Visuals - Hamburger! Next Exit!

Effective website design starts with a strong billboard mentality. The average visitor gives a website less than five seconds to keep their attention, and strong visual communication goes a long way in establishing this.

There are two rules of visuals that I like to use. First, it must catch the eye, and then second, it has to communicate the idea of the page very quickly.

A great place to find examples of this kind of visual use is looking at billboards on out-of-town highways.

Billboards in metro areas don't count for this illustration... they're increasingly being designed for people stuck in traffic jams. You need to drive away from the city where the average speed all day long (including rush hour) is above 70 miles per hour and look at the billboards along the side of the road.

Just like websites, these billboards get less than five seconds to get someone's attention - especially at those speeds!

Effective billboards use one large visual which typically covers about a third of the space. The visual is either a picture, a logo or a short word in very large and bold type. The offering is communicated very quickly and the driver knows exactly what's there.

The trick is to grab eyes quickly with strong contrast. It's not the time to be artistic or cute or subtle. In less than five seconds, the person driving toward the billboard will know if they are interested in the service, whether it's a hamburger, gas, hotel or any other service offered along the highway.

If they are interested, then they will look for more information. If not, they drive on.

The first page of a website works in a similar fashion, although the visitor is hopefully not surfing the web while driving!

A website visitor is almost always at least interested in what's on the website, otherwise they wouldn't be there in the first place. So instead of trying to grab attention, the visual is to keep their attention, confirm they are in the right place and set a vibe or convey a feeling.