Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Critique - Jessica Biggs and Andrew Lebowitz

Jessica Biggs

Overall a pretty atypical web layout. The content is spread through pretty designer-ly areas, perhaps too much attention to graphic design and not enough to the ideas of web design.

Not to say this site template is bad in any way. The tiling background is a nice touch that really sets the stage for all the content. It's certainly not hard to read either. Good contrast ratio making the text very legible and easy to read. So far I'm interested in seeing more work from this designer.

The couple of things I may take issue with are the fixed elements that move with the window borders and the placement of the lower left imagery and "scrolling" content.

The fixed elements are definitely a nice touch but I found when viewing the site maximized (as I know many people do as well) it seemed vast and empty. I was wanting something to fill the space more. This second party could be related: I thought the "scrolling" content where the greeting and the vertical images are while very appealing isn't using its full potential. It may just be an ultimate Graphic Designer decision to have the larger text there at about halfway down the page, but I feel either it could be scooted up to reveal more content and then having less scrolling going on or not displaying the vertical images there at all (or in a different manner, horizontal images?). I think right now that space hasnt really found its purpose quite yet.

All in all a very good page that's very promising in its potential to deliver some amazing stuff.

Andrew Lebowitz

Very slick.

Nice classic usage of square icon thumbnails (thumbnails right?) that are stacked in an interesting fashion really activating the interior space right where we need to be looking.

It's so simplistic it's almost damaged by the fact because it almost seems like theres not enough to show.

The background image is full of personality letting himself shine through albeit in a funny and half cheesy way.

The orange and white scheme plays well with each other and really gives the slick contemporary designer feel. I think this type of playfulness could be .. well.. played up a bit more.

Overall, it's serves it's purpose very well. And that's all it needs to do but gives the viewer a bit more to consider just in its presentation.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Latest Homemork 2/18

Reading... stuff... stuff like:
  • Transcending CSS 86-119
  • Chapter 12 in Learning Web Design
Quiz: info from chpts. 11 & 12 {inheritance, specificity, ruler, etc}

Writing: Address/analyze CircaMemphis.com (navigation intuitive?, notable aesthetics?, no branding, usability?, findability?, content order?, critical info all there?, layout consistent?, what needs work?)

Typed out, print out site as is and mark on it.

Strip the content out of CircaMemphis

Construct 2 site maps
  • current setup for CircaMemphis
  • proposed setup for CircaMemphis
Create 2 wireframes for Circamemphis (apparently in Transcending CSS)(use iPlotz)

Then create 2 more models using the grey box method. (10min a piece?)

Create a sample page for CircaMemphis (based on site maps) and import the content from the other old site. Markup and style it in a bada** kind of way.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Homework 3

This be the homework, yo.
  • Create a web page that utilizes every element we've learned so far in a logical and practical manner.
  • Read Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10.
  • 20 muh fuggin questions next quiz.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

NEW HOMEWORK

Create a concept model (first stabbings at least) toward creating a personal website.

Chapter 5 & 6, in the book readin' thang.

P.S. Read this, understand it, do NOT use them.

Pg. 84 - Presentational in-line elements, deprecated elements from websites past.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Huzzah!

The dead pixels have been revived and now occupy your screen space!

Homework: Chapter 1-4, Learning Web Design.

Use notepad etc.

Websites...

I like
-deviantArt
-facebook
-Interlopers.net
-game-artist.net
-wikipedia
Well Designed
-Full Sail
-Pandora
-NewEgg
-DeepDyve
-YouTube
Good content
-wikipedia
-YouTube
-unisys
-zombies optimization
-DeepDyve