You Can't Miss - Seed's Phylotaxis

I would think I was pretty hot stuff if I came up with this interactive site. Jonathan Harris created it in conjunction with Seed, a "science is culture" magazine you can find on the newsstand (it actually has some pretty neat design for a science magazine!). The site is an aggregate of science news, and I think it may be updated on a daily basis, which is especially impressive considering the complexity of the sites animation. The site is one of those that you want to learn how to do the animation and tricks so you can use some in your own work. The intereactivity is great. When you move the slider along the bottom along the continuum of science and culture, it's neat to watch how the organizations of the images/stories change. It is definitely worth a quick perusal. http://phylotaxis.com/phylotaxis.html

response - Meredith's Visit

It was refreshing to see that after a plane ride and listening to 4 hours of presentations, the folks from Meredith still had energy to take the time to look at our ideas and designs and give productive feedback. Their thoughts were insightful and gives you even more idea of their tastes. I was particularly happy to have a short chat with Melissa Inman, who is the editor in cheif at Meredith's Scrapbooks, etc. magazine. This was the first scrapbooking magazines I got a subscription to several years ago and is still in the top two in my list for scrapbook magazines. I hope I can get beyond my shy Minnesota-ness and keep in contact with her so that I may someday intern/work there. That would be a dream job, I think, as I love magazines and I love paper crafts (I'm sure Kate C. has similar feelings!) Overall, I think it was really great that John R. and group took the time to see what we came up with.

Critique - Web Rants Illustration

The top image, which I found I istockphoto.com, was the inspiration for my illustration for the web rants (mypetpeeves.com, dontdatethis.com, etc) story. I originally intended my illustration to have a lot of texture and layers like my inspiration image. I found, however, that it was not so easy to achieve this look (even though I went into it thinking it would be a piece of cake). My illustration still looks too flat/2-dimensional, and I wasn't able to achieve a variety of textures between the different layers. Looks like I have a lot more to learn about working with illustrator! I'm going to work on it more to see if I can achieve more layers and texture by this weekend.

Blog Update (AceJet): Found-Type Friday

AceJet continues his Friday tradition of showcasing typography from signs, books, produce stickers, etc., that either he or his blog readers find. These image examples are from matchbooks, which essentially became tiny advertisements for products or causes (the one that says "You're no match.....For V.D." is an interesting public awareness slogan). Because there is not much room for illustrations on such small canvasses, the designs really play up contrasting types of fonts (pairing scripts with romans and caps with lower case). I love the flat color and geometric designs. It would be fun to know what types of art/messages matchbooks would have on them now if they were still popular.

You Can't Miss - Conflicting Messages

I was searching the web and came across a website for a webdesigner: www.trinachow.com. Although the webdesigns within the portfolio looked promising, the design of the portfolio website is extremely amatuer. How would a client react to this? Should they look solely at the portfolio pieces as examples of the webdesigner's potential, or should they take into consideration the designer's own web page? Even though I like some of the portfolio pieces, I would not choose this designer based on her own website. Goes to show you that your webdesign (although more important for webdesigners) is crucial to how clients/potential employers may view you and your work.

Critique - Web site revisions

Old or New? There are lots of things I like about both versions of my website. Now I think the task is to combine them. I really like the opening of my old site, but I am much happier with the portfolio section of the new site. I continue to be amazed at how much time creating websites take. Even if you have a clear idea and knowledge about what you are doing, making sure all the details/links/colors/rollovers are correct is a long process. I hope that I can find the time to take all the positives out of my two sites and combine them into one great site.

Response - Website Critiques

It's always fun to see how everyone's creativity contributes to their websites. I think the sites, more than a business card or logo, can show your personality, probably because there are so many opportunities to express this personality (splash page, navigation, portfolio set-up, etc). The down side of having so many various elements is, however, that there are so many details we want to perfect. We spend hours and hours creating every nook and cranny of the site, and oftentimes are disappointed with the results. Then another problem arises: unlike an InDesign layout, you can't just go in a tweak one or two things and be done with it. These tweaks on a website can interrupt usability and consistency, and therefore lead to a whole host of changes. I think we should all be happy with what we have created so far. In my experience, each website you create is better than the next. So, just keep practicing webdesign and eventually we'll all come up with something we're happy with.