Designing science web sites

From a scientist’s viewpoint a web site is one tool used to conduct research. From an artist’s viewpoint web sites are a form of visual composition. From a developer’s point of view a web site is a type of application. While web sites are a relatively new medium with a particular set of constraints, they do adhere to the same basic design principles that apply to other art forms. These design principles are the basic assumptions that affect the arrangement of elements within a composition. A successful design uses the principles and elements to achieve a visual goal in the composition. A web site designed for scientists has unique properties which are not shared by many other types of web sites. These properties influence the overall visual design of the web sites. Recently at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics at UCLA undertook a re-design of a number of its websites. In the effort, the use of visual design principles combined with the properties of a science web site were put to the test. In all, six different web sites were designed each with a difference science focus. We describe the process used to design the web sites which involve forming teams of designers, scientists and developers. We present example pages from each design and conclude with a discussion of what was learned during the process.