Style Tile CreationMethod

A Style tile is a design deliverable consisting of fonts, colors, and interface elements that communicates the evolution of a visual brand for the web. Style tiles help form a common visual language between the designers and the stakeholders and provide a catalyst for discussions around the preferences and goals of the client.

Style tiles are for when a moodboard is too vague and a comp is too literal. Style tiles establish a direct connection with actual interface elements without defining layout. They work well for clients who have established brands and need them to translate smoothly to the web. Whereas the word “mood” is often associated with brand and identity design, the word “style” was chosen to mirror “cascading stylesheets” and reinforce that style tiles are specific to Web design.

Style Tiles

Steps

1. Listen. It seems simple, but it is so easy to come out of the gate telling your client what you think they need. Your clients hold an invaluable amount of information. Hold a kickoff meeting and ask questions.
2. Interpret what you hear. Aggregate adjectives from the answer process, identify themes and sort similarities.
3. Define a Visual Language. This is the actual process of composing the style tile. Determine themes from the aggregated adjectives and begin to match them up with styles. The Style Tiles give the client a point of reference to determine if you both are on the same page.
4. Iterate. Making changes in style out of the context of layout takes less time and allows you to work faster. Presenting multiple tiles gives you information to work with that can influence the evolution of a tile.