Design Trends
By Jessica A. Marati

Most Guam businesses are aware that creating an effective online presence is one of their most vital marketing tools. But with rapid technological advances and a bloated Internet sphere, it’s no longer enough to just slap a simple home page on the Web. Clients are demanding more, and local Web design agencies are responding with a new level of sophistication in their approaches to incorporating technological developments and design trends into their work.

The local Web design scene “has boomed over the last two to three years,” says Kristine R. Lujan, director of agency services at Glimpses Advertising. “We have gone from simple HTML to full Flash sites and now into more interactive, networking Web sites.”

Prior to this boom, not many people developed anything from the ground up, says Jason Salas, local technology expert and KUAM interactive media director. “Most of the Web-design crowd was made of converted graphics designers that were only as skilled at Web functionality as the capabilities of their copies of DreamWeaver would allow them to be,” he says. Most clients hadn’t yet developed sound strategies for being online, and so the resultant work was “derivative and limited.”

Over the years, local Web designers have become more skilled at utilizing the full power of the Internet in their work. Now, many agencies have specialized their teams, bringing together different people to focus on various elements of the Web site creation process, says Salas. A single agency will generally have a front-end designer to focus on graphics and layout, a programmer to develop features and components, a content specialist for handling content and search engine optimization and sometimes a Flash expert to design rich user interfaces.

However, the struggle for local Web designers continues to be blending form with function. “The complexities inherent in creating experiences that are aesthetically pleasing, while serving some goal or delivering some specific type of functionality, continue to get harder,” Salas says.

A number of new trends in Web design and functionality may ease this difficulty for local Web designers.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 encompasses a number of recent developments in the Internet world, like rich, user-friendly interfaces and a focus on user-generated content. Media consultant Tim O’Reilly, who coined the term in 2004, describes it as a “business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.”

Sites that typify the Web 2.0 movement include YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Blogger. PeopleFromGuam.com, a now-defunct social networking site for Guamanians, was one of the first local sites to embrace the concept. Now, sites like GuamGathering.com and 67One.com are picking up where PeopleFromGuam.com left off, incorporating social networking with blog networks, classified sections, videos, chat and other interactive functions.

Flash Animation

Adobe Flash, a multimedia software suite developed by Macromedia and distributed by Adobe Systems, is a Web developer’s new best friend. Flash technology allows designers to create complex graphics, rich animation and interactive interfaces using the ActionScript language, which can then be viewed in most Web browsers and on many mobile and electronic devices.

Content Management Systems

A Web Content Management System is an application used to create and edit HTML content on Web sites, giving people without any previous knowledge of Web languages the ability to quickly and easily update Web content. First, a developer sets up a core design and framework for a site using a Web CMS like Oracle or Roxen. Then, authors can edit the content of the site by inputting new data into user-friendly forms. “Content management systems give clients the freedom they need to update their own Websites, on their own terms, without extra costs,” says Lujan, who has seen a rise in client demand for Web CMSs on Guam.

Technology-On-The-Go

Guam’s wireless service providers are finally catching up with their stateside partners, providing faster connections and increased mobile capabilities at lower rates. As a result, many businesses are starting to expand their online presences into other spheres, notably the mobile market. KUAM.com was among the first local Web sites to offer mobile components, offering services like free SMS news alerts and streaming video newscasts.

Salas says this new technology will change the way wireless consumers go online. “We’ll use apps that aren’t bound to one platform per se, but which spread out over several devices and are easily available as text, imagery, audio and video,” Salas says. “Most services are going to have Web roots, but will also have counterpart desktop, texting and mobile equivalents, and even some non-traditional devices like televisions and specific Internet-aware appliances, that make using them very convenient.”

Indeed, as technological developments continue to change the way consumers view the Internet, so will approaches to local Web design.

“The number of ways to move and express data is always rapidly expanding, and new gadgets come out all the time that require access to that information,” says Salas. “The Web professional who figures out how to apply these technologies locally is going to deliver some very innovative experiences.”

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