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Kathryn Presner is the talent behind Zoonini Web Services, a Montreal-based professional Web design company. My company, A.C. Riley Communications, often teams up with Zoonini on projects to deliver complete Web site development solutions (content creation + Web site design) customized to clients' needs.

Several times a week we discuss topics like information architecture as well as new methods and ideas for making sites not just search-engine friendly, but ultimately "people friendly." Her knowledge and zest for Web site design and everything that entails is a constant source of inspiration. Here are my Five Questions for Kathryn Presner.

What is it about web design that interests you?
I find Web design so enjoyable and rewarding because it lets me make use of both the left and right sides of my brain. I get to be creative and play with shapes, colours and images – while the logical, organized side of my brain gets a workout when it comes to arranging the site's information in a manner that makes it easy for visitors to find what they're looking for. 

If you could reach out to companies thinking about creating a new corporate site, and tell them one thing, what would it be?
Don't forget who the site is really for! It's not for you, it's for your potential customers, your target audience. Be really sure you know who that audience is, how they will search for you – and most importantly, what they'll be looking for once they get to your site. Then make sure your site delivers what your potential customers want, in a user-friendly way.

Zoonini Web Services talks about "design with intent" - what does that mean?
The old chestnut about "form following function" is truer than ever in the Web context. I see so many sites where I feel completely disrespected as a visitor. Why should I be forced to wait while your logo swirls around pointlessly and music blares from my speakers? Why should I have to guess at what four unidentified blobs in your navigation bar are supposed to mean? Why should I be coerced into using the specific Web browser you've decided your site is "meant to be viewed with"?

Any one of these things causes me to take my business elsewhere – and since I never want that to happen with my own clients, I make sure their sites work well in all the major browsers, on Macs and PCs. I stay far away from "mystery meat navigation," and never, ever use a technology just because it's the latest cool toy – but because it's the best possible way to deliver the client's message to their target audience.

When you are designing a site for a client, what is the design aspect that you give the most priority to?
Keeping things clean, fresh and simple. This is what clients most often request right from the start – they want their site to be uncluttered and easy to navigate. Since that's what people seem to like about my designs, that's what I try to deliver.

What are some of the trends we are seeing in Web design today?
Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) technologies that facilitate jazzy photo galleries and the like. Ajax is the DHTML of today – a way of combining already existing technologies to create new effects.

The Web 2.0 look – logos, badges, and buttons using colours like turquoise, lime green and orange; rounded, sans-serif fonts; and shiny-bulbous effects. There are even tools that allow designers to create this look more easily. I think the Web 2.0 look is the "bevel and emboss" of today; beware, as it too will undoubtedly start to seem dated. And besides, do you really want to look like everyone else?

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