Exploration Into Web Design_

http://www.thebeautyaside.com/

I have looked at this web design as i feel the minimalist approach and consistent colour scheme works very well, I feel that the the use of white space is calming to the viewer and this reduces confusion and lets the content do the talking. I also feel that the minimalist aesthetics make sure not to overpower the viewer.  

In my opinion this design has aspects which are both effective and some aspects that i feel could be improved, for example: I feel that the layout of the web design is very clean and looks very professional i also love how the information is central i feel this makes the information the focal point of the design. I also feel that the icon designs are a great way of communicating a message quickly. Moving onto points i feel could be improved,  

Again the minimalist aesthetic is very appealing to me, i feel that this design looks highly professional and clean i feel that this makes sure not to overpower the viewer and communicates the information that is required. i feel that the simplistic appearance allows the navigation of the website to be simple to use the right aligned text makes maintains great readability and legibility. 

The layout of the imagery is highly effective as it leaves a lot of white space, around each image i feel this again stops the design from becoming cluttered and overpowering.

I feel that the use of photography is highly effective, i feel this is a highly effective method, however i feel that it can cause some problems, when navigating as it could become unreadable.

http://www.markus-hund.com/

Effective menu layout, This design looks clean and easy to navigate i feel this is a key aspect to creating an effective useable web design.

http://www.nike.com/gb/en_gb/lp/surfing

Again i feel that this design works really well dues to an innovative navigation bar and use of photography. However i feel this design is slightly crowded and this takes something away from the design however this is my personal opinion.

http://designspiration.net/

This is one of my personal favourites, the Designspiration website is created to display designers work like and online gallery, this means the the design must be simplistic and not overpowering. As this would take the focus away from the designs themselves. I feel this is a very effective method as it allows for the content of the website to communicate, however some may argue that this could come across as boring.   

A very clean and simplistic navigation and search bar, i feel this is easy to use and gives the design a professional neutral aesthetic.

http://www.nike.com/gb/en_gb/c/sportswear/stories/2012/10/lebron-10

I loved the navigation and placement of imagery i feel it gives the web design an innovative appearance an this would allow the viewer to engage with the design. 

http://pinterest.com/elisepesch/graphic/

Pinterest is much like the Designspiration web design a neutral design that appeals to a huge range and appeals to both sexes. Modernist style layout allows the designs to be displayed and reduce any confusion.

The next stage of this task I have decided to look at examples of web design that i feel don't work well, i feel this will be more effective from my practice as this will not be informing me on what could be effective but instead informs me on what does not work. I feel this will be the most effective method making sure i have a full understanding of what does not work

wateronwheels.com - The design displays some awful colour choice as you can see the website is garish and although it grabs your attention it is sadly not for the right reasons the layout of the design is awful as i feel there is far too much space between the navigation bar and the images this not only causes confusion but in my opinion has the viewer looking from one edge to the other edge of the screen this is not very effective at all in my opinion.

gatesnfences.com - The design above displays way too much typographic elements this causes so much confusion and is awful to look at the large amount of body copy is very overpowering and can instantly push the viewer away from the page, this can be eassily solved by summarising the type or simply inserting a link forwarding you to the text? i also feel that the colour choice comes across as too cheesy 

mrbottles.com The design above displays way too much typographic elements this causes so much confusion and is awful to look at the large amount of body copy is very overpowering and can instantly push the viewer away from the page, this can be eassily solved by summarising the type or simply inserting a link forwarding you to the text? i also feel that the colour choice comes across as too cheesy. The choice of colour for the typographic elements do not work effectively the bright blue on the photographic background make the text very illegible also the high amount of imagery makes the design overpowering. 

industrialpainter.com

The colour choice is the main flaw in this design the bright blue is garish and overpowers the viewer instantly, there are 5 colours used within this design in my opinion this is too much. the design to me is confusing and does not display its function.  

as-grafixs.de

I feel that the colour scheme is actually quite nice i feel that simplistic black and white could work well however the design lacks navigation in my opinion, i find the web page confusing i also feel that the design does not reflect in anyway what the business is about or stands for. 

petersbuss.se

This design is another example of awful web design, the use of colour is shocking the design consists of 8 colours this makes the design look shocking, the combination of bright typographic elements and the pastel backgrounds make the design disgusting to look at, again the design is very vague in informing the viewer what the site is about.

irishwrecksonline.net

This design is far too plain, the use of blank space can be very effective but in this case just makes the design look boring, the navigation is simple but i feel in effectictive due to how bland the design looks. I feel the textured background makes the design look tacky.

ptbalirealestate.com

The layout of this design is what lets it down, everything seems to be crammed into the left hand side. making the design look very cramped and costrophobic again navigation is very confusing. 

mamascheesies.com

The use of this horrific background makes this design so overpowering it is painful to look at, the typographic elements are basically unreadable when placed upon this background. after seeing this, i will make sure to never make this mistake.

yvettesbridalformal.com 

This is the worst website design by far,everything is wrong with this design the overcrowding give the design no possible navigation. the ridiculous amount of colour used is garish and pushes the viewer away. just everything about this design confuses me what was the creator thinking.4

Web Design: Visual Research_

I feel that the colour scheme shown below, works effectively in keeping the design simple and in contrast makes the typographic elements readable. 

As you can see the web design uses red and black as these are two very contrasting colours, the hierarchy of the design is very effective although i feel this is slightly boring although the purpose of this design is to focus on the design content.  

This Design displays a strong hierarchy and directs the viewers eye directly to title and then the content of the page however, I really feel that the aesthetic of the links works well however i feel that this could communicate a feeling of hierarchy just within the links maybe the link at the top is seen as being the most important. 

As you can see the image below, the design has used an image as a background for the web design. I feel this is effective as i could be used to instantly communicate the content of a page. This is something that i am going to experiment with with my design development.

Although i have stated that in some cases i feel that the monotone design is effective i sometimes feel that it can give off a boring feel to the viewer for example the design below has nothing really drawing the viewer in although i feel the modernist grid layout gives the design a clean finish i feel that because the top of the grid is aligned with the title this creates a confusing hierarchy. 

The images below are some of my main inspiration for moving onto the design development of my web design, I feel that the introduction of a full background image is highly effective in communicating the content instantly. However in some cases as shown below this can cause problems with the readability of typographic elements this is something i will have to take into consideration.  

Print and Web: Visual Research_

I have decided to look at a range of existing branding to get an overall idea of the techniques that are used to give a company or business a face or an identity that stands out amongst the crowd. 

The image blow shows how the brand name and logo can be printed across two different aspects of print based branding for example, Business cards and letterheads.

The image below shows how a constant colour scheme can be effective in this case, the items may not even be part of the brand its self. However the colour scheme its self can bring products together to give the whole brand an identity.

In my opinion i personally love black and white colour selection, as it keeps the design simplistic however in my case i do not believe this is going to be effective in communicating a message of high quality vision the colours must be bold and must stand out.

I love the way this design below applies the logo across a large range of of other products i feel this is effective due to the fact the logo stays around the same size the whole way through rather than many variations in size I will think about using this when applying my branding.

Looking at brand Specifications_

I love how this design below has completely simplified the whole idea of specification book, and instead condensed this information, and created a poster. I feel this a great technique but i will have to think about how i can get around this so that the product is transportable.

In this example i don't really think that the stock considerations have been thought about for example, towards the top of the photograph a beautiful stone coloured stock is used then this changes tot the left and then again it changes tot a card like stock_ in my opinion this creates to many variations within the brand.   

I feel that keeping the stock considerations simple is a great technique of incorporating aspects of the branding, for example look how the image below shows the spot colour of the blue on the back of the letterhead i feel this is a great way of making sure that brand flows but ensuring that the products are not over crowded with aspects of the design.

The images below show how a colour can be used across a range of products, to give a strong brand identity this is something that i must work and develop to achieve a strong brand identity.