DALLAS

So, it's Christmas time in the city. Me and Monique headed down south and here is some of the cool stuff we found. These shots are from a project done my Niemen Marcus in collaboration with the St. Jude Children's Hospital. They asked kids to draw their dream christmas tree and here is what they got... sweeeeet. To have the mind of a child again!!!!

new first scene

I like this alot better. I kinda want to add a little but of steam but, probably not. let me know what you think!

whatcha think?

main page for my making crystals tutorial. Any suggestions on things to add subtract or any way t make it more " mad scientisty"

banksy

ok as you know i love banksy! i hope to go see some of his stuff when i visit Europe for 4 months in March. here is some stuff i found recently that made me happy. To find banksy's work just enter his name into any search engine.

fun fun fun

I was browsing the web, something i don't do too often , haha, and i stumbled upon this design website. Kind of random yet interesting. I checked out the vernacular type (LOVE IT!) and the project displayed above. They have some fun ideas. It is always neat to check out whats going on in the real world of design. check it out!
THE PLACE

Visual Map

making crystals

having a crystal growing on your windowsill can be good fun. With food coloring, you can make them any color you wish.
The problem is finding a suitable chemical. You may have seen copper sulfate and potasium permanganate in school. Both can be quite toxic and are therefore not easily available in a local drug store. Your science teacher may allow you to have a sample, it you ask very politely.
For this chapter, we decided to use potassium aluminum sulfate, better known as alum powder. It is a non-toxic substance that used to be used to whiten bread. As with any household substance, you shouldn't get it in your eyes. It is available from the following website: www.sciencecompany.com. It is also commonly sold as foot powder. 1 ounce will cost you about $3 at the time of writing, not including postage. That is enough for crystal making, but alum can be used for fireproofing and tanning skin- as discussed in other chapters. It also works as an astringent on small cuts, or the crystals can be used as an underarm deodorant. You might want to get more. Alternatively, you can grow crystals with common salt or sugar.

YOU WILL NEED:
- 10 grams of potassium aluminum sulfate (alum)
- a glass tumbler
- a popsicle stick
- warm water
-thread
- small stones, preferably with sharp edges (but be careful!!)

METHOD:
1. Make sure the stones are clean-wash them thoroughly in running water
2. Put enough warm water int he tumbler to cover the stones. (about a third of the cup). Do not put the stones in yet.
3. Add the alum and stir furiously with the stick until it stops dissolving easily. You may be left with a few grains at the bottom. Ignore them. You can either put the stones straight in or, for the classic look, tie a thread around a small stone and the other end around the stick, as in the pictures. We did both
4.If you are intending to add food coloring, do it now. Show proudly to parents, who will pat you on the head for being a "little genius".

Evaporation is the key for these small crystals, so make sure it is in a warm place. It will take a few days for the first ones to appear, and the full effect can take a few weeks. Larger crystals can be made by repeating the process- after tying a small crystal tothe thread.

The crystal you see here is a picture of the one we grew-the one on the left, not the enormous thing. The huge circle came from the bottom of the glass and in many ways is more impressive than than the actual crystal. It took about six weeks in total, and we refilled the alum once.

YES! I DID IT!

Web design is a bitch, BUT I DID IT! here is my progress for today, click throughs on some parts, still working on that... that path is, classes, advanced classes, divemaster, register, community, blog, register! Have fun! THANKS ANDREA! 

GOSCUBA

my tribute

Whether you are a fan of Obama or not, we must all pay tribute to what happened in American history last night. Here is my tribute to what i think is a beautiful individual and the 44th president of the United States.

information graphics in KC

here is a sweet sign i found in an ally in downtown Kansas City, MO. hehe. I thought it was a fantastic example of info. graphic!

Hey mom! I'm on the web!

hey kids, check out my first attempt at web page design there are only a few links...sorry, i am still learning. There will be more soon!
http://people.ku.edu/~aniebee/goscuba_anieb/click_through/home.html

" If the work holds any magic, consider it successful"
-Louise Bourgeois

scuba sites

The scuba world needs help. The website designs are terrible. Well i am here to save the day! Here are a few of the sites I found, most made me cringe, a few were decent for the public eye to see.

what i like about you..

1. veer
What I like about this site: it is simple, to the point. Nothing in excess. It allows you to focus on the imagery, typography, illustrations etc. without any unnecessary distractions. The color palette is shades of gray. Simple and elegant. This is a website that encompasses different "elements for creativity" it does a wonderful job of highlighting those things with minute detail. There are 5 buckets that are simple and easily navigated. Everything is very black and white, with little to no confusion and distractions.

2. design sponge
this site caters to those who will view it. It is clean, organized and over all, adorable. I love it. It is for the crafty ones and definitely reflects that. I like how easy it is to navigate. I have not once felt lost or overwhelmed. When i go to this site, however, i never have a particular thing i am looking for, but I always find something that interests me.

3. AIGA
i have visited this site a lot this semester. It isn't my favorite but i must mentions something I really appreciate about its design. On every page you navigate to there is a side bar on the right hand on the screen that says "in this section". i love this! It makes navigation that much simpler.

4. scribe
this is the homepage of my favorite graffiti artist. This site caters to his fans. It is so him, from the illustration to the navigation and music. I love the creativity that went into this illustrators page. The buckets are the most unique i have ever seen, sections of a tree. Each time you click on a separate section of the tree it takes you to a different land with odd characters and layout that may not make sense to those who do not know the work of scribe. The website is clean and free of extraneous information so you can focus on the work and illustration of the site and the images posted. My only problem with this site it that he is slow to update it... :(

5. sagmeister
i love visiting this site! It is so simple (hmmm, i think there is a common theme here!) . There is absolutely no extraneous information. Each page gives you about two paragraphs and an illustration, a back button and arrows to navigate. The one thing I have a small issue with is the home page. It is mildly overwhelming. I find myself getting lost in the movement of the background, but what can i say...it is very Sagmeister.

6. Esty
This site is where you can go to buy hand made goods. This site has the potential to be so disastrous. I has so much information but the designer did a fantastic job of organizing thing in to specific buckets. Usually on sites where there is buying and selling going on it can become very chaotic and difficult to find what you are looking for. Esty did a great job of making navigation simple and effective.


8. Widespread Panic
The reason i like this site is because of their buckets! They are soley icons, no words just images that represent different sections! nice

"if form is content"

-we need to stick with what information is given. Simplify a lot. Make it a lot easier to comprehend but stay true to the nature of the text. If our content is a disaster and all over the place our website will be as well. We need to make sure and organize to the best of our ability in a way that is easy to understand and doesn't distract from the content. (which is the reason why the person visited the site in the first place)

go ahead, answer this. I dare you.

In the recipe for a good website a few basic ingredients are list to make a good site. What other ingredients of methods could we use as designers to produce a successful website?

ORDER! ORDER! ORDER IN THE WORLD!

function of design= order the world

-there are endless ways, possibilities, opinions, senses

you can:

-juxtapose

-bend

-manipulate

-arrange and rearrange

-tweek

Recipe for a Good WebSite

-heaps of content

-fresh content (daily/weekly)

-quality

-objectivity doesn't exist

-you can't please everyone

-have a voice, point of view  is why people come to your site 

-don't try to make dull content fancy

-concentrate on what you have

Jim Frazier

TEXAS BOY! I love love love this illustrator! Simple, sleek, texture, absurd,organic did i say simple? i love this guy check him out. I love his play on space / proximity. His illustrations feel like printmaking. I feel his hand in these works, i feel like now everything is so COMPUTER. check him out, you will see what i am saying.

round 7,8, 9 , 10

"The More You Know"...

... about clients history, their business, past projects, the better you can solve problems.
RELEVANT SOLUTIONS= more info. about client (politics, goals, agenda)

CLIENTS INTERNAL CHALLENGES:
-get client history
-make allies
-make sure "head honcho" person with veto power in involved from the start

OUTLINE the process
-explain process to masses
-make sure everyone gets the big picture
-list roles, responsibilities and get contact info
-assign day-to-day person, person that will guide the proj. through all stages

TIMELINE
1. find out client expectations
- what are the fixed variables?
2. separate true urgency from false urgency
-what has hard deadline?

AUDIENCE&CONTENT
1. identify&prioritize
-identify all possible audiences
-establish vitality and importance of each
2. requirements:
-emotional: how do you want your audience to respond emotionally?
-physical: physical content, physical interaction
3. organize content: the alphanumeric solution
-be prepared to help client think through context and copy
-provide "birds-eye-view

CONTENT ANALYSIS
-align design approach to clients long term goals
-look at previous versions of project

CONTENT STRATEGY
-goals clear?
-what needs to be achieved?
-define success
-identify assumptions

REVIEW CONTENT
-all pieces together?
-message on target?
-tone on target and specified?

CONCLUSION: knowing content...
-helps eliminate surprises
-design effective solutions
-be organized
-build client relationships
-stay engaged

UPDATING
-how often?
-can a non-designer do it?
-how will it be reproduced?

FORM FACTOR: cost? updating? hindering or helping?



STRUCTURAL OVERVIEW: site maps/page maps/ flow charts
SITE MAPS
-gives a visual outline of all the components and informational elements to a project
-used for web and interactive design site structure and navigational flow
-allows for organized discussion
-made before design process begins
-infinite possibilities for how it looks

WIREFRAMES "schematics"
-detailed guideline for layout (no details such as color, type, shape etc.)
-discover which element in the design are most and least important to determine focal point
-organizes: headers, sub-heads, intro paragraph, text, sidebars
-thorough
-free from extraneous graphic elements and details

LOVE IT!

so i am obsessed with this new color website! COLOURLOVERS. You type in a word and it brings up all these different color palettes. The best part is you can download them right into illustrator or photoshop! WHEW! check it out.

ROUND 3,5 &6

i don't know what happened to round 4. But here is round 3, 5 & 6. On round 5 i lost some stuff, you will see. Round 6 is getting close, timing is better and it is just about there. I am going to add a "mask" over specific areas as the vine grows, making it not so overwhelming and specifing on certain information. It should be sweet. I am really excited about it. I hope it turns out how i imagine it! Round 6 I would say is approx. 30 hours of work.

a brief overview on CREATIVE BRIEFS

A CREATIVE BRIEF IS:

a short document that outlines the procedures, goals and background of a project, so that everyone is on the same page. {GOALS, SAME PAGE, ACCURATE, COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF PROJ.} a plan. 

-1-10 pages

-single point of communication

-repository for the critical, practical and inspirational

-target marker

-echos key points 

-different versions for different people (more complex for diff. teams, i.e. contains client quirks)

CONTENT:

1. CLIENT INFO:

-business info. (address, name, accomplishments etc)

-client sector

-competitor sector

-intended audience

-business context

2. PROJECT INFO:

-project overview (1-2 sentences)

-key information and hierarchy (addresses issues, tone)

3. PROJECT GOALS/REQUIREMENTS:

-what is the problem?

-opportunities

-successes

-obstacles

-technology requirements

-creative requirements

-branding guidelines

-quirks/ dislikes

4. PROJECT LOGISTICS:

-deliverables (page count, document size, file type etc.)

-project team (key players, roles and responsibilities)

-key dates

-budget/ hours

5. USER PERSONA:

-formulated from common sense, research and overall project know-how

-identifies specific desires, personality attributes, needs, habits, capabilities, how person relates to project

-develop 3-5 personas

-creates empathy

motion day 2

well i think i am getting the hang of this. It is going to be the BIGGEST pain in the ass but it is worth the effort! so here is day two!

round I. Making things move

So this is my first time attempting to make stuff move. It really isn't that hard, and looks really sweet. If you have the patience check out the tutorial at www.creativecow.com.

Question for YOU from reading TWO

Information design has made our life more comprehensible in a society of "information overload". This being an election year, millions are headed to the polls. We all remember the Florida miscount that turned the tables of the 2000 presidential election. What do you suggest information designers such as ourselves can do to prevent this from ever happening again? For example, what "tools" could designers use to make information more clear to a wide variety of people?

To Suggest

To Suggest...
feminism
a sense of empowerment
art nouveau
the power of voice through history
change
soft yet powerful

Mood Board

BANKSY

"BANKSY"
an anonymous British graffiti artist. His stuff is beautiful. He has this way of representing 2-d drawing in 3-D manors. His stuff makes me laugh, makes me cry and kinda makes me want to draw all over walls. If you do yourself one favor this week...CHECK HIM OUT! BANKSY

if you're a DESIGNER you should know who these people are (part III)

NIGEL HOLMES
Founder of the company Explanation Graphics, he spends his time doing just that, explaining ordinary tasks step by step pictorially. He is famous for representing ordinary actions such as a face lift, how to do a self-breast exam, and a map of towns and rivers with food related names. In his motion graphics, icons, maps, charts, illustrations and diagrams he uses very simple illustrations. Everything is very basic easy enough for a 5 year old to comprehend. Holmes has worked for such clients as CNN, Fortune, GQ, Kids Discover, Life, Time, Travel and Leisure, and Understanding USA. His site is really simple and really informational: http://www.nigelholmes.com/

if you're a DESIGNER you should know who these people are (part II)

RICHARD SAUL WURMAN "information architect"
An architect and the founder of TED (Technology | Entertainment | Design) who is widely known for his ability to make information understandable to the masses. He focuses on subjects he (along with a majority of the population) has difficulty understanding. These topics such as Information, children, heart and cardiovascular disease, wall street, urban atlas, and wills, trusts and estate planing have become the topics of his books. Here is an interesting project of Wurman's: http://www.192021.org/

if you're a DESIGNER you should know who these people are

EDWARD TUFTE
Born in KANSAS CITY, MO in 1942. Grew up in Beverly Hills, CA. Tufte is known for his solutions for visually communicating data. He has written seven books on information design and visual literacy. All of his books on analytical design are personally written, illustrated, and published by Tufte himself.He is by trade a statistic extraordinaire but also a Professor of Emeritus of Statistics, political economy and information design at Yale University. He has had clients such as the Guggenheim Foundation as well as Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences. He has quite a sense of humor: check out his article bashing Microsoft Power Point: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html

Stories

1.0
The women in the United States have always had a voice. Whether it was protesting their equality to men through demanding equal wages, the right for equal working conditions, the right for equal opportunities in the work place, the right to vote, or their right to give birth, they have spoken. According to the 2004 U.S Census Bureau, their voice is still being heard. Since 1984, more women then men have gone to the polls each election year. However, there are still tens of thousands of women who neglect to vote each term. Our voice is loud and history proves how powerful we are when united.

2.0
Women have done it all, over come discrimination and reclaimed the rights and equality they deserve. The Feminist movement ignited a sense of independence in women that has only flourished throughout the decades. Women are taking their lives, wants and need into their own hands. Women a becoming the heads of households, CEO's of major corporations, entrepreneurs, and college educated. Women are also taking over the polls. Since 1984 women have out numbered men in the percentage of registered voters who have actually voted. Our education and passion to succeed has pushed us this far, voicing our opinions regarding our future leaders will push us even farther.

OBJECTIVE for PROJ I

The objective for the "Get Out the Vote" project is to clearly represent and accurately explain a piece of reflective data regarding voting/ issues concerning the 2008 Presidential election using motion graphics. We must concretely and in a nonpartisan manor represent this piece of data by paying close attention to variables such as time, audio, transitions, color, motion, scale, proximity etc. This should be informative as well as entertaining to the viewer. It should keep their attention and provide the viewer with an experience that allows them to see, feel, and sense the data.

BILL VIOLA

I recently discovered this CREEPY artist BILL VIOLA. He works a lot with video. I think his stuff is really unique and very odd, but definitely worth checking out. They way he depicts experiences we all approach and things we all think about is really different. He really gives these emotions, thoughts, and experiences and life of their own.

"Viola uses video to explore the phenomena of sense perception as an avenue to self-knowledge. His works focus on universal human experiences—birth, death, the unfolding of consciousness—and have roots in both Eastern and Western art as well as spiritual traditions, including Zen Buddhism, Islamic Sufism, and Christian mysticism. Using the inner language of subjective thoughts and collective memories, his videos communicate to a wide audience, allowing viewers to experience the work directly, and in their own personal way". (billviola.com)

2008 OLYMPICS (yes, i am addicted)

The overwhelming success of the U.S. this year in Beijing has had me glued to my t.v. for the past two weeks. I have never gotten into the Olympics but for some reason this year thats is all that consumes my waking life. I was interested to see what type of posters were made for this year. Here are so I found. I love and am excited about their diversity.