Squee!

Urban Exploration. When people explore abandoned buildings and locations. I can't get enough of Urban Exploration photography.  One of my all time favorite photographers is Matthew Murray. He's AMAZING.  Super nice too.  Like his abandonedamerica page on Facebook.  You'll be glad you did. ;)  Anyway....
I know some call it ruin-porn, like it is something people shouldn't be doing. I think if it is truly done out of respect for the structure, its architecture and its history like Matthew Murray does - "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints" - it needs to be done. So much history has been wasted. So much incredible architecture has been left to crumble.  I love reading about abandoned buildings that have been left behind. I don't know if it is the sadness of how much waste humanity leaves on this earth, or if it is the beauty and triumph as nature begins to reclaim what is hers. That nothing man creates is as permanent as the earth. Or if it is the almost supernatural creepiness. Or the thoughts of all of the history, people and life stories that once occupied the space. Or all of the above.

I just know I'm too chicken-sh!t to do it myself. I was all gung ho to start doing my own exploration and photography until I posted my intentions on facebook. I had a friend instantly inbox me to tell me all kinds of scary stories about crazy squatters, rabid animals, drug dealers, rapists, murderers, rusty nails, and all other sorts of horrors that usually inhabit those places. With how worst-case-scenario I usually am, I can't believe I didn't think of that stuff myself (thank you, Heather!!). So now I live vicariously through the recklessness of others. 

Check out this amazing find.

Witley Park Dome

 I still haven't gone through all of the flickr streams.  It's on a private estate!  Could  you imagine?  I'd be hanging out under that lake every day.

Two designers, Jenny Burrows and Matt Kappler decided to get together on a project for their portfolios.   They came up with a series of ads for the Smithsonian institute.  Here's an example of one:

They creatively bring a subject - History - that can be perceived by some (not me!) as stodgy and dated right into mainstream.  This reaches to the attention-deficit, reality-show, celebrity-news-driven society and reminds them history is rife with badasses and interesting characters.

The message is complete and concise, and you immediately get it. Perfect. Excellent additions to their portfolios.

Well, apparently the ads are so good, they went viral and started attracting a lot of attention.  So the designers  went above and beyond IMHO and contacted the Smithsonian to them aware.  Apparently, the stodgies at the Smithsonian had their uptight, period-appropriate panties in a twist about it, and requested that the posters be taken down immediately.  Instead, the designers removed the Smithsonian logo and replaced it with "Museums".

If I were part of the American Association of Museums or something, I'd be all over hiring these two to launch a campaign for museum awareness.  How can the Smithsonian turn them away?  Wouldn't any free thing that generates interest in the museum, history and education a good thing? Geez!  Pull the stick out, Smithsonian!!

Besides, it was created for a portfolio.  Just like we've all done for our classes and our portfolios.

Historically Hardcore - Smithsonian Ads

Being a HUGE Brett Michaels fan, this poster is my favorite.

So, I'm reading a boring post about the fruitcake creation that Wills and Kate will have for their wedding. Being an amateur cake decorator, I was interested in the design of it and what it will look like, not the amount of twigs and berries and tea cups and scones and crown jewels that will be contained within.

But before I clicked on the big old X button, a quote from the baker stuck out to me. Apparently, she said the process of specing out this culinary abomination was made easier because Kate had brought "mood boards." Mood boards? WTF are those? Is that like Mood Rings?

I turned to my trusty Google to solve the Scooby-Do mystery. From wikipedia:

A mood board is a type of poster design that may consist of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition of the choice of the mood board creator. Designers and others use mood boards to develop their design concepts and to communicate to other members of the design team

Mood boards are often used by graphic designers to enable a person to illustrate visually the direction of style which they are pursuing.

Often used by graphic designers, eh? In the words of Pam Poovey, "Thank God for them internets."  Ya learn something new everyday. : )

Someone help a sista out here. Is this for realsies?

I don't know if you've seen the Direct TV commercials with the little giraffe on the treadmill. They make my 3-year-old laugh. I honestly thought the tiny giraffe was CGI-created, and badly done at that.

But now I came across this website this morning, and now I just have no freaking clue. It looks real, but then again, I am the world's most guillable person. Am I just not getting the joke? I feel like any moment now, Dane Cook is going to come around the corner pointing at me saying "Haaaaaa...you silly motherf#$ker!They got you!"

Russian Petite Lap Giraffes

They even have a pretty realistic looking web cam.  Note where I've drawn the big red circle and arrow to indicate the walking giraffe:

So I did a google search, and came across this blog post:

Yes Virginia There Is A Miniature Giraffe

Glad to know I'm not alone.

Why is this relevant? Besides my love for all things miniature? Because it is an interesting marketing concept. Imagine that a portion of your branding campaign is to develop an entire site dedicated to a product that doesn't exist? Part of me thinks this is brilliant. I mean, I didn't even remember that commercial was for Direct TV until I ran into this site. I remembered the cheesy giraffe, but nothing else (marketing fail?). 

But the larger part of me - and y'all know that's a lot - instead of saying "Well played, Direct TV" wants to chuck a big F-U su-fi finger salute and vow never to use their product (and I had zero desire to switch to Direct TV even before this). I've got enough areas of my life to make me feel guillible and stupid, thank you very much. And, they gaves me a sad because I'll never get to snuzzle up to the adorableness of a petite lap giraffe. Thanks, Direct TV. You going to tell me about Santa and the Easter Bunny all over again too? But, I'm not bitter.

<*sigh*>  Mondays suck.

So, anyway, what do you think? Are fake product sites genius or customer-alienating? And isn't the web already filled with a bunch of fake, useless crap? We're running out of ip addresses and site names for this?

Ok, I found this really frustrating, as I wasn't really sure what I was doing or what could be done in blogger.  I think I would have liked to have seen examples of what could be done in class (ie. what elements can be used, what can be done).  And I'm kinda confused about these blogs...I've seen a bunch of examples of blogs that look like full-blown websites, with links to other pages, etc.  Why would you do that in a blog?   Anyway, here are my mockups.  I'm not 100% satisfied with them, but I like where they're going.  My plan is to tie my blog into my portfolio website, so I wanted a similar theme to the identity I created in Portfolio Seminar (the TAD logo used at the top):

When I export my files out of photoshop using the "Save for Web and Devices" option, it completely washes out my colors.  Not sure why.  But the colors I used are not as dull as above.  The green is brighter.

As detailed in a previous post, I'm stuck with ie6 at work.  I don't know why I want to, but now I'm compelled to collect the various IE6 warnings I get.  I'll keep updating this post as I encounter them (until IT upgrades us, anyway).  Along with my snarky critiques.

3/23/2011

I got this message when visiting a designer's portfolio sight.  He couldn't have at least put in more effort to design this message?  Give me something visually to look at since this moron wouldn't even let me continue onto his site. Like he thinks his personal portfolio site has something so special on it that I would bother to make the effort to upgrade.  At least he recommends Firefox, tho.




Did I know that my Internet Explorer is out of date?  Well, duh, Jackhole.  Thanks so much for the info.  But it is hard to be that annoyed when the message is so nicely designed.  But then, my annoyance level goes back up when I find there is no close button and I can't remove the window from the page. 


I'm used to looking at sites with divs I have to scroll endlessly to find.  C'mon.  At least give me the option.  Don't block me out like I'm at a nightclub and I'm not cool enough to get past the velvet rope.  Geez.

3/24/2011

Best Warning Evahhh

Couldn't even be annoyed because this one was so kewl.

3/28/2011

At least this one has a nice smiley face.

3/29/2011

Today was a banner day for messages (pun intended haha).



This one was so big it wouldn't even fit on the page horizontally.  I love the pitch for upgrading too.



4/7/2011

4/13/2011

Bumper crop of ie6 messages today:

Terribly!

Even cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys are in on the ie6 bashin'! ;)

Please....what??

ComeOn, cut me some slack!

Makes me think of Bob River's Twisted Christmas Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire - "Wrong End, Cowboy!"

4/21/2011




Finally!  One that realizes some of us have circumstances beyond our control!!!

 

This one is kinda cool.

4/29/2011

This one matched the color scheme of the site

This is flat-out gorgeous.

Art Deco Keyboard Inspired by Chrysler Building

Click the link for more pictures of loveliness. Shot from all angles.

I don't know why, but I did a Google Search on our infamous Web King, Mr. Alan Hinden.  Found this recent post dated 3/12/2011 that I thought was kinda funny:

Alan W. Hinden-Web King or Court Jester?

Here's another forum about him:

The Daily WTF forum

Dude is like a disease on the internet...he's everywhere.  Like syphilis...slowly spreading and getting crazier by the second...

Have some inspiration for my blog design right here:

Bad Ass Ideas

And what a great name.

Rimmel Edits the Face Off Zooey Deschanel

Bow down to the power of Photoshop in a photo editor's mighty mouse grip!  They'll make fembots of us all!  Resistance is futile!  Assimilate now!

Really, Rimmel?  I mean, if you wanted the vapid "I'm-so-bored-I-can't-even-care-enough-to-have-an-expression" generic model look, you could have saved  yourself a ton of cash and hired any one of those bazillion girls milling around the Ford Modeling Agency. Or just take a drive around any suburban mall.  I'm sure any one of those girls would have done it, for like, a Hollister shirt.

But isn't the point of hiring someone like Zooey Deschanel as the face of your cosmetics line the fact that she is uniquely beautiful?  So why in the hell-o would you photoshop all of that uniqueness right off her gorgeous face?  Even her stunning eyes have been messed with.  Why why why???

I'm a simple girl. I like my jeans and my t-shirts. Believe it or not, though, I do like to check out fashion now and again. I like pretty stuff...I just can't wear any of it.

Especially heels. Always have had issues wearing heels, even back when I was thin (and yes, I actually was at one point). I'm just not very coordinated. But looking at some of these fun shoes makes me wish I could:

Kobi Levi Design

How fun are these?  Appropriately enough called "Slide":

But my favorite has to be the Blond Ambition shoes. I'm an 80's girl. I grew up with Madonna. I remember that tour. It reminds me of good times in high school and college (the first time around) with my best friend, Mike. He lurves him some Madonna. I gotta remember to facebook this link to him later. ; )

That's all. Just a header I liked and wanted to remember...

I tried to upload my files to the ftp site. I got on the ftp site and moved the files over. But each time I tried to go to the site in my browser, it kept bringing up the Archer site. Even after I completely deleted the archer site. So who knows what's going on. I'll try to figure it out when I get onsite to Moravian tomorrow night. At that point, I'll post the link.

**UPDATE!**  Here's the link:
WebKing Internet Services

Until then, here are screen shots:

What I Liked:
I like the overall look of the pages. I think I was able to keep the "royal" feel that Mr. Hinden seems to enjoy, but in a more subtle way.

On a personal level, I like all that I learned from doing this. I finally started to really feel my mindset shift away from the old rigid table layout mentality to the more dynamic div approach. I liked learning how to successfully implement the google webfonts (although I had to restrain myself from using them all over the place!). I liked figuring out how to make it work from photoshop to html.

What I Didn't Like:
I didn't like the fact that I couldn't figure out the image rollover that I wanted to do on the index page. From my prior coding experience, I remembered that it was done before using JavaScript. Since it has been a long time since I used JS, I went online to reacquaint myself.That's when I found a whole lot of conflicting info. Not only did I read many different JS solutions, then I read a whole lot of sites that said the JS way is antiquated and should not be used. So I tried to learn about the CSS way, but again, everyone has a different way of doing it. I tried a few ways, but couldn't get it to work. I'm really hoping we go over this in class.

What I Want to Learn More About:
I definitely would like to learn more about image rollovers and what is the best way to handle this (CSS/JavaScript), as mentioned above.

Disclaimer:
I did use tables on the pricing page. But in my defense, I feel this is the only area/type of situation where the use of tables is warranted. Using divs to line up this info would have been ridiculous. This information was in a table form, so that is what I used. (yes, I have table guilt!)

5 Things That Can Make or Break a Killer Website Design

Interesting article.  Here, in case you don't feel like reading (hey, it's Friday...I get it...I'm lucky if any actually reads this post let alone a link) here are the 5 Things:

1. Make proper use of white space
2. Use an appropriate color scheme
3. Have clear navigation
4. Ignore the "Keep Everything Above the Fold" mantra
5. Sell yourself (provide links to facebook, twitter, offers to subscribe, "add to cart" buttons, etc)

We've basically covered all but one of these in class.  What I found interesting about this article was the view about #4 - ignoring the "Keep Everything Above the Fold" view, which is expounded upon even further in the linked Life Below 600 article (good read). 

The view that not everything important needs to go above the fold goes against what we've been talking about in class.  Honestly, when it was brought up at first in class, I sort of had the same thought as the guy in Life Below 600 when he says "people have learned to scroll."  It seemed weird to me that a print concept was being applied in the digital world, because as we learned in our first assignment, print does not always translate to web and we can't think of web design as the same as print design.

 The end of the article sums it up best:

What I'm proposing is for you to think twice about these ‘rules’ which are preached so often around the web and aim to create something original. Don't live in the old world of pushing all your quality content on the visitor at once because they've only got 4 seconds before their attention drops (or whatever other statistic is doing the rounds at present).
Think about the ultimate journey you want them to take. Entice them in, make them actively want to scroll and read on, and on, and on. Guide them with your excellent content and let them explore your site. Tell a story with your content. Space it out a little and you will have some happy visitors who actually want to be there!

So I liked what this article had to say.  I agree with it.  Done right, I feel the fold can be ignored.  There, I said it. Out loud. 

The author also expressed my feelings that I touched upon in my previous post regarding the "big boring business website layout formula:

A very fitting word to describe the state of web design at present would be

‘Samey’

So many sites have the same, big header, big fat call to action buttons, a sidebar, a big fat footer and the letterpress effect scattered about. Finding a bit of originality in the sea of sameyness is pretty difficult these days.

Samey.  I like that. 

And after reading Learn to F#!king Spell by the same author, I think me and Mr. Paddy just might be kindred spirits.

Found this incredibly fun website:

Flame Painter

How cool is this?  I could play with this for hours!

Look at some of these examples from the gallery.  Amazing!

And check out the Fluid Painter too!

So very cool!!!!  Here's my creation:

Found this interesting collection of tech homepages.  The author judges them on a pass/fail grading system, which of course is completely subjective.

Top 30 Tech Homepages - Pass or Fail


Not sure if there was any consistent criteria used by author, evidenced by the very first review of Amazon.com:

"Although it may be a little cluttered for my taste, it would be short-sighted to say that the Amazon.com homepage is a FAIL. Amazon has created a company that has landed at the top of the InfoTech 100, and the fact that one hundred percent of their sales are made online shows that they understand how to use their website to attract and retain customers."

The first seven words mark the start of a solid design critique, but then the rest of the paragraph fails.  Obviously Amazon is a successful company - otherwise they wouldn't be part of The InfoTech 100 on businessweek.com.

So, the author passes it based upon it being on the list of successful companies.  However, even successful companies have room for improvement.  I'm not at this site - web design depot - for a Forbes 500 report.  Tell me about the design, man!  Gah!

In a similiar vein, the author fails America Movil and Microsoft before even reaching their homepages.  On both, he encountered a pop-up box.  As I did not when I went to both sites and considering many will not based upon their browser settings, I don't think failing them both is a valid assessment of the site and its design.  Even though pop-ups are annoying as hell.

And is it just me, or are most of these websites following the same boring layout?


Header with Nav bar (tabs or buttons)?  Check.
Cheesy Generic Picture from iStockPhoto with or without Product Overlay?  Check.
Bunch o' Text arranged in a Neat Grid OR Little Rounded-Corner Containers?  Check.

I'm looking at you, RIM, Western Digital, China Mobile, Nokia, LG, Foxconn, Bharti, etc.

In addition to being a bad photoshop job, this one is particularly snooze-worthy:

The author does give it a fail, though.  But, this one gets a PASS?

"I think that the picture on this page is a pretty cool. I also like their one sentence mission statement about 2020. I would recommend formatting the description of their company differently, but other than that, this a pretty good corporate homepage."

The color scheme is nice, but Cheesy Stock Photo gets it a pass?  Also, the one sentence mission statement is way too small and boring.  The author recommends formatting the description of the company differently, but not using some typography on that mission statement?  Who is this  yahoo?  I hope they're not being paid to blog.

And fyi, Bharti has changed their homepage since this blog post was written (as I'm sure most have.  I didn't click on all of them).


The formula can be done well, though.  HTC and IBM do it nicely:

Soothing color schemes, nicely laid out, easy navigation.
My fav of the bunch (based purely on aesthetics)? HTC and accenture:

The author doesn't seem to like accenture too much, though.  Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Always on the prowl for free and cheap design resources.  I wanna check this out when I get to school or home.

brushloverslovers.com

Not really design related, but pretty neat-o none-the-less.   When it said tsunami, I thought it was found because of the Japanese earthquake.  But it's not related.

Lost City of Atlantis, swamped by tsunami, may be found

Following are my page mock-ups for the redesign of the gawd-awful webking.com redesign.  It was very frustrating working on this, as most of the websites he has on his site are either no longer in existence (not a good sign!) or are being designed by someone else (also not a good sign).  And trying to figure out his pricing was ridiculous.  I think it took me a good four clicks to finally get to it.  But anyway, here is my redesign.  I'm not entirely happy with it - I think it needs more pop.  I think I was so overloaded by all of the cheesy photos of himself and his wife and all of the other crap on his original page that I went the absolute polar opposite to being too minimalist.  Especially the index page needs something, but I haven't fully resolved it yet.  I like the overall look of it, though.