Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates, Fourth Edition

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Chapter 5 ■ Gathering Requirements and Creating a Comp
There are several advantages to creating a comp with Photoshop:
1. A design can be created more quickly than when built as an actual Web
page using XHTML, graphics, and CSS.
2. Changes can be made quickly to a design during the comp process or in the
future, once the site is live and the client requests a change.
3. Because Photoshop uses layers, the design is extremely flexible. If a designer
needs to replace one image that is on its own layer, only that layer needs to
be changed.
4. The slicing technology included with Photoshop allows for the designer to
add slices (boxes) on the file and then create and save many individual
images from the one file. For example, if an older version of a logo is used in
the comp while a newer one is being created, the designer can switch the
logo eventually, save the new slice that creates the newer image, and then
just upload that one particular file to the server.
Because the look, feel, and styles included in the comp will be cascaded down
throughout the entire site, it is important to make sure the feeling and appearance
they project is correct. This is why the designer, depending on the client’s budget,
should provide at least three different comps. It not only gives the client a choice of
designs, but it also gives her the ability to mix and match certain pieces of the
various designs. The client, for example, might say, “I like the black-and-white
treatment you did to the photos in the first design. Can you add those to the third
design?” Much of the designing of a comp is left to the creativity of the designer.
Note
The way in which a designer delivers comps can vary. Sometimes, a lot of them will be delivered at
once, or each one could be delivered after feedback is provided on the previous one. Many times,
the latter works better because the designer can incorporate the latest edits more efficiently and
effectively, along with earlier ones that remain pertinent.
Creating a Source Directory
There are many types of files (Web files, images, and source files) that go into
creating a mortised site. If all files were saved together in one directory, individual
files would be difficult to find, which is why a designer should use a
consistent filing and naming system.
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