HTML, CSS, Layout, Navigation, and Accessibility Help Adapt Graphic Design Principles to the Web

A graphic designer's work is not limited to print. Visual communications also extend to the Web, where images, typography, colours, and layout need to work within pages designed for on-screen viewing.

Designing for the Web, however, also means understanding some of the characteristics that make this medium different. Pages need to be structured, navigation needs to help users move through content, and graphic elements need to be adapted to a digital environment.

This is why CDI College's Graphic Design – NTA.1U program includes two 60-hour courses dedicated to Web design. Students explore HTML, CSS, layout, navigation, images, accessibility, interactivity, multimedia, and website publishing.

What Is the Difference Between Graphic Design and Web Design?

Graphic design applies visual communication principles across a variety of media. Web design brings many of these same principles into an environment with its own characteristics.

On the Web, a composition is not simply something to look at. It also needs to work within a page structure and navigation system.

The Web Design course explores page creation, layout, links, images, and navigation, while introducing the technologies that bring these elements together.

Why Learn HTML and CSS in Graphic Design?

HTML and CSS play different roles in creating a Web page. HTML is used to structure its content, while CSS controls its visual presentation.

The program introduces these technologies in the context of Web design. Students work with page structure, CSS properties, layout, and various elements involved in building a website.

Understanding these principles provides insight into how a visual design becomes a working Web page rather than focusing solely on how it looks.

👉 Learn more: Layout in Graphic Design: How Do You Organize Information Effectively?

Why Is Navigation Part of Design?

A website generally contains multiple pages or pieces of content that users can navigate between.

Navigation, therefore, becomes part of the design itself. The curriculum covers creating links and navigation systems, as well as organizing multi-page websites.

This is one of the ways the Web differs from a static graphic design project: designers need to consider not only what users see, but also how they access different content.

How Are Images Adapted for the Web?

Images intended for the Web need to be prepared for the environment in which they will be used.

The program makes this connection in several areas. Image editing courses distinguish images by their intended medium, while Web design courses explore how images are integrated and used on Web pages.

Web design, therefore, provides an opportunity to apply skills developed elsewhere in the program, including image editing, colour, typography, and layout, within a digital environment.

👉 Learn more: Photo Retouching and Image Editing: What Techniques Are Used in Graphic Design?

Why Is Web Accessibility Important?

A Web page is more than a visual composition. It is designed to be accessed and used by different people.

The curriculum includes accessibility as one of the concepts covered in Web design. This encourages students to consider how a website's content and structure can affect the way it is used.

It also highlights how Web design decisions need to account for the different ways users access information online.

Can Web Design Be Interactive?

Yes. The second Web design course goes beyond introductory concepts to explore areas such as interactivity and multimedia.

These skills connect with the program's multimedia concepts courses, where students explore animation, sound, video, and various forms of interactive content.

The Web, therefore, becomes an environment where several skills developed throughout the program can come together within a single project.

👉 Learn more: Animation and Multimedia: How Does Graphic Design Come to Life?

Is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Also Covered?

The curriculum goes beyond creating and publishing a website. The advanced course also introduces optimization concepts, addressing another aspect specific to the Web: a website is designed to be published and accessed online, where its structure and content exist in a different environment than those of a printed document.

This provides an introduction to the different Web concepts covered in the program rather than specialized training in search engine optimization.

Graphic Design Skills Adapted to Different Media

The Graphic Design – NTA.1U program covers both print production and digital, Web, and multimedia projects.

The two Web design courses provide an opportunity to apply visual communication principles in an environment where structure, navigation, accessibility, and interactivity also come into play.

This combination illustrates the breadth of graphic design: visual principles remain important, but the way they are applied changes depending on the medium for which a project is created.

FAQ

1. What is the difference between graphic design and Web design?
Graphic design encompasses various forms of visual communication. In contrast, Web design focuses on creating for the Web and must consider factors such as page structure, navigation, and the use of content on screen.

2. Do students learn HTML and CSS in the Graphic Design – NTA.1U program?
Yes. The Web design courses cover HTML and CSS among the technologies used to create, structure, and present Web pages.

3. What other Web concepts are covered in the program?
The curriculum covers layout, navigation, images, accessibility, interactivity, multimedia, website publishing, and introductory concepts in search engine optimization.

Explore Further

👉 Graphic Design: Understanding the Field and Career Opportunities

👉 Colour in Graphic Design: Understanding the Essential Principles for Better Communication

👉 Graphic Design at the Heart of Business Communications

👉 Learn More About CDI College's Graphic Design – NTA.1U Program