Cliffside Malibu Alcohol Rehab Center provides it’s clients with meticulously honed to support for drug and alcohol addiction recovery, their website (cliffsidemalibu.com) is an online information portal for potential addicts and their families who are looking for information about not only the center but also addition treatment.

In an earlier post, I discussed the four basic principles of design as laid out by Robin Williams in her book, The Non Designers Design Handbook:

• Contrast
• Repetition
• Alignment
• Placement

Let’s take a look at how the website does on these key points and take a closer look at the structure of the site itself.

Contrast
Remember, contrast is the state of being different from something else. With this site the header (dark blue) is clearly different from the content and menu structure, which ensures the reader is quickly capable of differentiating between the content areas.  

Repetition
Unlike Contrast, repetition calls for things to be the same. In this case, items that are the same should be the same, such as the menu items and with this website we clearly see the menu items across the top are the same. Throughout the website, headers are consistent and common design elements are carried through the site.

Alignment
Simply put, do things line up. With this site the side menu has a specific structure which uses both repetition and contract but also alignment to ensure the items line up in a logical order. This increases the users ability to coastline a series of menu items and select the right depth quickly and easily. 

Placement
On a website, placement is possibly the most important element a design can use. Where we place items has a direct relationship to how the user accesses information on the site. In the case of the Cliffside Malibu center, important details such as their phone number are placed at the top of the page while less significant items are placed at the bottom, this ensures readers can easily find what they’re looking for.

Overall, the center follows the four basic guidelines for a well designed website and has created a site which fulfills the key objectives of helping the public find information about alcohol rehab while also promoting their own core business.