Ashley Jameson, Digital Design 001, Blog Exercise

Ashley Jameson
Digital Design – 001
Blog Exercise

http://www.rothaniko.hu/

Roth Aniko’s digital portfolio is one of the most visually delightful examples of digital media I have ever seen. Her mastery of color and line are apparent from the very start, and she is able to carry the unique style of her artworks over to her site which to me seems like it would be incredibly difficult.
The entire portfolio is centered on an interactive cityscape backdrop composed of stationary buildings as well as fluttering fabric, floating balloons, and sailing ships. Aniko’s use of vibrant complementary colors in the red-orange sky and the blue-green water make the various buildings in the foreground pop towards the viewer. She is able to create different values throughout the buildings themselves while at the same time keeping those variations subtle enough that the viewer never quite knows where the light source is coming from. The sketchy, whimsical line and shape qualities create a nice sense of movement across the horizontal picture plane, and the occasional balloon or ship is able to keep the viewer’s eye from running off the page.
Although the entire site is amazing, in my opinion the most genius component is the fact that when the viewer selects an area of the portfolio (for example, the “silk” area), he or she is not taken to another window, but instead the works fly up toward the top of the screen as photographs carried by multicolored balloons. Not only is this visually captivating, but it is also incredibly convenient in that the viewer does not have to use the back button or close out of a separate window. All of the artworks are neatly thumb-nailed so that you can see all of them quickly and easily. In fact, the colors of the artworks contrast so beautifully with the sky of the background that it seems impossible not to want to view every one of them up close.
Aniko’s site is hands down the best example of a digital portfolio I have ever seen, and she is able stay faithful to her unique style without the use of tangible materials which I believe is incredibly difficult if not impossible at times. I will definitely be taking away ideas about the organization and conveyance of style to use in my own digital work.