I'm always fascinated by "photoshop disasters" - those hilarious-yet-sad horrendously bad photoshop photo manipulations that inexplicably make it to print. Models missing an arm, a hand appearing out of thin air, obvious use of the liquify tool all make me feel more confident about being able to find a job. I mean, if these morons are gainfully employed, then there is hope for me, right?!

But I am also fascinated by photoshop disasters that go beyond the humorous mishap. Like this one:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1343026/Bollywood-star-Aishwarya-Rai-Bachchan-left-furious-alleged-skin-whitening-Elle-magazine-cover.html

Basically, the Indian actress is rightfully upset that her skin has been lightened on the cover of Elle magazine. It is amazing to me that the editors of Elle find it acceptable to alter reality in this way, and expect their consumers to buy into it like spoon-fed sheep. I personally had never heard of this actress before, but she obviously has many fans who did recognize her and instantly noticed what had been done. It would be like someone taking a picture of Beyonce and lightening her complexion.....oh wait...that has been done.

This goes beyond the casual over-zealous photo edit. The greater implication of this is who decides what is acceptable? Who decides what is beautiful? Someone had to approve the final edit and decide that this actress looked better on their cover as a lighter version. What kind of message is this sending to the public? Beauty is not generic. Beauty is not only found in a size negative three pasty white girl. Beauty is diverse.

These lessons can be applied in design as well. Don't just design for the generic. Don't allow misconceptions of what is beautiful or accepted to drive your design. Stay true to yourself and your convictions and the beauty will shine through.

Oh crap! Were we supposed to post these to our blog? I signed on tonight to do my blog post and decided to check out what types of things everyone else was blogging about. That's when I noticed some had posted their assignment. So, even though the worksheet doesn't say to specifically, I guess I'll post mine just in case.

Ok, so here goes.....

Since I have a love of animation and a sick and twisted sense of humor, I decided to do my page as an homage to one of my favorite animated series - Archer. Here's my brainstorming exercise:

This is the mock-up of the entry page. "The Danger Zone" is a reference that fans of the series will easily get. I tried to keep it in the style of the series - which is has strong visual influences from 1950's/60's movie posters. Specifically the style of Saul Bass and his poster for The Man with the Golden Arm. Please note: the typeface used below is the typeface used by the actual show. It is called Baveuse, and it is free! What luck!

 Because the entry page wouldn't exactly be the same as the interior pages, I also did a mock-up of one of the character's pages. This one is for Pam:

The difficult thing about doing these pages was keeping it simple. There are so many hilarious visual gems in this show, it is hard to keep from overloading the page with imagery. Also, the style of the show doesn't exactly fit with the tutorials we did in class, but I was able to integrate the reflection effect on the index page. I was even happy with the result, which was unexpected. This was fun to do since I am interested in the topic.

The purpose of this assignment to take a previously created print project and redesign it for web presentation. 

The original print project was a book cover:

Redesign 1:

Redesign 2:

Redesign 3:

Redesign 4:

Redesign 5:

I think the biggest challenge for me in this redesign was that the images and colors used in the original book cover weren't very appealing. Also, there was a lot of copy to arrange into the area.  It was interesting going from a rectangular format to basically a square.

Because of this, I did find it difficult at first to get ideas and come up with anything I was comfortable presenting.  I'm pleased with the outcomes, though.  I feel I was able to keep the feel of the original piece.  I hope you think so too! ; )

6.  abandonedamerica.us

• Overall presentation - Immediately engaging when first entering the site because the focal point is the large prominent slide show of the artist's gorgeous photography.  Without the photography, though, the design would be a bit too flat and boring.

• Usability - The information is easily accessible using a tabbed navigation at the top of the page.

• Organization - It is a simple site, and the hierarchy is clear.  Titles are in bold, there is use of negative space, etc.

 7.  etsy.com

• Overall presentation - Pleasing color palette with a minimalist design.  Items are carefully arranged in a grid format.  Engaging for the handmade items that are the central focus of the main page.

• Usability - This site is extremely easy to use and is intuitive.  There is a list of categories at the left, as well as a search at the top and an innovative "Ways to Shop" section at the bottom left that lets a user search for items by location, color, etc.

• Organization - The hierarchy in the left navigation column is easily defined by categories that narrow in scope as they are clicked.

  8.  jonathanadler.com

• Overall presentation - It is bright, colorful, and happy, as I would expect a site for Jonathan Adler to be.  However, it is also a little too rigid and gridded for a Jonathan Adler site.  His musings page is a bit closer to what I would expect the overall site to look like.

• Usability - Easy to use colorful navigation at the top of the page that is consistent throughout the site.

• Organization - The site is divided into his different product offerings, and each is then divided into collections.  The organization is clear, and each page uses a clear grid layout.

9.  pentagram.com

• Overall presentation - Immediately engaging because the entry page has a complete display of their work.  It makes you want to click on everything.  Once clicked, each project appears in a large, clear series of photographs.

• Usability - Easy to use, but the flash loading lag is a bit annoying.

• Organization - Simple, clear, minimal design.  The use of a few colors adds to the organization, as the use of red text helps to identify important links within the site.

10.  adultswim.com

• Overall presentation - Bright pink over-the-top background, but for Adult Swim, it works.  There is a lot to look at, and a lot of colors, but the gridded container design helps to keep it from being too overwhelming.

• Usability - Easy to use.  Pretty straight-forward.  Video clips and games.  The top nav bar in solid black is easy to see against all of the other elements fighting for attention on the page.

• Organization - The site doesn't really flow very well because as you move from one page to the next, the overall design is not consistent.  Tends to be cluttered.

1. apple.com

•  Overall presentation - Apple is the master of the minimalist design. The website is engaging at first entry to the site because they display a beautiful product prominently as the main focus of the page.

• Usability - Information is quickly accessed using the menu bar at the top.

• Organization - The visual hierarchy is easy to understand on all but one of their pages.  Most of the pages are logically divided for each of their main product lines.  The page that sticks out from the rest is the store page.  There is a lack of clear hierarchy - all of the elements are equally sized, the same color, etc.  It is difficult to determine where to look first.

2. moravian.edu

• Overall presentation - Much better than the old version.  Engaging because of the photographs of students and professors.  Engages the student on a personal level.  Nice use of school colors.

• Usability - There is no site map.  I know that I have difficulty finding things that I need on the site and find myself clicking from one page to the next to find things. Also, a problem occurs when accessing certain pages - some have not been redesigned.  Detracts from the professional flow of the site.

• Organization - The pages themselves have a standard left side navigation and top menu bar. The use of colors and bullet points add to the visual hierarchy.

3.  glic.com - The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

• Overall presentation - It has a nice, consistent color scheme. I don't find the entry point to be very engaging at all however, mostly due to the issues discussed below under Organization.

• Usability - All of the necessary info is easily accessible from the home page.

• Organization - A bit cluttered.  Needs to employ a bit more white space.  A lot of the elements have the same visual weight, so it makes the site boring.  Insurance is a typically boring topic, so I feel they are missing the opportunity to make their site stand out from the rest.

4.  veer.com

• Overall presentation - This is definitely engaging when you first visit the site.  The backdrop of the interesting graphic draws the user in.

• Usability - Information is easily accessed by using tabbed navigation at the top.

• Organization - The site has a nice balance of differently weighted visual elements that make the site easy to use and navigate.

5.  wfmz.com

• Overall presentation - The site is engaging in that there is so much to look at upon entry, though that is not necessarily a good thing.

• Usability - There are so many colors, images, and graphics competing for attention that it makes this site a bit of a chore to use.

• Organization - The information is compartmentalized into a grid layout. However, better use of space and color would make this site clearer to understand and easier to use.
  

 

This is my first blog post for ART 346 Interactive Design