why I struggle with it) of a site's ultimate goal. Design is supposed to give you "that feeling" when you look at a site. That feeling may be "I feel comfortable buying" or "I believe this is a credible source".