One of the things I love most about web design is the design of the content. Graphic designers create the look of the website in relation to color, typography and user experience. But not much is said about content design. Matter of fact, when you see companies job description the closest to a content designer is a front end developer. Although I feel a crucial part of the team is someone who specializes in content. Not just the writing of content but the analyzing of the organization of the content. Mostly I feel the graphic designer or the front end developer end up doing this job. But how great it would be if you had someone to anaylize the content before you started designing for it. It is in this regards I write this post. Here are some great tools for content design.
Mind Mapping:
A great way to start a web project is to mind map. Of course this is the electronic age so there are many cool programs to choose from.
Bubbl.us is a free online mind mapping program.
Mind Meister is avaliable for a free demo online. There are apps for IOS and Android. A personal account costs $5.00 a month after your first month free.
Mind Node is a native application you can download from an app store. It is available for your Mac, PC, IOS, IPad and Android. There is a free version and the Pro version for a Mac is 19.95.
Wireframing:
Taking the mind map and arranging it into actual webpages on a wireframe is an excellent next step when designing content. You want a tool that allows you to do this step quick. The benefits with wireframing is that you can start to see the website in its entirety. This allows you to see and be more creative with some of the functionalities you want for the site. It is always at this stage when I have my best ideas. It is also much easier to change your mind about where you want something to go at this point.
Balsamiq
This is a great wireframing tool for getting the job done fast.
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