Phenomology

Raisin Experiment:

Firstly we done a mindfulness exercise, this time however we imagined we were holding a raisin. We were told to think about how this felt in our hands, the texture and the weight and temperature.

Even though this was all imagination I still got the feeling of the small, soft raisin and I even could think about feeling the wrinkles of the fruit. I could also imagine squeezing the raisin and feeling how soft it was.

When asked to pretend to smell the imaginary raisin I could actually smell something. It brought back a lot of memories as I haven’t eaten raisins since around primary school, so I got a lot of different memories, feeling and smells from doing this.

When asked to place the raisin inside my mouth I couldn’t actually taste it, neither could I taste it when asked to swirl it around my mouth. I thought this was strange as I could feel and imagine the smell of it but not the taste.

Part 2

We then carried out the exact same routine this time with an actual raisin. With the real fruit it was a lot softer than I had previously imagined and smaller than I imagined previously. However it still had the same feeling with the dry wrinkly texture.

 

SPACE FRUIT

A luscious fruit with a glistening skin and succulent soft inside

Visualisation

Target Audience

The brief:

Design an A2 print poster that describes and visualises an aspect of production that has many ethical consequences (perhaps both good and bad) in terms of the beings and environments it impacts, sustainability, economics, human rights and so on.

Your audience will be the ordinary people who are the purchasers, users and perhaps makers of the case studies you present. Be informative and frank, yet consider how you present the more difficult aspects (you can present any way you deem fit but show that you have justified your approach). You should assume the audience is local (UK) and you need to relate your case to their life, even (especially) when it’s life cycle might mostly take place overseas or away from the public eye.

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Our group poster will be displayed around the college, so we need an eye catching and engaging poster that will make people stop and read the information on the poster. We want the viewer to make up their own mind about the ethical implications of cut flowers, so we will include good and bad aspects from the subject. As our audience is UK based we need to make sure the information we present is made LOCAL for them so they can understand the impacts of what is happening even though it is across seas. The poster needs to be engaging at a distance and close up, we can have a fair amount of text on this poster as people around the college should have time to stop and read it.

As my group was surprised at the ethical implications of cut flowers as much as I was, it should be an interesting topic for people to stop and read more about it. The text needs to be clear, legible and easy to understand. We need to make sure the page is not overloaded with text as that will put people off from stopping and reading the information. The illustrations we include should compliment the type used and be bold to draw the audience in.

 

 

 

Sean De Burca – Workshop

Today we had a workshop with Sean De Burca, a graphic designer and typographer who has previously also been on the HND and BA course. He went through a lot of his early work when he started getting into lettering and also his recent work. I was amazed with some of the work he had produced especially for local companies that I have seen before.

(Above) Examples of the work shown to us designed and created by Sean De Burca.

Sean talked to us about his work and freelancing and answered any questions we had for him. Seeing his work from pencil sketches to professional illustrated typography pieces has made me think about practicing more with typography by hand and seeing if I can improve my skills, as this is a really nice skill to be able to have as all of the logos and type pieces you create will be unique to you and can’t just be typed out with a font.

Sean had also provided with one of his early templates to help us design our own lettering. This grid layout was really helpful to gauge where you wanted your serifs and keeping everything in scale. Using this template myself really made me appreciate the amount of time, effort and skill needed to produce some of his work.

It was a really insightful and interesting workshop to have.

Here is my quick sketched lettering of my name using Sean’s template and using his guide that could be torn of to create more lines.

 

Final Muse Site

Final Website Link:

http://rhyswatts02.businesscatalyst.com/index.html

Here are mock ups of my finished web based portfolio. I’m extremely happy with what I produced and I feel I have successfully managed to go through the learning outcomes to produce something that meets the needs of the brief.

Note:

As this was designed mostly in time outside of tutorials I used my Macbook to do so. This however has a different screen size and resolution so the outcome looks different on Mac desktops. The parallax transitions do not meet up the same on the desktop as they do on  my laptop which is something I would like to try and solve, but I’m aware many of my peers also are facing the same issue.

 

Evaluation and Reflection

In what ways does the visual communication/message of the piece meet the needs of the brief?

My visual communication meets the needs of the brief firstly by being a web based portfolio successfully showcasing my design work. I have designed it on Adobe Muse and have an easy process of how images can be added to my build in slideshows and galleries. I have also have considered choices about what work is presented, not only in a design sense but also thinking about being a socially conscious designer. I have thought about all potential audiences that I’m targeting and could reach. I have been decisive in what work is shown as well as making important changes to the layout and functionality of my website.

In what ways does the visual communication/message of the piece fail to meet the needs of the brief?

I would of liked to looked more deeply into semiotics in website design as I haven’t covered a great deal about it and the role they play in website design. I have thought about colour theory and the semiotics behind that, but I want to look into typography in contrast with design layouts and imagery used.

What are the strengths of the visual communication? Why?

The strength of my visual communication lies within the layout and deign of my website. I chose to battle with a parallax website layout that proved to be very challenging at first using Muse, however with persistent attempts I finally produced something I was happy with. I feel this layout is engaging for my target audience and works well as a design portfolio.

What are the weaknesses of the visual communication? Why?

The weaknesses I feel is in my typography. As this was my first time using Muse software I was unaware of certain web fonts that you could use, and I didn’t understand at first why my typography was turning blurry and pixelated. The class also had a problem with blurry imagery that wasn’t resolved which I feel lets down my visual communication but I understand this will be noticed in marking.

In what practical ways could the piece be developed or improved?

If I spent some more time investigating some downloadable widgets I could have include more engaging items in the website, such as a built in Instagram page so users wouldn’t have to be directed to another page. Small things such as looking into web based fonts that worked with Muse could of also developed my site.

Reflections:

How was my time keeping?

My time keeping was good in the early stages of this project, however progressing through it I didn’t get on too well with the Muse software and abandoned it for the online Wix service, but after creating a website on there I didn’t feel challenged enough and wanted to push myself to learn Muse for this project and future work. I’m glad I done this however I was running short of time after learning to use Muse and develop my final site. I feel it has balanced itself out now with a web based portfolio I’m happy with.

How did I use research to generate and develop ideas?

My research was vital for me to generate ideas as I needed to see what techniques designers were using on their own web based portfolios, and other websites in general discovering things like splash screens and animated imagery. I used a lot of sketching to help brainstorm ideas which I found really helpful in my design stage.

How did I use evaluations to help with my ideas generation and development?

I evaluated my work throughout the process which resulted in several changes to the main layout of the site. This is why evaluations are so important as you can develop and improve your existing work by taking a step back, looking at what you’ve produced and seeing what’s good and what’s bad about it.

How did I use experimentation during the project? How can I make this more effective?

Most of my experimentation came from sketches, and then experimenting with digital processes on Muse and Wix to develop my site. I would of liked to make this more effective by doing more experiential work before designing, such as collaging to give myself some more ideas on layouts, semiotics and colour schemes for the site.

In what ways did I show that I had achieved the Learning Outcomes? How can I improve this next time?

‘Begun to understand computer applications and their creative use.’ – I showed I have achieved many of the learningg outcomes through my blog, but especially understanding computer applications and their creative use as I have learnt key skills from Muse that will be transferable to many other projects, I have also used Wix online service and can see how that can be used to create creative outcomes especially with animated text and imagery.

What parts of the project did I enjoy most? Why was this the case?

I enjoyed researching the most in this project as I discovered some amazing websites that have been designed, and I can only begin to image the skills needed to create some of them especially with animated parallax sites that move with the user. Researching into these sites made me think about possible job opportunities as this was something I enjoyed doing overall.

What parts of the project did I enjoy least? Why was this the case?

The beginning stages of using Muse was my least favourite as I found it really difficult to use. I had a lot of frustrating moments with it but I eventually managed to create my portfolio using its tools.

How can I go about developing and improving  the parts I found difficult?

The only thing I can suggest to myself is practice, practice and practice as this is the only way I will be able to develop my skills using this software.

Overall this was an enjoyable project and I’m pleased to have learnt the basics of a new software with new transferable skills. I’m happy with my final outcome and I believe it is fitting and works well for target audience.

Good Design Evaluation: Muse Site

• In what ways have you considered the sustainability of your project process and outcomes?

Sustainability in this project was a bit different to most as nearly all of my work was done digitally onscreen with no need for paper or printing. The only paper I used was in my sketchbook to draft up designs and layouts.

• In what ways have you considered the ethical implications of your project process and outcomes?

When uploading my design work I was cautious of all pieces that could cause any offence to somebody or give me a negative name as a graphic designer. I also took into things such as copyright laws that could cause any issues with images and typography.

• In sustainability and ethical terms in what ways was your work in this project an improvement or a backward step for you as a socially conscious designer?

This project has only strengthen my knowledge as a socially conscious designer as I have taken into consideration ethical implications of my website through what I present through it, along with sustainable practices using mostly digital software to create my final outcome. Learning the software ‘Muse’ has also helped me develop my skill set and broaden what I can produce, and I feel I have shown myself as a socially conscious designer throughout.

• What targets can you make at this point for your work in the future as a socially conscious designer?

My next target would be to think about the overarching message my design work gives out and what connotations it will have to the audience and wider public, if any negatives can be given out from the work to any religion, political and social beliefs. And there is also always room to improve my knowledge as a socially conscious designer.

 

 

Cut Flower [ETHICS]

For our ethics brief my group was giving the subject of cut flowers. At first I was puzzled at this subject as I had never even thought that cut flowers could possibly have a negative effect on peoples ethics and the environment.

Firstly the group started to research into the subject and find as much information as possible

• 19,000 tonnes of flowers are imported from Kenya to the UK.
• 33,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions are produced.
• Carbon is released from fossil fuels used in circulation, fertiliser production, refrigeration and transport, as well as the methane released from binned flowers.
• 90% of cut flowers sold in the UK are imported mostly from Colombia or Kenya
• 70% of cut flowers are sold to supermarket.
• • • Sainsbury’s
    • Marks & Spencer
    • Tesco
    • Waitrose

• The flower industry is bigger than the music industry.
• The UK spends £2.2billion a year on flowers.

Flower Importation:

• Belgium – pot plants
• Canary Islands – roses, chrysanthemums
• Caribbean – tropicals, foliage
• Chile – carnations, roses
• Colombia – standard + spray carnations, roses
• Denmark – pot plants

• Ecuador – carnations, roses
• Holland – all flowers and pot plants
• India – roses
• Israel – roses, gypsophila, wax flower, anigozanthos, all summer flowers
• Italy – carnations, chrysanthemums, foliage
• Kenya – roses, carnations, spray carnations, statice
• Malta – chrysanthemums, ‘paper white’ narcissi
• Morocco – spray carnations
• South Africa – proteas, strelitizia, roses, exotics
• Spain – carnations, chrysanthemums
• Thailand – orchids
• Turkey – spray carnations
• Venezuela – carnations, roses

 

https://www.nfuonline.com/assets/63880

http://www.flowersandplantsassociation.org.uk/industry/imported-origins.htm

http://www.sevenponds.com/after-death/environmental-and-social-impact-of-flowers

Different Browsers

I needed to test my finished web portfolio in different browsers.

http://rhyswatts02.businesscatalyst.com/index.html

I started with Safari. This ran the website as I wanted it too, however some of the parallax transitions were slightly jumpy especially when scrolling past multiple pages.

Google Chrome however handles it a lot smoother during transitions and it felt a lot more reliable on Chrome than Safari. This two browsers I have tested it on are the most popular browsers used to date.

 

Muse: Pages

In my plan and sketches I decided on four pages: Home, photography, contact and social. Through my research I found these to be most popular for designers to use.

I wanted to show photography in my site to show the viewer another skill I am learning, and something that can set me apart from other designers. Do to this I used one of my pages in my parallax site as a gallery. This gallery would showcase some of my photos, this would be the second page as my design work is my main area and skill set.

Here is my gallery, it features mostly automotive photography that I am mainly interesting in, along with a few other shots from my travels. This gallery auto plays upon opening and I have included thumbnails to the right of the gallery to show the other photos.

 

 

The next page in my parallax site is contact information. Muse offers a contact sheet widget that is simple and easy to use and edit. I used the simple contact sheet in my site that asks for a name, email and optional company, along with their desired message. This only needed to be simple as if there was more boxes to fill out it would lengthen the process and potentially annoy the user and not get the message to me.

Designers often include links to external social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, ect. As I have a design Instagram and Facebook page I wanted to link these from my website.

I decided to create .png icons of the two logos. I done this as I wanted the transparent background a .png file provides, this was also needed for me to create a rollover with.

I created a fade to 50% opacity with the icons to show that they were buttons, I also included of my Instagram page that can be clicked on and take the user directly to the site.

 

 

 

 

 

Muse: Subtle Touches

To give the website some life and more engaging to the user I wanted to include some small rollover techniques.

To do this you simply need to click on the desired text, icon, image and then at the top left of the Muse screen you can access the properties of the selected element. You can then change four options, the normal look, rollover, mouse down (clicked) and when it is active.

I wanted to include a subtle light blue colour through the site with the black and white scheme. Looking at the semiotics and colour theory of blue which states the color is one of trust, responsibility, honesty and loyalty. It is sincere, reserved and quiet, and doesn’t like to make a fuss or draw attention. These are all qualities that I want to convey through my portfolio as a responsible and trustworthy designer that I believe I am.

I have blue rollover on my menu text items. This also has a small short fade into the colour which is something small but gives more depth to button. I think rollover is something you need in a website for users to know that the text actually acts as a button.

On the main page slideshow I also put a 50% grey fade effect on each image when they are rolled over to show they are clickable and take you to another page, without this in preview mode I could see people missing out on the pages linked to the slideshow, which is also why I added the text underneath.