Wednesday, December 3, 2014

OUGD504 Studio Brief 03 - "A brief history of...website" - Evaluation

Studio Brief 03 Evaluation.

The most difficult brief in the module, the web brief created a mild sense of difficulty for me, although the content was related to my summer brief of which I thoroughly enjoyed, translating this interest into a web format was most definitely a challenge. The focus of my summer project and this web brief was on contemporary graphic design, a subject which was the heart of the module, I experimented with typography in the summer; the aesthetic and conceptual values of which.

I believe I enjoyed the research aspect of this brief the most, branching from contemporary work into the work of Jacque Derrida, deconstruction and the pretty ugly; I believe this to be the most extensive research I have ever undertaken, mainly due to my enjoyment of these related subjects. This was also the first time I had spoke to someone so highly respected in the field, Martin Lorenzo, the co-author of the publication: ‘The pretty ugly’. It seemed each aspect of my research informed the next as well as informing the subject of my context of practice focus; how Jacque Derrida’s theory of deconstruction is influencing Contemporary Graphic Design.

I do not believe I could have related any more of my keenest interests to this brief, this was most likely the reason of my excitement towards the brief. Translating these interests into the brief did become a blur at one stage as I believe I initially made the idea of my website too complex, focusing on deconstruction in graphic design should most probably be the focus of my level 6 COP, not to be attempted in a studio brief.

My understanding of the aspects of designing for web were non-existent before the brief; coding, use of color, responsiveness and web layout were all aspects I had not encountered. This did limit my response I do believe in relation to producing a working outcome however I do believe my considerations of UX, content, color, scale and functionality were considered well. I believe my regular interaction with similar web resources prior to the brief helped me greatly, my criticisms of similar webpages informed my design decisions, for example my criticism of Tumblr’s un-responsiveness which means single images regularly don’t fit onto a single page meaning a user cannot view a full image without either scrolling down or zooming out, this fault has informed my decision to ensure an image is the largest it can be while still sitting comfortable in any singular browser page, in what ever resolution or browser the image is viewed.

I have created the imaginings of the webpage in both screen and mobile versions as well as showing the adaptations concurring with a responsive browser, the content of the web page has helped me greatly as images are fairly adaptable.
Although the web page was designed in the context of the brief, I believe I am to make the design into a Tumblr theme, a platform which has greatly informed my decisions as well as currently hosting relevant creative content similar to mine.

I wanted to create an anti-brand for the website to promote the idea that it is a objectionable platform that has no other intentions, unlike similar websites such as Creative Reviews blog which requires a sign up, advertisements and promotion of their subscription service. I understand that advertisements and promotion are aspects of the business and are essential however I have the intention of creating an advert free neutral platform with the aim of enhancing the overall experience, viewing and information available.

I believe I have created a color palette that both compliments my desired neutrality (black, white) as well as complementing Contemporary Graphic Design while highlighting important factors (Blue #0000FF). The use of blue was inspired by its contemporary use in the subject, the color being web safe but not being able to produce in print exemplified designing for web considerations, as there was never any intention to reproduce the designs in print.

The ‘logo’, as it were, is not intended to be a logo:

‘Curated.’ The name given to the website is the most objectionable I believe I could have been when describing the website, I avoided ‘conceptual’ names for the page (unlike I did with Finding Clarity) as I believe this adds a sense of depth to the brand which does detract from the primary intended function of showcasing. Curating is what I am doing, it has been done = Curated. (The full stop is there to emphasize this curation).


The word ‘Curated’ is set in the typeface I am using across the brand; Clearface, a semi serif again commonly seen in contemporary design and similar to Rasmus, the typeface I used in Studio Brief 01. Can simply setting the name of the web page in the typeface defined in the brand guidelines be regarded as designing a logo, I wanted to avoid becoming a brand as this adds a sense of subjectivity to the experience but how obscure is it possible be when creating a product/ service, I look forward to exploring this further in a more practical content such as context of practice.

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