Quick Access to Assessments

Major project concept


Web research Report
Smirnoff Research

PSP Mockup Of Site Layout
Original Mock Up
I originally said that the user wouldn't be able to go back to the main page once they had navigated away from it primarily because the main page was just a static image and didn't need to be viewed once the site had been loaded.

Now that I've changed the welcome page to the immersive image of myself, the user is now able to click the flash banner at the top of any page, and they will be re-directed back to the welcome page where they can play around with my face.


Short written piece
I had a lot of fun creating and designing this site primarily because the site was about me, and creating a site about yourself is always fun!
The reason I think it was so enjoyable was because I could do whatever I wanted to in terms of colours and fonts I wanted to use, and because it was about my Identity, everything used in the site reflects either my identity or is something I really like.

I only use two front types throughout the site to keep the layout of the site easy to read and linking. I either use the graffiti font for titles or important text because I just love the smoothness of the font and how the letters all seem to just group together and it also looks as if the font has attitude. (I Suppose this further relates to me identity) The other font I used was just a standard MS Font which I used for the body text.

I've also used 6 colours throughout the whole site to further synchronize the site as one continuing site and not a site with many different pages.

I've used Blue, Pink, Orange, Red, Green and Black which is used the most through the site.

These colours and fonts are ones that I use a lot when I design things. I believe that they appeal to today's younger generations and this is because they are colours and font they see all over the place. Everyone knows what Grafitti is, and a lot of people who might not be too computer savvy can sometimes think you've designed the graffiti yourself. The colours are bold and stand out, and hopefully this is another element of the site that will attract people to explore the different pages.

The part of the site I had the most fun creating was my moving face on the welcome screen. This I think is just awesome, and by far the best page of the site.
People can move their mouse over my face to itch my nose, open and close my eyes and even poke my tongue out in arrogance, and I suppose all the different facial expressions the user can make from my image, I do myself which is a big factor to my identity.

The end is near......

To be totally honest I can't really think of anything else to add to my final assignment.

The web site does relate to my identity though in basically every possible way.

I love the graffiti font and this is probably my most used fonts for Assignment Headings, and other design concepts I have to create.
I like how it's bold and "phat" and looks like it's giving out some attitude to the reader, and this is extremely powerful in the Welcome page where you hover over the face. The cursor changes to the hand point which everyone regards as the cursor used when links are being used... thinking everything is linked, and to be told it is linked, but to then have the tongue poke out at you with "Gotcha!" haha. I love that!

The colours used in all the link navigations on the left hand side are also the colours I use most when designing things. I believe all these colours are very bold, bright and stand out to the viewer drawing them into the creation.

Other things relating to my Identity include obviously the face which is a re-occurring image throughout the site.
I have a page where I display Images that have given me inspiration in designing the site, and I've also got two different pages where instead of writing out long and boring paragraphs about myself, I stamp statements on my face to describe myself...

As I said in the opening paragraph of this blog - I can't really think of anything else to include in the site.

I think we're learning how to embed audio into sites some time soon, so if we learn how to do this - I think I will try and have a song playing throughout the whole site if that is possible.....

Editted pictures

Ever since I created the roll-over face I have been pestered by constantly seeing an extremely thin white line shapped in a rectangle surrounding the face.

This line is less than a pixel thick, and depending on the angle you're looking at the screen, it can become more obvious.

I've tried a couple of things to try and fix it such as coding in border="0" for all the images, but this doesn't fix anything.

I showed this to Gianni on Wednesday and thankfully he found the problem!

In the original Photoshop file, somehow when I had made the background layer black, it had missed this tiny last square around the whole border... so after just painting the border black again, paying close attention to the border! and re-saving every image, everything was fixed!

I would show you what I mean, but in all the screen shots I have of the previous incorrect image, you cannot see this faint line.

Thanks Gianni!!!!!

Continuing research

Been trying to find sites and pictures that either catch your eye, or are well made...

So far the following sites have impressed me -

songbirdnest
This web site uses a very simple layout. With a background image, which then has a white box on top of the background. I think this looks cool, and with the use of the shadows under most of the images, this adds a cool effect to the site - so I might look at trying to do this in my site

homeostatic
Just an interesting, and extremely well made flash site.
Uses colours extremely effectively to highlight just exactly what they want to be highlighted. Uses interaction with the user as well which immerses the user.

Hopefully my face as the welcome screen will generate curiosity and immersion for the user when browsing my site.

"creaktif
Really interesting use of flash animation in this site.
Some designers have just created it to showcase their work and other stuff they do

agencynet
More cool flash, with the use of text in their "Fact Sheet" page

infinityart
Awesome use of flash. Love this site.
Uses flashes and static animation to pretend that you're looking at a fuzzy tv or something from a UFO/Alien movie.
Love.this.site!

New look site

As I mentioned in a blog below, I decide to change the background of the whole site so that the colour scheme carried on from the first page, and so that the whole web site would look more connected as a whole.

MY SITE

The background throughout the site is now Black


The faces also now sport a black background, as well as the flash links on the left hand side.
I've included the face to further add similarities to the main part of the site so it copies the welcome page. And on the About Me and Interests page I have made subtle changes to my face (the eyes are closed and my nose is pointing different ways)



As does the email me flash animation. AS you can see from the screen shots, the top title banner is also now an animation of changing colours (the same colours that are used throughout the site in the navigation panel on the left)

art web sites to give inspiration

in today's class we were instructed to look at a site that we liked, and one that we thought represented art.

i chose webagent007 and group94.

Group94 really caught my attention because the site was extremely simply laid out. I would call it minimalist, because hardly any colours were used, and in every page, all that was shown was a bit of text, and then a full screen picture.
What also really caught my attention was the effect that had been laid onto every photo.
Each photo looked as if it had embossed squares coming out from it, as if the picture was coming through a security camera, or some lens that didn't have the cleanest focus.

This effect was extremely effective as it added character to the site, and kept me looking to see the rotation of images.
This filter on the image is something which I've already implemented into my site. My opening page is of my face, and on that image I have applied a filter to alter the original image, and to make it stand out more so that it will capture the viewers attention and make them want to enter the site.

The 007 site uses some phenomenal flash. It is a web site that specializes in making web sites for clients, and basically I think there pretty amazing - so this site was merely for inspirations...

I've decided to re-vamp my current web site, and use a black background over every page to make it relate to the initial welcome page.
I've edited all the rollover links, so that they further stay with my black theme, and I think this also lifts the character of the site as it's primarily black, with moving animations and images that are coluorful and create interest.

Later in the week I'll edit all the flash files because I can't edit my CS3 files at uni, and once that has been done I'll load some screen shots and links up here for everyone to see!

any ideas?

i've been thinking all this week about what i can add to my web site to further express my personalty and i've come to a brick wall....

i can't do much more in flash as i think the site would start looking too animated - and i've basically hit a wall in terms of where my taught flash skills stop as well.

i have the home page, an about me page, my interests, a page where i show inspired works, and a page where i can be contacted and i just can't think of anything else...

so i'll show my current site to Gianni and see what he has to say....

Flash pro at work

So I got home last night after class - and worked solidly on flash for a couple of hours, as well as working on it today as well.

Probably spent 6 hrs on it all up since last night - and I'm slowly getting better at it.

I've added two new flash things to my page, a new banner for the heading for every page - also with action script embedded in it to link to the home page. The background colour will just scroll through different colours... but will only use the colours I have used else where on the site.

Also on the "Contact Me" page - I've made a new flash "Email me" button... with a flying out plane, and then some changing text...

Coding the action script was extremely hard and very tedious... always having to look up help sites on the net to get assistance - but now it's all done, I understand the code a bit better - and it all works thank goodness!

Here's a link to the new heading and Contact Me Page - Additions

Learning Flash

I've finally been able to figure out how to embed flash into these blog posts - so below are some of the very simple flash animations I've created.

Week One -




Week Two -


This is what I am thinking of using for my "Email Me' section..


As I wrote below - I'm hoping to try and create a footer - or new header for the site in flash

Thinking of using more flash for the site

Last week in the lesson we were given a task of creating a flash animation in just over an hour.

It wasn't too hard when we had a .gif of the actual animation we wanted to create to look at for how to design the different elements of the animation - but trying to do that from scratch I think for myself would initially be a bit hard.

I would really like to have more flash in my site - at the moment I only have 1 very simple flash element which is the exact same on every page - and I'm wanting something either on every page again - but down the bottom like a footer - or I'm thinking of creating some different animations as to how people can contact me.

For example - a paper aeroplane flying from the top to the bottom of the window for an email...

And maybe some sort of changing background at the bottom of the page, or a changing heading background colour...

I've been mucking around in Flash a bit this week.. and so far haven't got too far unfortunately - but hopefully within the next week I'll have come up with something showable.

*Note - also need to find out how to embed flash into this blog site...