How do I design a website without relying on images and photographs, but still be eyecatching? [closed]

Question

I've recently been charged with my first professional gig as a web designer. I've made a few pages before, very basic pages, that were for student groups or nonprofit organizations. Those were free and the client were more than satisfied with a product based off of a template or very simple markup.

I'd like to go above and beyond for this, my first professional job. My client wants to set up a website to market his skills so he can consult while also working full-time. Since he is an architect he has an eye for design that I haven't built up yet. Also he has no images to share for the website.

I would like to make a breathtaking design, or at least an eyecatching one. I've searched sites for templates but everything is so photbased, a privelege that I do not own.

Do you have any advice on designing for a non-photocentric site? Or any examples that show it done beautifully while also being eyecatching? Any tips or tricks on how to have my cake and eat it too?

Thanks

Answer 1

The area of design you're looking for is typographic website design. This website should help you out http://www.typographicwebdesign.com/ as should this inspiration blog

Answer 2

If you want to do a good job, you should design a website with the architect's customers in mind. If images/drawings are necessary to convince his customers to hire him, than images will have to be produced. It may cost more, but without those images the site may not be effective at all.

A breath-taking design is what customers always demand, because it passes their responsibility to others. Make sure the customer delivers you a written document clarifying the audience and the business goals for the website. And decide what you and the customer need to produce after that (content comes first). Don't forget that someone will have to take care of marketing. "Build it and they will come" does not work since the IXX centrury.