The Metropolis studio recently got some serious spring-cleaning. There were some painful divorces with historic furniture and relic printers, but on the whole, we ended up with a significantly improved space with (I’d venture to say) significantly improved Feng Shui. Feng Shui, for the skeptical or those weary of anything sounding like something your New Age aunt is into, is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to improve life quality. These days a Google search will lend you hundreds of pages of Feng Shui tips to improve your office, your garden, your apartment or your bedroom with long lists of benefits. But whether or not it holds that an octagonal mirror across from the North-facing window will bring you good fortune, maybe Feng Shui can offer some good advice for your web design.
We’ve adapted four Feng Shui principles to add some positive chi to your web site.
- Feng Shui asks that one Always Be Mindful of the State of Your Home[page]. When is the last time you updated your web site? Whether a user gets to you from a blog, from Twitter or from a search engine, does the first page they land on tell your story completely? Being mindful is the first step to a Feng Shui site.
- Clear clutter. The biggest take-away for modern interpretations of this ancient art is to clear out the clutter from rooms. This holds for your site: is your navigation intuitive and user-friendly? Are users overwhelmed with buttons and options, or are they drawn to relevant content? We think that sites should be clean, simple and balanced.
- According to Feng Shui when you arrange your room it should be done in such a way that you can see anyone who is entering the room. So too, should your website be able to recognize any new or repeat visitors. You won’t need to set up some complex set of mirrors like a Feng Shui house; Google has great (and free!) analytic tools to tell you just who is on your site and how they got there.
- Finally, images carry powerful energy in Feng Shui. Their placement and intention makes a great impact in the home. On your site, they put a face to your brand. Make sure they’re unique, representative and that they send the right message to visitors.
Feng Shui wisdom teaches us that nothing is static in the world of energy. And more than ever, we know that nothing is static in the world of web. So, when you do some spring-cleaning this May and bring in some balance and positive energy, consider doing the same for your website.