Thursday, October 11, 2007

Jeff Orloski 003

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Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Kris Spring 003

www.taintedink.com

I really like the style of the reiko comics in this website. They are funny in a very morbid way, and are well drawn. I like how detailed they are. The color scheme is very dynamic; bright red blood with everything else in black and white. The animations are good too. The actual animation is quite simple. The character movements are somewhat simple and repetitive, but it also kind of works in a minimalistic kind of way. They do allow for more humorous situations that could not be conveyed in a single panel comic, such as the double dutch animation. The website itself doesn't have anything fancy about it, but I like how it doesn't distract from the actual content. It has a very straight forward layout. Overall, very interesting and well done website.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Shadiya Al Hajri,Sec 003

http://www.burnenergy.dk/

There were many interesting and outstanding websites; it was very hard to choose one. This site advertises the energy drink called burn.The use of sharp lines and that keep overlapping, and crossing each other, makes it go with the beat. The lines really helped creating the graphic and motion throughtout the page. The image is in the center and has a huge contrast because the web is black and then the effects are in red, orange, and yellow. The text is on the right side and enlarges when you point the mouse at it. I saw a lot of repetition of sharp lines. Overall excellent use of graphic showed a lot of movement, and nice negative space, which made this site very powerful in my point of view.

Vicki Nguyen 003

www.afinefrenzy.com

This page is designed for the singer and songwriter, A Fine Frenzy. What makes this website special apart from the music and band itself is the graphics used to enjoy viewing the website. In graphic design, I believe that it’s more than art, but a way of communicating to the audience through aesthetically pleasing images. It’s more like a form of advertisement without the ridiculous phrases. Each link carries the same consistency in their design with the style, color scheme, and proportions, yet has their own minor modifications. The images never stray from the subject and theme in any of the pages. There are interactive images, and independently moving images. Being able to interact with the page creates more excitement and appealing. The arrangement of this website also succeeds in not cluttering the page to where it’s illegible.

Digital art can be found anywhere on anything, not just as serious pieces or art, but also on every website you see. It just depends whether the designer is actually skillful in using digital media or not to be considered good or bad.

Vicki Nguyen 003

This page is designed for the singer and songwriter, A Fine Frenzy. What makes this website special apart from the music and band itself is the graphics used to enjoy viewing the website. In graphic design, I believe that it’s more than art, but a way of communicating to the audience through aesthetically pleasing images. It’s more like a form of advertisement without the ridiculous phrases. Each link carries the same consistency in their design with the style, color scheme, and proportions, yet has their own minor modifications. The images never stray from the subject and theme in any of the pages. There are interactive images, and independently moving images. Being able to interact with the page creates more excitement and appealing. The arrangement of this website also succeeds in not cluttering the page to where it’s illegible.

Digital art can be found anywhere on anything, not just as serious pieces or art, but also on every website you see. It just depends whether the designer is actually skillful in using digital media or not to be considered good or bad.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Shanna Snow 003

http://www.studio7designs.com/portfolio.cfm

This website is from studio 7 designs, which is a design firm based out of Canada. Their website drew me in with it's ability to fuse modernism and organic objects together. The way that they use the organic objects in the website brings to life the message they are trying to sell. The organization throughout this website shows an understanding of how important it is to have a pleasing layout. The way page is laid out allows for the eye to move freely. Also the use of the color adds to the difference, for example the bleak color of the background adds to the modern feel, and the bright natural colors adds to the organic fool. I really like this website because it shows how design is supposed to be. It is supposed to appeal to the senses and have a fresh look on design, and I think this website does just that.

Robert Harper, Digital Design 003

We Work For Them

We Work For Them is a site run by Michael Young and Michael Cina, two young and well-respected graphic designers on the internet and in the real world graphic design communities. Michael Young is a personal favorite of mine having been familiar with some of his work since I picked up my first Photoshop book New Masters of Photoshop when I initially became interested in the field. Their collective ability has been contracted by huge corporations to design commercials and other advertisements and they've also done video installations, digital art for the web among their non-commercial ventures. Their website brings together digital video, abstract fine-art and subtle music/noise to coalesce into what becomes some other entirely new medium. It's not a movie or a commercial or a traditional still image... it's not a song or a music video but something wholly different and it's this innovation that inspires me as an artist first and perhaps commercial graphic designer next.

Lynn Crow digital design 003


www.monkeehub.com/portfolio/illustration/digital8.asp

This digital work of art is very nicely done. There is a definite feeling of space behind the character. The perspective is also amazing. The character's hand is clear, while his face is blurry. It looks like a cartoon photograph. Also the table to the character's left has perspective. There is value throughout the whole room. Also where the character was placed really adds to the overall impact of the piece; it is very balanced. The hand emphasizes the coin that is being tossed, but you also notice the background at the same time.
I really enjoyed looking through this website. There are some flash cartoons that are just amazing. If I ever have work that comes close to that I will be a happy little camper. The picture that picked really struck me for some reason. I spent a long time looking online for a good digital picture, but I just couldn't find anything. FINALLY! I found this site and it's just great. I really really like it.

Amber Stautzenberger 003 Blog Exercise

http://movies.break.com/saw/site.html

This is a site about the movie Saw. Jigsaw basically takes you through the story of the movie by interacting with the mouse, by clicking, dragging, or hovering. Usually there is a scribble moving around letting you know where to place the mouse. The colors chosen for each scene as well as the saturation and lighting make the images and animations eerie, which is exactly what the movie is. It's always a different, but interesting composition for each animation and picutre. I suppose Flash was used to for all the interaction and animations on the site. There is a lot of laying usage. By clicking on the X in the upper left corner of the page it gives you a timer. Under the timer you can click any of the four options to see different scenes of the movie and it walks you through those. In the beginning when you click on the two shards of glass, it asks for your name, your fear, and a person you love and at the end of about thirty minutes (takes forever) I thought something was supposed to happen because of the information I gave, but I didn't see a thing...only part I didn't like, especially cus I sat there for thirty minutes.

eduardo castaneda degital design 003 BLOG EXERCISE

http://www.johnyhollowmusic.com

THIS WEB SITE IS A BANDS WEBSITE I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF THEM BUT THATS REALLY NOT IMPORTANT, WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THEIR WEBSITE. THE WEBSITE IS ONE OF THE BEST I'VE SEEN IT HAS A VERY DARK FEEL TO IT THE DESIGNERS OF THIS WEBSITE HAVE USED A VERY DARK PALLETE WITH COLORS SUCH AS BLACK, BROWN, AND DIFFERENT TONES OF GRAY TO GIVE A CREEPY FEEL TO THEIR WORK . WHATS MOST INTERESTING IS THEIR USE OF THE PICTURE PLANE IN THIS CASE THE COMPUTER SCREEN ALL THE IMAGES ARE ARRANGED IN A COLLAGE FORMAT AND PLACED INTHE CENTER OF THE SCREEN MAKING THE COMPOSITION ECONOMICAL AND CLUTTERED AT THE SAME TIME. THIS HELPS THE DESIGNERS ATTRACT THE VIEWERS ATTENTION TO THE SUBJECT.THESE PAGE DISPLAYS SEVERAL ELEMENTS OF DESIGN IN A GOOD WAY REPETITION,TEXTURE, LINE, AND COLOR THESE FOUR THINGS ARE USED TO CREATE A BALANCED COMPOSITION AND AN ENGAGING DESIGN.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE WEB PAGE WAS ITS CONTENT THE CHARACTERS WITHIN ARE DARK AND ALMOST EVIL, THEY REMIND ME OF TIM BURTONS CHARACTERS AND WORK. THERE SEEMS TO BE A GOTHIC FEEL TO THIS PAGE WITH INSECTS AND RETRO STYLE MAPS, WHAT REALLY ATTRACTS ME TO THE COMPOSITION IS ITS USE OF DARK CONTRASTING COLORS.
TYPICALLY WHEN ARTISTS DEAL WITH DARK SUBJACTS THEY STICK TO BLACK AND WHITE BUT HERE THE ARTIST HAVE INTEGRATED OTHER COLORS WHICH REALLY IMPRESSED ME. PHERHAPS THE ONLY WEAK PART OF THE WEBSITE IS THE MUSIC........

Ashley Whitt, Digital Design 2304-002, Blog Excericse

http://www.faithdenham.net/


This website includes photography, digital imaging, and interactive media. "Skulls," which is under the imaging category, is a series of nine pieces which depicts images of skulls. Each skull has it's own unique quality, though a few really stood out to me. "Skull #2" is a portrait of a woman layered over a skull. The colors in this piece are warm tones, mainly reds and yellows against a darker background. The color scheme and facial expression of the woman gives the piece a morose quality. "Skull #3" is a skull painted to look like plants. The color and the composition make this piece really stand out against the others, which aren't as brightly colored. "Skull #8" is a humorous take on a skull. The skull's eyes are crossed and it's teeth are clamping down on a metal bar. The facial expression of the skull is amusing but the richness of color on the skull is most impressive. The skull stands out, because it is up against a black and white background. The "Skulls" series, as well as all of the pieces in the Faith Denham gallery, are remarkable.

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.

Matt Bean- 001

http://www.lowmorale.co.uk/creep/
Flash music video by Laith Bahrani, for the song Creep by Radiohead

I love the way this video unfolds and adds layers of details (some very subtle and amusing) to create something rather complex while still maintaining it's simplistic nature. I think this video is very successful at using lines and shapes within the digital space to give it depth and mood (for example when the two coworkers get built from the bones up). After only a day of introduction to Flash, it is already possible to see how the animator used layers, keyframes, etc to create timing and shifting shapes. I think we can all relate to the meaning behind both the song and the video at different times in our lives. Though this animated world is a little starker and simpler than our own, it can sometimes feel very similar.

Lots more of his animation at: http://www.monkeehub.com/

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Justin Hoerner 001

The Picture that I have chosen, Dance Of Maya by Rudolf Kinsky, really stood out to me. His dramatic use of color in the background and his manipulation of the picture through photoshop is pleasing both visually and in an unusually way, emotionally. The artist captures the sense of speed in such a way that I can actually envision how firm his grip upon the wheel must be from driving that fast. As if he was running from another world. I wonder what the symbolism is from pyramid in the background rolling in the wind like a tumbleweed. The use of photoshop although not flawless is impressive. Even though we know that mulitple pictures have been merged the still connect a flow. The car being very natural looking definitely allows it to become the focal point of the piece.

http://www.art.net/Studios/Visual/Rudolf/local%20/danceofm.html

Sharese Ford 001

Sharese Ford
Digital Design 001

This piece I chose by Reinhild Beuther is very unique, yet is a simple concept that can easily be done with the use of photoshop. The artwork includes layering images and warping the top image to fit realistically in the actual eye. The color scheme he uses is very drastic with a high saturation of red on the “tattoo” layer. My favorite part of the design is the intensity of the blue eye against the dramatic tattoo. I feel as if the artwork could be an actual photograph, but if one looks closer into the eye they can see there is no actual way the design can be real.

http://www.da2.org.uk/vision/
(it is slide #11)

Diana Tran 001

Optimus Prime by Adonihs on DeviantArt
Adonihs' Gallery


What I love most about DeviantArt is the amount of quality work that is submitted everyday. Adonihs is an artist I've had in my bookmarks since I discovered his piece "The Journey Begins". He is a digital artist who works mainly in Photoshop and creates absolutely jaw droppingly beautiful digital paintings. I put a link up to his Optimus Prime piece because I also want to show you that he does mostly fanart that relates to what is popular today and because of that, he is also a bit of a DeviantArt celebrity.

I'm still learning the art of "painting" in Photoshop but my work doesn't come near the detail of Adonihs' digital paintings. His most detailed pieces resemble renderings from a 3D Program. He also has an advanced photoshop tutorial in his gallery detailing how he crated his King Kong piece.

I think that this caliber of digital art pushes the limit of what Photoshop can do. A similar effect can be achieved if you're also well versed in 3D programs, but for 2d "purists" in the area of digital art, Adonihs is definitely someone to emulate.

Andrea Flores 002

http://tiltdesignstudio.com/

This website is a compilation of recent works by a group of designers in web, print and motion design. The assortment of works are displayed in thumbnails over basic neutrals: black background and white menu links. The thumbnails have high saturation of color which is a key factor in the asymmetrical balance of the website. The much needed neutral elements work well and keep the emphasis on the thumbnails.
When a link is opened, the text of that page is white while the page itself opens as a transparent layer over shaded thumbnails of the homepage. Maybe it was just for functionality but I liked this feature on this particular site.
The piece I enjoyed the most was "Alien Action" - the fulldome show. The clip is approximately three minutes long and is about an alien attack. The visual interest is the perspective of a worm's eye view looking directly overhead. While alien ships and robots were destroying earth the 360 degree view was constantly moving. It clearly expressed motion- running while looking into the sky. Even though the action occurs at night, the use of light and color is impressive. The designer is great with high saturation without allowing it to become overwhelming. Overall, I really appreciated the website and all of the designers' works. It takes a great deal of talent to appear effortless and tiltdesignstudio.com easily accomplishes it. Not to mention the website is easily navigable.

Dia Peterson 001

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/flash/play/3596


The design for this animation is seemingly simplistic with the same characters repeating the same motions over and over. However, the overall compostion of the characters are stimulatin and zooming in for closeups breaks up the same routine of the group. The white figures on a black background color scheme is effective so that even simple movement is noticeable. I like this video because it is almost hypnotizing and the beat is very catchy.

Richard Skurla 003

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
A DIGITAL INTERPRETATION OF INDEPENDENCE


UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON
OCTOBER 7, 2007


THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS
A DIGITAL INTERPRETATION OF INDEPENDENCE
THE INTERACTION OF FORMAL PROPERTIES
The Battle of Algiers recomposes scenes from the 1965 film of the same name by Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo for display as an interactive pictorial montage to be view from a Web browser. The original film is a reenactment of the Algerian nationalist struggle leading to independence from France in 1962 [1]. The digital artists, Marc Lafia and Fang-Yu Lin recomposed the film along a photo or cell-based structure to be viewed as well as interactively participated by the viewer. The cells or photos scenes are displayed showing the French Authority and the Algerian Nationalist in an active struggle as represented by stills from the film. Once the viewer initiates the site, it is immediately notice how the cells appear and disappear in the space provided. The viewer is able to define different (other than the program default) settings forcing interesting movement of the photo scenes in accord to these different rule sets [2].
When the photo scenes or cells of the two different camps intersect, they trigger video responses and in turn display each side's tactics (as depicted in the film) in accord with the viewer’s interactive rules, if any have been applied [1].
In Lafia’s and Lin’s interpretation of Pontecorvo’s film, their The Battle of Algiers film has become the new medium. Daniel Coffeen, a rhetorician and theorist at University of California at Berkeley asks, “if film is implicitly computational, what happens to it when it's taken up by computational technology?” [3]. This concept has long been a focus of Lafia, who is a filmmaker, digital media artist, and information designer. It is not surprising that he is partnered with Lin, himself an interaction designer and emerging multimedia artist, whose work explores and expands the boundaries of human-computer interaction [3].
These modes of viewer interaction become the rules for this application. The French Authority photo scenes appear to remain, for the most part, stationary on the selected space of the display. While the Algerian photo scenes pop up then disappear and reappear simulating a striking ambushing. This action appears to be random and interconnected. The photos are displayed with such directional forces they move the viewer from one end of the screen to the next. This visual action adds to the rhythm of the photos being displayed on the screen. Soon the scale and proportion of the images begin to enlarge showing more information of the battle between the forces. The resulting action of displayed photos provides for an ever-shifting accumulation of shapes and effects. These shapes create a contrast between the negative space of the unpopulated screen and the photos that are present. The original boundaries between the French Authorities and the Algerian Nationalist begin to cross over and overlap in design. The presence of one group to surround the other to obtain the upper hand is apparent in how the space on the screen is occupied by each of the opposing forces [3].
Pontecorvo's film tells us that cinema can demonstrate the duality of power and politics. Whereas, Lafia and Lin tell us that the planned or computed organization of these photos and displayed on a surface can increase the effect of the cinematic experience upon a viewer. The calculated, algorithmic dynamics of their work moves beyond film and cinema to become a new type of cinema making machine, a machine of algorithms and calculations.

PERSONAL IMPACT
In their interpretation of The Battle of Algiers, the two artists seem to take their personal evolvement with the process of creating a new form of cinema using the digital world of the web. If I allow myself to ignore the computational emphasis the artists were working toward, I could simply enjoy watching the photos appear and disappear. At the same time, it tells a story of a struggle for change against that of tradition, not only for the people in the presentation, but for the artists as well. For me this presentation focused more on the film's modes of movement. The formal design properties of motion, repetition, and directional visual forces are seen as the individual photo scenes meander and collide with each other. The scenes speed and drift throughout the work as it executes based on either the default settings or those that I establish. Points of intensity, lines of force and flows articulate and amplify the film's multiple display of these images.
As the site allows for viewer interaction, I could simply zoom in or out and set boundaries for this cinematic-machine to execute within, and in an instant it takes on a new form of development. Although conceptually, the outcome is always the same, the two forces are at war with one another, the way the images are displayed is always different and curious to watch unfold.
For me, the most important point is seeing this contrast between the film, the people, the new form of film, and the artists. This presentation stands out as one paralleled dichotomy. On one hand, these two artists have rebelled against the traditional medium of film to create a new independent way to express a cinematic experience with the viewer. Their concept seems to parallel the two forces in the original film, one of tradition, the French Authority and traditional film, and one of making way for this new independence, the Algerian Nationals and the digital world of dynamic, interactive cinematography. On the other hand, it appears that, as with all things political, social and as well as artistic, change is inevitable.

REFERENCES
1) Lafia, Marc & Lin, Fang-Yu, The Battle of Algiers, Co-commissioned with Tate Online, Tate Modern, London, 2006, http://artport.whitney.org.
2) Lafia, Marc & Lin, Fang-Yu, The Battle of Algiers, Co-commissioned with Tate Online, Tate Modern, London, 2006, http://artport.whitney.org/commissions/battleofalgiers/algiers_v1.0.html.
3) Coffeen, Daniel, “Film, Play, Power and the Computational, or Byting Celluloid: On Marc Lafia's and Fang-Yu Lin's The Battle of Algiers”, Net Art, Tate Online, Tate Modern, London, February 2006.

Kevin Green Section 002

http://www.urbaninfluence.com/urban_flash.html

I chose the website for the Urban Influence Design Studio, because it really represented the kind of artwork that I aspire to make. This site uses a really simple layout, but its images and animations really helps the site achieve a complex simplicity. The highlight of the site would definitely be the portfolio. The way they have it presented like an open book is not only clever but it gives the viewer a chance to interact with the artwork. The site achieves a real sense of unity, it uses the same color scheme throughout and it gives the site a sense of consistency. Overall this is a great site for young designers to come to for inspiration.

Diane Lopes 001

Colorless by asuka111 at first glance would seem a scanned piece painted by hand in watercolors, and certainly that is the most intriguing part of this piece, but it's actually a digital painting, expertly manipulated to look like watercolors to simulate the effect of the rain. The artist blended a realistic feel in coloring with the black outlined figure and the piece's liquid, melted texture provides a uniformity in style. The low saturation color choice mutes and washes out the piece and monochromatic blues, except a few punches of red dotting the cables, add to the wet feel of it. With the contrast of the lighter background, growing hazier as it goes off into the distance, and the darker foreground's amount of greater detail, as well as the lines created from the electric wires and the rain drops, the viewer's eye is directly pulled to the off center figure and her seemingly melting umbrella.

The thing I like most about this piece is the perfect capturing of a rainy day calm. The internal struggle of the girl's thoughtful sadness in her blank expression and shadowed face. The stillness of it, a capturing of a moment in her life. The overall sadness and calm it insights in the viewer with the low level of lighting, as if the sun is barely shining through the clouds. Certain area's seem to be melting, like the figures coat, rather then just dripping with rain water and perhaps is a metaphor to the depression of the girl, how the rain appears to be affecting her.

http://asuka111.deviantart.com/art/Colorless-63243422

Daniel Moreno sec 001

In my search of a digital design I came across this very surreal piece. It caught my eye because i enjoy the balance and overall structure of the piece. The color is not too bright, but it still comes out and grabs you. The depth of field is done too perfection as the focal point leads towards the back of the piece. The balance of the red and blues makes it more vibrant. The surreal abstract aspect of the piece is what intrigued me. It feels like a Salvador Dali piece, but done digitally. The reflections on the water happens to create a realistic dream world that looks interesting to explore. The shadows and reflections also create a realistic distance between the objects. The shape of the objects appear to have a three dimensional depth. The lighting is a big part of the piece as the shadows are cast in different directions. The ladder that leads to the bottom is also intriguing because it feels like this dream world is endless, just like our imagination.If you can not fully understand an arstist idea in a surreal piece, it might be what the artist intended. I have had some fascination with surreal art in the past couple of weeks and this piece gives me more ideas to put forward in my artwork. I enjoy the the feeling of thinking deeper about a piece than just a normal piece of artwork. In all this piece is an example of digital artwork that can be turned into a surreal piece, that requires some thought behind the meaning of it.

http://digitalart.org/art/57075/abstract-surreal/sebastian-2007-7c/

Paul Windle 001

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/astralwerks/royksopp/remind_me_300v9.asx

I had a friend show me this. I think this is interesting because it flows from image to image conveying both small details and the bigger picture. There is a repetition of the use of diagram, showing each image as a diagram in itself that either zooms in or out showing another diagram. It puts an weird spin on everyday social senarios making people seem like cogs, or whatever. This video reminded me of the movie Stranger Than Fiction which has diagrams pop out of wierd places. I checked into that and a company called mk12 does all the digital stuff for that movie. www.mk12.com

also this is a fun for like 10 minutes
http://devendrabanhart.com/clothes.html

Chris Campbell 002

I found an interesting site called mudbubble.com, that has a portfolio of inovative flash animations. The main page has a couple of flash characters that show good characterization through motion, and cast realistic shadows. The designer placed a portfolio of twenty animations and flash on the site, all of which have their own unique qualities. The overall layout of the site is visually appealing and the creature on the side menu reacts to the movement of your mouse. The creativity in this site stood out amongst the many other sites i visited.

www.mudbubble.com

Rebecca Rury, §001

http://www.deliverancebiblechurch.com

As an HTML & CSS "dabbler" I appreciate the website of Deliverance Bible Church - NOT just because I attend the aforementioned establishment! I think this particular version of the site (there have been several over the years) was simply yet fabulously designed... Flash box here, HTML tables there, JavaScript rollovers for the menu. All these different coding elements come together to make quite a polished, easily-navigable web site.
The traditional-style tattoo motif uses a bright, warm color scheme that I find "welcoming" and intriguing. The Flash slide show provides dynamo without being too busy or flashy (heh heh). The background image pulls the whole design together without distracting from the content of the "pages." Overall, a unique, functional design. A round of applause for Pastor Jeff!

Ashlie Spears 002

After scouring the web I found a site loaded with different digital media artists and their work. After browsing over several artists and their works I picked a piece called 'Where we dream escape'by Wae Wood. His ecclectic work really stuck out to me and his use of digital media.
This piece depicts a sort of mad scientists lair where his dreams or ideas are being put into production. The artists only uses two primary colors against a background of tints of gray. The colors are also used maybe once or twice and gives the piece a eerie or horror feel. The piece was created from compilation of different ordinary images and once brought together created this laboratory image.
Overall I found the piece intringuing and unusual, but a source for new ideas. The artists use of this media was fascinating and I also liked the fact that he used so few colors and a repition of the few objects within to create an intringuing piece.

http://artworks.avalonweb.net/gallery/gallery_main.php [main site]
http://www.graphicfantasy.com/2007/WWD/wwd.html [artwork]
Lee Peterson
001

To the 2 people that may read this other than Prof. Tosten I thank you in advance and hopefully this writing will be of some benefit to you. Looking through the gate pages of the Whitney Art port link Mr. Tosten has provided I came across this web site. It’s run by these 2 artists – M. River and T. Whid. Although all of the videos that I saw posted by them were pretty interesting, the one I recommend you check out is titled “Five small videos about interruption and disappearing.” Like the title suggests there are five videos that appear very minimally/simply made. They’ve incorporated this illusion of cooperation within the videos. I guess they want you to actually believe that your interacting…..you have a say in what is going to take place and yet, certain parts of the site intentionally make you wait, almost anxiously. Of course these videos are just looped and dependent on timing, but they’ll pull you in like a cat to a ball of yarn (at least they did for me). If you’re a hermit and feel like socializing these videos are for you. They kind of remind me of a more complex, mature version of that game that takes place in middle school when some wise ass would write in page 13 of a textbook “go to page 57” and on page 57 you read “go to page 264” and so on so forth. You know what’s coming next and it’s a stupid game at its core, but it does kill time and every time you come across that command to go to a certain page…you’ll do it. If you didn’t know any better you’d think the “little people on your screen” are picking on you. One thing about these artists that I liked immediately was that when you click on their link on the gate pages, this new tab opens up and you don’t know what to think. There’s the sound of a robotic orgasm in the background and the actual page in like an inch by inch tile in the corner of the monitor. I didn’t understand it at all, but that mystery and invitation for open interpretation is what kept me curious and continued my investigation of the site. The two artists’ motto is “Meaning from misunderstanding.” I doubt I interpreted the digital art in the manner which inspired the two to create the videos but I do know that it was that subtlety and not-in-your-face presentation that made me think about what it was I was viewing. I wasn’t just spoon fed some universal/generic meaning. That’s the way I believe art is meant to be - despite the intentions of the artist, the unique interpretation of the viewer is always right.

http://www.mteww.com/five_small_videos/

Jaclynn Duncan Digital Design - Section 002

www.marilynmanson.com/

When you get to this site you can see that it is made up of very abstract images. The colors go well togher in creating a certain mood for the page. I liked how when you move your mouse across the page, the stretcher follows with it, revealing more abstract images as you go. Though I am not a Marilyn Manson fan, I came across this website and thought that it was really neat how the artist expresses himself in the page. The page has a bit of a creepy sense to me, but the way it was created caught my attention.

The colors used on this page are of a low saturation. The background is made up of light shades of blue, purple and white. The colors to the front help to bring out the 3-dimensional view of the bug on the left and the stretcher that is used to move left and right. The use of red coloring tends to bring out specific detail.

I like the way the photos spin when you hover over them, which makes the page more interesting to view. It makes you want to discover everything on the page to see what all has animation. The page also demonstrates line in how the background is made up of a line and also how the stretcher runs along a straight line horizontally both ways. There are also lines that seem to be "dragging" the stretcher, which move left or right according to mouse movement. There isn't much use of text, but I found the graphics very interesting for not being a Manson fan. His unique style of work stands out to me.

Karla Stroman Dig Design 2304 001

Link: http://www.bearskinrug.co.uk/

After looking at a number of websites, I came across this illustrator/designer's personal website. The website is designed in a low saturation complimentary color scheme of purple and green with a few spots of neutral colors to break it up. I really like this website because it fits great with what he is trying to present himself as.. an illustrator. The website looks as if it was hand drawn out from the text to the blots and random shapes of color painted on the background. Even the text chosen and the line quality around the menu boxes looks non-computer generated. His site is very easy to manuever around and I really enjoyed his ability to fill up the entire webspace without making it look cluttered. Also, I really enjoyed seeing this man's artwork. His use of line quality and color is amazing and the concepts behind is artwork are very original and just lighthearted and fun to view. Also, on the right side of the work page there is a small box titled The Bear. You can choose a number of different things to drag and drop into the box with the bear and watch him interact with the objects. It held my attention for a while. Maybe a little too long!

Jennifer Haywood SEC 002

http://www.reallywildflowers.co.uk/department/services/

I found this website and it immediately caught my attention. Yes.. I like flowers, but it was just a simple design and the colors were very harmonious. There is unity in saturation and the site was very easily navigated. It's graphics were well made (not overdone) and represented the product perfectly, with the right amount of variety. The Site is well balanced and symmetrical using shapes and lines to emphasize. A Minimal amount of pictures helps to give reality to the product.

I think this site is a very good demonstration of Web Design. It is easy and interesting to look at and very easy to navigate.

Tracy McKnight - Section 003

http://eng.dolcegabbana.it/deg.asp?toSection=home

This website is a great example of Elements and Principles of Design in the digital world. The use of lines and their movement across the page are great examples of directional force, making the viewer focus their attention to the middle of the page to where the content of the site is displayed. Also, the use of warm colors for the background makes the pictures with bright white backgrounds jump off the page.

I really like the way this website is constructed. My favorite feature is the menu and when the viewer clicks on the link it displays all the links for the site on geometric shapes that move to the middle of the screen. Also, the simple design of this site has a huge impact on the way the products are being viewed.

Ian Urbantke - Digital Design 001

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/seamonsters/listings.html

on the right side of the page theres a small menu labeled more sea monsters. the link titled watch movie trailer has a pop-up that shows a short movie (1min 22seconds) that movie shows the world going back in time very quickly to a time when the ocean covered the earth and monsters ruled the seas. The way the monsters are made looks absolutely realistic to provide a window into that world. the transition from modern time to the prehistoric time is by far my favorite part of the movie because of how detailed it is in showing the reversal of time. because it has images from every time of the day, and each image shows part of the world disolve until the whole screen is under water and the monsters fill the screen.

John Manning Digital Design Section 002

I found this website (Media Inspiration: the designers resource) while looking through countless digital media sites on Google. I really like this website because it allows the artists to submit their works in the gallery. Media Inspiration showcases artists of various genres from web designers, flash artists and animators to more traditional arts like photography and painting. If you click on the gallery tab you can choose between many of these types of art. There are hundreds of submissions from artists all over the world. My personal favorite were the graphic artists works that had been submitted. Their use of programs like Photoshop 7 and CorelDRAW show the awesome capabilities of these programs and the endless possibilities of the creative mind. This is very inspiring for the beginning graphic artist. The website also allows the viewer the opportunity to contact the artist or go to the artists own personal website if a link has been provided. Check it out!

http://www.mediainspiration.com/

Tim Blackwell Digital Design 002

I found this site on the fwa, it instantly grabbed my attention after seeing "Master Chief" from Halo 3, a new game that has come out for the xbox360 with some of the most amazing graphics microsoft has come out with so far.

The page was pretty nice how it was set up, the colors went well with what they were trying to express which was a battle ground. It had a small introduction then instrustions on how to navigate through it which made it a hundred times easier to navigate through. At multiple points you can click on easily noticable icons and move to another section of the page. It was very well laid out and the main basics of the page was just to screen shot where ever the navigation led you too. So it kind of was a create your own screenshot web page. Needless to say this page was very well thought out, the colors and navigation through it were absolutly amazing. It definatly needs to be checked out.

Kristi Kennington - 002

After searching several websites, I chose an interactive website that caters to both adults and children. Upon reading the "about" section I found out that this site was created by JR Fabito as a final project for his MFA in Computer Arts New Media program at the Academy of Arts University.

The home page is very simple, yet follows the principles and elements of design. Upon entering the site, the user may either browse other users creations or go directly into building a unique Paper Critter of their own.

It seems that many people have enjoyed this site and the unique creative possibilities of the Paper Critters site, as there have been 4651 toys created since the site was designed. It was the site of the day on www.theFWA.com on Aug 15th, 2007.

Check it out: www.papercritters.com

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Casey Kopecky- Digital Design- MW8

SITE:
The work I chose is titled "Spool T-shirt"; when you go to the main website you click the center to enter, then you click on WORK then click on NON MOTION then click the NEXT button (it's on the second page).
The work is simple and yet so much is going on at once. The subjects all appear to be under water by the sway of the bubbles and the stems of the plants. By adding the swirls of motion under the turtle's feet give the affect of clouds of sand being pushed away from the turtle's attempt to move ahead. By not having any artist statement or written description I'm left with assuming that it could possibly be an environmental piece.I enjoy the three simple colors of blues, yellow,and orange;at the same time it would appeal more with more colors.(www.mk12.com)
-Casey Kopecky

Friday, October 5, 2007

Debbie Bryan, 001

http://www.art.net/Studios/Visual/Rubinoff/SHOW3/index.html

This web site belongs to video and digital artist Philip Rubinoff. The page that the link will take you to is a video diary of a trip to Israel made in 1993. My favorite work is one called "Robyn in Contemplation". The piece is very linear in style on a back ground of tan. The lines vary in color from magenta to green to black. The concept is interesting. Even with the simplified quality of the image, one can feel that Robyn is deep in thought. The composition draws the viewer in at the upper left hand side of the picture and the colors carry the eye around through the image. The craftsmanship is well done in my opinion. The lines in the design are deliberately varied in thickness. The colors have a slightly smeared effect that adds interest to the piece. All in all, I feel it is a very good piece of art.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Gladys Chow, Digital Design Section 001

http://www.udon.es/

This site caught my attention with the animation of noodles dropping down the page and swinging to the left to transform into the menu bar. There were several different principles and elements of design I found the site to do well. For example, on the Customer Zone page [under UDON menu], the directional forces of noodles strands come in from different directions introducing their Wall papers. The site layout is in the form of geometric shapes with the rectangular page and circular menu and scroll buttons. It uses numerous organic shapes, from the noodles hanging from various pages to the images seen on each page.

Repetition and rhythm of the circular shape is seen on menu buttons, scroll buttons, price quote bubbles (above the images on the Food products and Cooking utensils pages), and on the Merchandising UDON page [under UDON SHOP menu], where animated circles appear sporadically to bring the t-shirt into view.

Time and motion are illustrated from their ‘loading page’ noodle bowl icon - the longer it takes for the noodles and soup to fill the bowl, the longer it takes for the page to load.

Unity of the website layout is not only seen from the repetition of shapes but in the color scheme consisting of grayscale colors and a rich red hue. The red hue adds emphasis to its menu buttons and page titles, and the dark gray background appears as the subordination. With this color scheme and use of simple and direct lines as seen in their noodle mascot, the realistic food and product images added contrast and variety to the pages. The pages are of asymmetrical balance, with images of their products kept at a consistent scale and proportion. Images are larger in scale on certain pages, such as the hand holding chopsticks on the Rice page [under FOOD menu] to occupy negative space and balance the page layout.

I thought this website was easy to navigate throughout its pages, and had some subtle and entertaining sound effects and animation. The interaction provided on the Food products and Cooking utensil pages [under UDON SHOP menu] allowed the viewer to view an image larger in scale when the mouse hovered over the image, and also to control the speed of scrolling throughout the images. Creative noodle/restaurant drawings and images can be seen throughout the pages, examples include the noodle mascot sitting in a sake bottle on the Drinks page [under FOOD menu] and it swimming in a bowl with chopsticks in the Take away page [under FOOD menu].

Chad Partain - 002

http://www.freegiftforlife.com/lifestories.php

There’s no question there are a million “awesome” sites, but only a few that really follow the principles of design.

When I first view the homepage of this site I’m immediately drawn into the very center of the page. With its gray background, simple text, and large graphic, it’s clear on what they want you to see first; “FREE GIFT FOR LIFE.” These four words are the basis for the entire site. From there I’m drawn to the images of the people, and then I work my way into the navigation bar. By this time I’m completely involved with this site, and have been on it for more than 8 seconds.

A website should be clear as to where; what you’re looking for, and how to navigate. The negative space between the main graphic and the “navigation bar” is a plus because it’s not competing with the main graphic. On top of that they’ve made the navigation bar fun and interesting by doing something completely different than your usual highlighted text. As you scroll over each one of the words in the navigation bar it circles it as if someone is doing it by hand. Great touch!

Each link/page has the same simplicity throughout the whole site. I’m finding that simplicity is the key for a user-friendly site.

http://www.freegiftforlife.com/lifestories.php

Ted Campbell 002

http://www.dissizslix.com/openindex.htm

I found this website on accident but immediately knew that I had to blog about it. The flash is amazing, the creativity using the balled up paper that rolls around and turns into "Slick" is definately one of the best things I've seen. The site is not too jumbled around with useless content which is a plus. The way he incorporates his graffiti abilities within the site great also. He uses a lot of great music and sound effects to help enhance the site and movement of the various objects. I especially love how everything is contained within something else; i.e. clicking on the "all about Slick" icon transitions through the use of flash to bring up a picture of a guy holding open his jacket to reveal links to different videos or text relating to Slicks bio. Overall a very impressive site.

whitney phillips s003

www.iamalwayshungry.com
This website showcases Nessim Higson's personal and commercial work. I think the website itself is an amazing example of good digital design, but I will focus more on one of his projects. When you go to the website, choose showcase from the menu, then click "ADOBE" on the left navigation bar. This is a commissioned collaboration piece with Mitch Paone that was supposed to suggest a sense of community. There are stills of the animation, or you can view the piece by clicking either "small" or "large" above the viewing frame. The animation is very simple, but well thought out. The limited color pallete draws your attention to the text in the first part, then to an individual in a community in the second part. The way the "camera" moves solidifies the maze-like idea.
I love how they achieved a sense of unity in the whole piece when the individual elements are very different. I also love the abstract interpretation of the original idea.

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Lorine Williams -Section 002

http://www.da2.org.uk/da2.htm

I was impressed with this website because it interprets music though design. The images show the principles of design for example, Aurora image depicts the rhythm by the movement of the light. The emphasis and subordination is accomplished by the warm and cool colors. The emphasis on colors make your eyes move in and out and around in a circle. The unity come alive as the light move around and variety is showed visual changes as it makes it circle. The warm color green is very strong element that gives this image contrast. . Another example, Sky Orchestra is a classic example of shape, texture and color. The movement of the balloons going up into the sky shows rhythm. The cool color blue directs your view to follow the balloons up.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Jennifer Forney Digital Design Sec 002

http://www.cocoonclub.net/main/en_swf.jsp

I stumbled onto this site by accident, actually. It's the website for the Cocoon Club, something that seems to be a very hip and trendy... well, club. I found it fairly interesting that because of the image the club is obviously trying to portray, they had to make their website reflect that, as well. And they most certainly did.

To start off, the colors are carefully chosen to reflect the nightlife that everyone attending these types of things tend to gravitate towards. Even though there are little more than dots of colors, it is arranged in manner to reflect city lights. The layout itself is actually very simplistic but modern, and it pulls your attention to the center fairly easily. (Which is a good thing, considering that's where all the information lies.) When clicking on an item menu, there are short animations that unfold while loading. They come in the form of shapes, black and whtie, and eventually disperse to reveal the information that you were looking for.

Navigation is also fairly simplified. I like how the information presented is not necessarily cluttered with visual media. Instead, all things visual are nicely spaced out around around the information rather than interrupting it. It's very clean-cut and oozes of "cool" and "this is one place where you know you want to bring your friends if you want to impress them". And this is just my general impression by looking at the design and layout. I didn't necessarily take any of the actual text into account.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Kendall Stephenson, DIgital Design 2304

Digital Design blog 1

BLOG ENTRY 1
ART 2304 DIGITAL DESIGN
Instructor: Erik Tosten

Assignment:

Your assignment is to scour the Internet for an example of outstanding use of digital media. Discuss how the elements and principles are used to make this design great in addition to your personal response to the work. On your blog entry, list your name and a link to your chosen site. Don’t just talk about your favorite web site or your best friends myspace page, think about how your example relates to digital art/ design as a whole and to this course.

Instructor will provide the blog url.

Browse these links to get an idea of the types of digital work the instructor is looking for.

http://artport.whitney.org/
http://artport.whitney.org/resources/index.shtml
http://artport.whitney.org/gatepages/index.shtml

Outcomes:
1. Broaden the scope of students’ understanding of digital media.
2. Through writing, demonstrate how traditional elements and principles relate to new media.