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How to Survive High-Definition Web Design

When we think of high definition we still tend to think of HD television screens. These days however, all types of screens on televisions, laptops, mobile devices, and tablets are high definition. According to Todd Johnson, managing director for Avatar New York, “There’s still some time left before high definition becomes universal, but the world is certainly moving in that direction fast. It’s just a matter of time before high definition becomes less of a luxury and more of an expectation”.

While users simply have to go out and buy an HD device to appreciate it, web designers have to do a lot more work to adjust their designs to high definition screens. Here are a few techniques to adapt your design process for a future in HD.

Scale Vector Graphics(SVG’s)

Most web designs have been using raster (or bitmap) graphics, which are comprised mainly of JPGs, PNGs, and GIFs. These types of images feature a pixel-to-pixel translation, which mean one bitmap pixel is read as one device pixel. On high definition devices, one bitmap pixel is read by four device pixels. This can make standard definition images seem blurry. There are a few ways to correct this problem and one of them is scale vector graphics. SVGs use connected points and lines instead of pixels to create images. This means that the file accounts for differences in pixel resolution. In other words, SVGs can tell the difference between screen types and make the necessary adjustments, while raster graphics are always the same.

HTML, CSS, or Javascript Rendering

The major problem with converting your web design to high definition is the quality of your images. Traditionally, images are rendered in the browser, however if you render your images in HTML, CSS, or Javascript, you will be able to gain more control over how they are viewed. Set the image’s size to be about half of what it actually is. Doing this will display the image normally when it is converted to HD.

Fewer Visuals

This tip is a much more simple solution, but it will work. Simply reduce the amount of images, animations, and videos on the screen. That way you can focus on the HD quality of the few images that you do have, without the drawbacks of loading time. Minimalistic web designs are trending right now anyway, your site will look more sophisticated and your users will be able to focus on what you want them to focus on.

Avatar New York is an innovating, award-winning New York web design firm dedicated to providing clients with responsive websites that help grow brands and convert visitors to customers. With an expertise in web development, branding, cloud hosting, mobile app development, and CMS and e-commerce solutions, Avatar New York's top tier designers have the ability to create intelligent websites for any type of business.