Understanding Saturation In Web Design

When it comes to understanding the complex nature of the web designs that are created today, it is important to first look at the variables that have caused this nature to come about – saturation and sensitisation. The term ‘saturation’ refers to the increasing use of tools, techniques and design implementations across the internet, whilst the term ‘sensitisation’ refers to how users are affected by exposure to these things. This article aims to take a deeper look into saturation in our websites, and will decide whether this is a good or a bad development.

The Good

Many within the web design industry will justify their use of saturated elements in their work, saying that it actually affords a number of benefits to both designers and users alike. Some of their reasons include:

• Recognition: Users will be able to recognise some of the elements through their use in other websites, and will know exactly what to do with them straightaway. This can actually make users feel more comfortable with the site and more likely to continue their exploration.
• Education:By using saturated conventions in your work, you will help to reduce the learning curve for a new web design. Take the drop down menu for example – these are now so ingrained in our web browsing experiences that we automatically look for them.
• Stability:As the saturated elements have been used again and again, one would think that they have gone through rigorous testing and analysis sequences over time, resulting in a better and improved element. This stability is reassuring for users.

The Bad

Likewise, there are many within the web design industry who believe that saturated elements should be avoided at all costs, as they lack the creativity that websites should be known for. Some of their reasons include:

• Abuse: Some designers are known to abuse saturation to the point where users begin to expect websites to act in a certain way, and become disenchanted when some of the features don’t act as expected. This has led to a decrease in the number of innovative solutions being explored.
• Audience:The use of saturated features means that the needs of the target audience are being catered to less and less, as the web design hasn’t been created with their requirements at the epicentre. Custom sites may have a generic layout, but it does what the audience wants.
• Influence:When viewing a website becomes a routine experience, many users are known to miss new and vital components that could mean the difference between a good and a bad browsing experience. This is known as ‘zombie browsing’.

Whilst there are many valid arguments for and against the use of saturated elements in today’s web designs, there has to be some sort of solution. In many ways, the best approach to take falls somewhere in the middle of the two arguments – whilst there is some validity to using saturation for recognition, education and stability purposes, it is important that designers do not abuse the elements, otherwise they will be alienating their audiences.