Web Design Inspiration from Mashable.com

After going over the requirements for our Unit 2 project, we spent a few minutes of Tuesday's class sketching out our ideal website. My only question about this project was "Where to start?" I'm just beginning to envision how I want my site to look and how viewers will interact with the content I plan to create.
If you're searching for examples of well-designed sites, look no further than Mashable's Top 10 Resources for Design Inspiration. Here you'll find design galleries and artist forums featuring hundreds of innovative sites. These showcases will help you define what navigation features you may wish to include on your site, figure out how to incorporate photos, audio and video files, and recognize what design elements capture your interest.

Presenting donation options: How much text is too much?

During my peer reviews in class today, I asked my partners for advice on choosing how much text to include on my poster. My main concern is that featuring too much information--even if all of it is useful and pertinent to the cause--causes the viewer to become overwhelmed and look to an easier visual target. As a writing major I'm accustomed to whipping out five or six page papers at the last minute...so using an economy of words to express my message is difficult for me.

Most people I talked to today had chosen a phrase or slogan to encapsulate their pitch or donation appeal. I've decided which images and materials I'm going to use, and I'm now entering the final stages of putting the final product together. I'm still struggling with a slogan that neatly ties together the main concept I want people to pick up from my campaign. Does anyone have suggestions or advice on how to catch the viewer's attention in, oh, ten words or less?

As far as the total amount of text goes...I had originally planned to outline several different ways to donate on the poster itself. After looking at others' drafts and discussing the issue with my partners, I think it might be more effective to simply include a link with a simple explanation such as "To learn more, visit..." or "To donate, go to..." I could give viewers a link to my blog, then make a blog post detailing all of the donation options including information about my Etsy shop. Or, I could give a link to the shop itself, and post donation info my shop's homepage.
What do you think? I'm worried about retention--would you be able to remember a link long enough to get home and look up the site? Of course, I could use one of the link-shortening programs we discussed in class. Or, do you think a concise list of options is more effective than redirecting people to the web?

Entrepreneurship and an Etsy shop

As I'm putting the finishing touches on my collage design, I've been thinking about how I can extend my project beyond the poster. My collage focuses on the idea of female entrepreneurship and creativity. Through programs such as CARE's microfinance initiative, thousands of women have started businesses to support their families. Selling handmade products allows these entrepreneurs to provide food, clothing, and education for their children (and themselves), throwing a wrench into the cycle of poverty.

Since we have dedicated all of our donations from this project to Operation USA, the majority of funds raised will be used for immediate disaster relief rather than long term entrepreneurial programs. In the context of the extreme food shortage and overwhelming need that continues to plague East African nations, I think donating to a relief centered organization like Operation USA was the best choice to make. But I've been searching for a way to incorporate handmade goods and female entrepreneurship into my donation campaign.

I've decided to set up an Etsy shop as part of my donation effort. My shop will feature beaded bracelets and, depending on demand, may eventually feature other handmade jewelry items as well. All of the proceeds from the shop will go to Operation USA. On my poster, I'll include the link to my shop and give people several options for how to donate:
1. Link to my Crowdrise page
2. Text donations to Operation USA (Text AID to 50555 to donate $10)
3. Put change in the jar
4. Link to my Etsy shop

If my display space allows, I'll set out a couple of sample bracelets along with my collage and change jar. I'm curious to see whether this will generate a response...I might not get any buyers, but I'm happy to take a risk. You can set up your own Etsy shop here. I'll post a link to my shop when I've had time to fully set up my Etsy page.

How are you using online platforms to promote your donation effort? Have any ideas for extending this collage project into the "real world"?

Tying it all together: how to create unity instead of chaos?

Throughout the past few weeks as I’ve played around with my collage layout, I’ve come to realize that unity is the most difficult element for me to achieve in my design. In the early stages of design projects, I always tend to include too much text, too much information, or too many pictorial elements. “How can I make it all fit?” is the first question; the next is “How can I make it ‘go together’?” Brainstorming and coming up with ideas isn’t the hard part—it’s choosing which idea to carry out and tying my design elements together.

Creating unity in my poster design becomes even more challenging when I consider what materials to include: we must choose at least three non-paper materials to incorporate into our designs. Materials such as fabric, beads, plastic, canvas, or other textured substances can bring a three-dimensional effect to two-dimensional artwork, but if the artist doesn’t consider how to tie in these elements with the overall design scheme, they can look cheesy and forced.

I’ve refined my layout and spent hours editing my photos to create a cohesive picture. I’ve just bought some fabric, with which I want to accentuate the shawls and scarves that the women in my dominant photo are wearing. I think I’ll scan my fabric and take it into Photoshop to play around with making different textures and colors, building on top of the natural texture and folds of the fabric. How are you incorporating new materials into your collage? How can these materials enhance, rather than detract from, the photo-edited elements and overall concept of the poster?

Images Hold the Key to Memory

This week in my Therapeutic Arts course, I explored the role of image-making in therapeutic experiences for people with Alzheimer's Disease and dementia. Memories in the Making, a project spearheaded by the Alzheimer's Association, brings creativity to nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country. Facilitators and volunteers guide residents in the creation of unique watercolor paintings that reflect their memories, personal identity, and emotional experiences. MIM coordinator Lisa Buck spoke to our class on her experiences of making art with hundreds of Alzheimer's patients across North Texas.

"Orange Flowers"

Check out more works by Memories in the Making participants at http://thememoriesinthemaking.com/gallery.

So how does therapeutic art-making relate to multimedia authoring? Many aspects of the Memories in the Making experience reflect the basic principles of image-making that we've discussed in class. Images hold the key to memory. The images we choose can make or break the message we wish to communicate and the relationship we seek to develop.

1. Images last longer than words.

Have you ever heard the hackneyed quip, "Take a picture, it'll last longer"? Well, it's true: the act of looking at a reference photo or making a picture can recall moments in time that have long escaped verbal memory. Memories in the Making participants who have lost the ability to speak in complete sentences have recreated scenes from their childhood with great accuracy and attention to detail. The abillity to express ourselves through images is so fundamental to our human experience that it often persists even after the artists can no longer communicate through language.

People can memorize and form associations with images more easily than words; as a result, images have a long-lasting impact on memory. Are your images "just illustrations," or do they carry the major theme of your piece?

2. Images reinforce--and inspire--narration or text.

Memories in the Making facilitators always encourage participants to discuss the subject of their artwork, both during the creative process and after they have finished painting. Ms. Buck observes that the act of painting often inspires participants to tell the story behind their artwork. She showed some examples of artwork with the accompanying narration. Sometimes the paintings reflect true events that transpired decades ago; other times, the stories are completely fabricated. Either way, the narration enhances the message of the painting by adding details or illuminating an aspect of the artist's personality.

When creating a multimedia piece, let the images lead and consider how the text supports, alters, and frames your images.

3. Images speak to our emotional memory.

Many MIM participants have lost the ability to create a representational likeness in their artwork. As a result, their paintings appear childlike--the lines aren't in exactly the right place, but the paintings often capture the essence of their subjects. Those in the end-stages of Alzheimer's Disease often create patterns or simple shapes (rows of circles are most common). Ms. Buck describes the participants' artwork as a "tangible expression of that person in that moment." Even if when we can't identify the subject of the painting, we can see that the artist has expressed her emotional state and personality through her work.

We form an emotional connection to the images we see every day. Think of the heartwrenching pictures used in charity brochures and TV segments--it's much easier to make an emotional appeal through images than through text.

To learn more about the local outreach efforts of the Alzheimer's Association and what you can do to help, go to http://www.alz.org/northcentraltexas/.

Loose Fit: a mixed media video illuminates "what isn't there"

Doing a bit of research in preparation for our first class project has provided me with a perfect excuse to look at innovative, beautifully executed mixed media pieces around the web. As an artist, I can spend hours exploring online galleries, and tried-and-true sites such as http://www.stumbleupon.com/ provide an infinite source of inspiration. I've recently landed upon a new favorite hangout: http://www.portable.tv/.

Portable delivers the latest in fashion, art, film, and technology, featuring almost everything I love about the Internet (well, everything except for Facebook, with which I'm steadily developing a love-hate relationship). It combines the Sunday afternoon serenity of sketching at the Modern, the lazy pleasure of browsing my favorite fashion blogs for outfit ideas, and the intellectual challenge of a contemplating a well-crafted essay. While browsing the art channel a few days ago I came across UK animator and director Abbie Stephens' latest work, a music video for the Table Beggars' Loose Fit.


Loose Fit - Table Beggar music video from Abbie stephens on Vimeo.

Stephens utilizes negative space to tell the story of a man who wakes up one day to find himself slipping away. The result marries the static form of collage to the linear narrative form of the music video. "In a world overwhelmed with CGI and 3D, Stephens has created deep meaning using relatively simple means, resulting in a work that forces us to notice what isn’t there," writes Portable blogger Cassandra Martin.

In this behind-the-scenes video, Stephens walks through the creative process behind Loose Fit:


Loose Fit-Table beggar Making Of from Abbie stephens on Vimeo.

Negative space is one of the most basic principles we learn in art class, but as the Loose Fit video demonstrates, it's a fundamental concept that can change the viewer's relationship to a piece of art. As we begin the process of sketching out our collage ideas, how will we use negative space to direct our audience's attention? In the context of famine and overwhelming need, how can we incorporate a focus on "what isn't there?"

The logos we love...and love to hate

Last Thursday we discussed what makes a logo work. A well-designed logo can do more than provide a first impression--that image begins a relationship. The exceptional logo can forge a customer's emotional connection to a trusted restaurant, store or clothing brand.

In addition to the message the company intends to convey, the logo carries a visual reminder of the consumer's past experiences. After long hours of driving on the highway, seeing a sign for your favorite restaurant (the infamous golden arches just up the road, for example) can bring a sigh of relief and contentment. The thought of gorging on french fries satisfies you before you take the first bite or even pull up to the drive thru window.

Golden arches via University of Nevada Las Vegas Neon Museum

When a company changes a logo that generations of customers have come to rely on--an image that has become embedded in cultural memory--things can get messy. In an ill-fated effort to think outside the box last October, the Gap attempted to replace its iconic blue-box logo with an "updated" version.
                              

Left: the classic 1969 logo, as seen in every suburban mall in America. Right: the new logo, which lasted less than a week before public outcry prompted the corporation to take it down.

I'm neither a graphic design major nor an advertising student, so I'll leave it to the design critics to delve into exactly what went wrong aesthetically. Blogger Ravit Lichtenberg believes the Gap, once a mall superpower, has lost touch with its dwindling conservative fanbase, and loyal customers agreed. Bloggers worldwide lampooned the rebranding effort; there's even a site where you can create your own Helvetica-based failure.

After only a week, the Gap reversed its redesign effort in one of the most prominent rebranding gaffes in recent memory. What does the Gap incident tell us about our personal connection to our favorite clothing brands? About our often unwieldy efforts to create a modern image...and our unwillingness to let go of the old?