What?

I have been working on my comps, and I like the way they are turning out. I am trying to implement the grunge style, but at the same time, keeping it clean. I used a lot of earth tones in my design, I am a fan of earth tones. So, go figure The only concern I have is re-creating this on the web. Do I just use my design as a background and float info on top of it? The other thing is, I wanted to display my stuff like jason santa maria did. However, I think his was done in javascript, and that is way past me. So, I have to come up with a compromise, and I am still working on that. So, until next time….

Ok, I read everyone’s feed back and discovered I am not alone:) Most of the website dudes have it going on, but as for the graphic designers, we’re a simple folk….just kidding….we just don’t think in code, but we’re trying . As I was perusing the sites, I was trying to pay attention to design, color, and typography. I noticed with some sites, they attracted me with the color or some element, but then when I got to looking around, it was awkward and clunky. Design matters, but flow matters even more. If the site becomes clunky to a user, they will leave, and you have gained nothing.

Right now I am concerned with just making a nice, clean, and workable site that showcases me and and allows my work to shine. The “WOW” factor will come later hopefully. I am going to add some of the grunge elements to my site; but keep it to a minimal. I am researching ways I will display my work, maybe iframes again, but I’m not sure yet. Color scheme, maybe something in the brown family with some spot color. I will have to put this on paper so I can see it, but I am going to keep researching… I will keep you posted.

I visited several of the links provided to us in the assignment sheet and the resourses link on the class website. I discovered I was consistently drawn to the same elements of a website. Color played a big apart, as well as the site being a a little unconventional in design. I especially liked the designs that incorporated a hand drawn feel by incorporating sketches and scribbles, even coffee stains adds to add to the overall appeal. I like the antiqued, worn, or grunge look, but a little goes a long way. Never thought I would say that, but it is true. I discovered the sites that I enjoyed had a little of those elements, but still maintained a nice clean feel; not cluttered. So, with that all said, the first site I visited was www.okaydave.com. If you have not seen this guy, take a moment and visit, it is well worth it. I really enjoyed the site, I liked the look, set-up, and  navigation. It was informative, took you through his process, just a very smart site in my opinion. This was a link left as a comment to my final project ideas, thanks for the link, just awesome!

The next site was www.cattosgraphics.com. I liked this site because it had the touches of grunge, but a very simplistic and clean style. It is not overdone and presents the work in a very concise way. I think by using white and a muted blue color for the design, it allowed the work (which is full color) to speak for itself. The designs were not competeing with the website and vice versa.  I liked that very much, and would like to keep that in mind while designing my identity site.

Third, was an identity site for www.jasonsantamaria.com. I was initially attracted to this site because of the color schemes. I like how the brown, yellowish beige, and red work together. Again, it had just a touch of grunge but clear information. What I really liked, was how he presented his work. It looked like iframes, it just didn’t have the typical thumbnails I’m used to seeing. That was pretty different to me, so it made it more interesting.

 The fourth was www.danielmclaughlin.com another identity site, but this time, for a musician. This one again attracted me for by simplicity and color. I am a fan of the brown color family…lol…Anyway, I really liked how he displays his pictures on the home page. I also enjoyed the gallery, however, I wasn’t a huge fan of the picture animation when you clicked on the thumbnail, but that’s just me.

The fifth is www.kinoz.com. This site empoys the ideas I was talking about earlier, using the hand drawn elements and coffee stains. That was the part I liked. What I didn’t care for was the fact everything appeared on the homepage and in the navigation bar. Also, I didn’t like the way the thumbnails opened to this independent page, it was okay, just a little uninteresting.

Ok, that was just a few of the sites, I am continuing to do more research. I know I will now begin to keep in mind the simpicity of design I have seen, while incorporating those things I really like. I may look into the way jason santa maria presented his stuff in the iframes or the cattosgraphics presented theres on a canvas of muted colors. All of these site have provided great insight, and spawned a great deal of ideas. Now it comes down to translating those ideas from my head to paper, and finally a website. So, the work continues….

My initial thought for the final project is designing a identity site. Bet you all did not see that coming, me being a graphic designer and all.
 What I struggle with most is the beginning, what should it look like? What design best represents me? How do I begin? All of these questions seem overwhelming to me, only because it is for me; and in this technology driven world, you have to have an identity site. So, I plan to tackle this head-on and conquer this monster.

I will begin to do some research on sites for designers, and begin sketching out some ideas and work on color schemes. That is where I am starting for now, I will keep you posted on my progress.

In the article by Doug Bowman “A Design Process Revealed” he discusses the “ins” and “outs” of design work.  First the idea is born, research is conducted,  thumbnails are created, details are refined,  go to the computer, fine tune the design,  and finally the finished product proudly displayed. This is the creative process, and one I try to follow. Unfortunately, sometimes I miss a few of those first steps and just skip right to the computer.   When I do that, I tend to make the process harder on myself, I have discovered that research and thumbs are a necessity, and should not be over looked.

He also talks about his design for the CSS ZEN Garden, and how he wanted to go above and beyond what had been already done; he wanted something new and fresh.  I suppose that spirit is in all designers, to create something no one has done before. We all try to stay fresh; but sometimes we get caught up in what is popular and mainstream, or at least I seem to do that.  I want to try and be the fresh thinker, look beyond what something is to what it could be.  I’m a work in progress.

So, I think what I learned from Mr. Bowman’s article is to plan what I am going to design on paper first, especially if it is for the web. I should always make sure every “i” is dotted and every “t” crossed before I start on the computer. This will save a lot of time and headaches for me and a client. Also, I should  be flexible with my design, sometimes things work and sometimes they do not; but it is not the end of the world, just the possibility for a fresh design.

Howdy, this is my first blog…YEA!…what do you know…i is smart