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