Science provides the tools needed to create the website, but the artistry of the designer brings it to life through the clever, interactive paths they create through their navigation. These paths, as Matthew Marco explained in a guest lecture at ASU, are important because they provide logical order and access to the information in the website, help users locate themselves on the page, and highlight the overall sense of relevance of each bit of information in a coherent order (January 25, 2016). Additionally, the customization of the website complements the efforts the navigation paths make to engage the audience in the most complete way possible. Website designers must find the perfect balance between text and images (and the placement of such items on a page) in order to get the user's’ attention for more than a few seconds (Dadisman C., personal communication, January 27, 2016).
These two elements of website design often go unnoticed since they act mostly as facilitating tools to deliver the information contained in the website. Yet, they are vital to their existence, much like other manifestations of artistic processes are vital to unexpected aspects of our lives.
For this reason, it is important to advocate for the numerous forms in which art manifests in our everyday life, instead of brushing them aside as a mere pastime. Let’s celebrate the accomplishments of art and the endless sea of possibilities that its integration with other practices unfolds before us--showing us that the things that we don’t seem to notice are more important than we think.
Take this, or any, website for example. Their main goal is to communicate specific information to a wide audience. This, however, can only be achieved if the website creators can get the viewers’ attention in the first place. This is where the mash-up of efficient and visually-attractive navigation becomes extremely relevant to the site’s performance.
We rely on artistic expressions for more things that we tend to realize. The clothes you are wearing right now? Product of one of the applications of artistic design. The packaging in most of the products you buy at the store? Ditto. The car you drive to work? The textbook you need for class? Yes, those too (though the latter might not be the most exciting one). What about the website you are looking at right now? Definitely. Most of the things we come across in our daily lives include some kind of artistic process behind their creation to make it identifiable, aesthetically pleasing, and meaningful to the people that use them.
Art, like science, sports, and religion, along with many other everyday practices fulfill specific needs in our life and society. Therefore, they are all important-- they just become more relevant in some instances than others.
The thing is, though, that neglecting the importance of artful practice because it doesn’t resemble scientific research is like saying ice-cream isn’t delicious because it doesn’t help you get your homework done faster. Weird, right?
One of the greatest frustrations of an artist/art enthusiast is to be underestimated because our work just “looks nice.” Most people think of art or craftiness as a good Sunday-afternoon hobby and not a serious profession or an important part of our society--not as important as science, anyway.