Responsive & Mobile Design

           Technology has come a very long way in the past few decades, from the very first room-sized computer to the little hand held computers we have today.  Between desktops, tablets, mini laptops, smartphones, and new smart watches, the internet can be accessed from anywhere anytime.  For this to work correctly, however, websites need to be designed with more than one device in mind.  Otherwise, the person using their smartphone will have a much harder time finding the information they are looking at than the desktop user, because the mobile user would have to be constantly moving the screen around to see everything, or zoom out enough to see the whole screen, but not be able to read any of the content.  Hence we have responsive and mobile web design. 

            A mobile design is totally separate from the desktop design of a sight.  Taking a look at Texas Roadhouse’s and Booking.com’s sites as examples, Each has a desktop site (http://www.texasroadhouse.com/ and http://www.booking.com/) and a separate website made specifically to be viewed on a smaller screen, like that of a smartphone (http://m.texasroadhouse.com/ and http://m.booking.com/).  This is handy and makes a company’s website easily viewed from any kind of device, however it has the drawback of more work; the designer has to make two separate code sets for the two separate websites. 

            That’s where mobile and responsive websites differ.  Responsive websites are a single site that is coded to be fluid enough to resize itself for whatever device it is being viewed on automatically.  That way, the designer only has to code for a single website.  A few examples of responsive websites are http://www.jonathandacosta.com/, http://westinfinds.com/, http://www.andremaurice.it/, and http://themes.themepunch.com/?theme=goodweb_wp.   You can tell that these sites are responsive by adjusting the size of the browser window on your desktop and watch as the content resizes and realigns itself before your eyes to adjust for the new screen size. 

            Whichever type of design you choose to use, there is a list of steps to keep in mind:

1)   Mobile or responsive?

2)   Address navigation; avoid drop down menus for smaller devices.

3)   Use grids.

4)   Be sure to make fonts responsive as well, in case a device cannot support a certain font you use.

5)   Make sure images size and resize well.  

 

 

Research:

http://blog.evolvecreativegroup.com/post/2013/07/09/Responsive-Web-Design-vs-Mobile-Site.aspx

http://www.govdelivery.com/blog/2013/08/how-to-make-your-website-mobile-friendly/

Design Portfolio Websites Research

Portfolio pages:

 

http://alexarts.ru/en/index.html

Alex arts has a very successful portfolio page because it is clean and well organized.  Each piece has its own little rectangle that you can flip through to see the different pages or parts of each project without leaving to a new page.  It has a very consistent color scheme that works with the colors in the projects. 

 

http://thetoke.com/#/works/

The toke has an interesting portfolio page because it displays the work in a wheel.  When you click on one piece, there are little dot buttons to click to see the parts of the project.  However, if you try to scroll as is natural, it switches back to the wheel and spins through that. 

 

http://www.degt.cl/portafolio/

Degt’s portfolio page is a warm chocolate color and cleanly displays a gallery of work.  When you click on a work, you can then view the different pages/pieces of the project as well as comments.

 

 

About pages:

 

http://www.hellomonday.com/#/about/

Hello Monday’s site is fun and interactive.  The about page is sweet and simple and still allows you to have a glimpse of the types of work they’ve done. 

 

http://www.beakable.com/

Beakable’s about page is playful and humorous.  The designer compares himself to Shakespeare while claiming to not understand brilliance. The about text is short and sweet and to the point.

 

 

Resume pages:

 

http://www.greydient.com/cv/cv_ie.pdf

Morten Nielson’s attached resume is landscape, which is unusual.  It also is laid out in a timeline, making it nice and easy to see what and when he’s done.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54890440@N04/5435143636/sizes/z/in/photostream/

Brandon Derck’s resume is designed to look like a Google search results page.  He has his contact info on the side and his skills and work experience where the search results would show up. 

 

 

Contact pages/sections:

 

http://www.beakable.com/contact

Beakable’s contact page is adorable and playful.  It looks like a mailing envelope and a lined memo pad poking out of it for people to type a message on.  You also fill out your name and email on the front of the envelope.  Very cute idea. 

 

http://ftdesigner.net/

Alexey Chemishov’s contact portion of his page looks like a postcard.  It matches the color scheme on the rest of the page and is very simple and 

Online Identities Post

 

Designer Donovan Olson’s logo is his name written in the shape of a shark.  This logo is strong because it seems to accurately advertise his work style.  Looking at some of his work, the same style of badass design is evident.  Given this, he is clearly a designer with his own distinct style, which is well shown in his perfectly designed logo.   http://donovanolson.wordpress.com/tag/graphic-design/

            John Charles’ logo for his photography portfolio is a camera made up from his initials.  His logo is a strong one because it is both classic and modern, just like his photography.  The color scheme of his simple logo is also well carried out throughout his website.  http://www.johncharlesphotography.com/

            Logo Diver freelance designer has a simple logo using a play on words.  It is an eye with a dolphin diving over the eye like the eyelid.  When I looked at some of his other logo designs, I noticed the same style of simplicity and wordplay as in his wn logo.  His logo does a good job of advertising his work style and personality and looks like it could easily be shrunken down or blown up and still look good, making it a strong logo.  http://logodiver.com/

            B Swift Design’s logo features a bee with the name next to it, and with a tagline that says “Design that Creates a Buzz.”  While the logo itself is a cute idea being that bees are swift fliers, it is the tagline in this one that really seals the deal.  The designer sounds exciting from the name and tagline, and the artwork also looks pretty exciting and interesting, proving the tagline right. http://www.bswiftdesign.com/

CMS Blog Post

A content management system (CMS) is designed to help people who are not tech-savvy edit and manage websites.  CMSs automatically generate navigation tools and makes any content searchable, and any other such difficult technical bits of web design that non-tech-savvy users cannot do on their own.  WordPress.com is an example of a CMS, as it allows anyone to make a website, then fills in the blanks for that individual so that all that person has to do is add content.

A few benefits to using a CMS like wordpress.com include being really easy to use, having nice-looking menu choices, they help make your content searchable, and there are plenty of free options.  Some disadvantages, however, include the need of users to know scripting, coding, and CSS if they want customize anything, and that plug-ins are required.

It is appropriate to use CMSs either when you are an amateur when it comes to web design, or when you need something simple that will be easy to constantly update without having to go in and update each individual page and piece every time.

The three main open source CMSs are WordPress (as previously mentioned), Drupal, and Joomia.  These CMSs are portable and support frequent updates.  Drupal is nearing a new version 7 update, and had thousands of available add-on modules.  Joomla enables builders to create complex web sites and includes “out of the box” features.  WordPress is the most popular CMS site, and is supported by a larfe network.  As great as these CMSs are, you still need knowledge of web design scripting in order to customize one of the pages in whatever way you want.

http://plone.org/documentation/faq/what-is-a-cms

http://cmsreport.com/articles/advantages-and-drawbacks-of-using-wordpress-as-your-cms-4065

http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/webmaster/toolbox/article.php/3887866/I-Want-To-Build-A-Website-Do-I-Need-a-Content-Management-System-CMS.htm

Performance art of Gilbert and George and photography

Gilbert and George met at St. Martin’s School of Art in London in 1967 and quickly become friends, and have worked together ever since. They are most well known for their wall-sized paintings and for walking around in metallic make up as ‘living statues’, (Dangerous Minds). They later stepped up to robot dancing as their ‘living statue’ selves. When they started adding photography into their art, they made photo quilts with photos of controvercial or socially unpleasant things like rotting buildings and homeless people and racist graffiti (Maupin). One of their biggest photography quilts is “Death Hope Life Fear” created in 1984. When AIDS became more commonly known, they began creating prints of themselves standing naked, bodily fluids, and tombstones. “This perspective is fundamental to Gilbert & George’s art: existence as a pathological condition; prognosis, terminal.” (Maupin). They’re more recent works relate to terrorism and religion.

“Google.” Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“Dangerous Minds | Gilbert and George: Living Sculptures.” DangerousMinds. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“Gilbert & George – Artists – Lehmann Maupin.” Gilbert & George – Artists – Lehmann Maupin. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

Polaroid print/camera

The Polaroid was invented by Edwin Land, an American inventor who created a revolution in photography with his invention (Polaroid Photography). This creation was the art of instant photography. He got the inspiration when his young daughter asked him why cameras couldn’t automatically produce photos as soon as they were taken, (75 Years). The film ejects from the camera after a photo is shot, and it then self-develops. To manufacture this new type of camera, Land founded the Polaroid Corporation, and the first Polaroid camera was sold in November of 1948. Some of the biggest cameras Land created include:
“Polaroid SX-70 Land Camera (1972) – the first automatic, motorized, folding, single-lens reflex camera which makes self-developing instant color prints

Polaroid Sun 600 Camera (1983) – 116mm single-element plastic lens, fixed focus with a minimal focal length of 4 feet, electronic shutter and a built-in electronic flash

Polaroid Z340 Instant Digital Camera (2011) – old meets new with this full-function digital camera and integrated printer. Using ZINK® Zero Ink® Printing Technology instantly transform digital pictures into fun 3×4” prints.” (75 Years).

“Google.” Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“Edwin Land – Polaroid Photography – Instant Photography.” Edwin Land – Polaroid Photography – Instant Photography. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“75 Years | Polaroid.com.” 75 Years | Polaroid.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

Giclee print

Glicee is French for a spray of liquid. A Glicee print is a process of printing digital copies of an image from a printer for better picture quality and brighter colors. They are usually made with 8 or 12 color ink jet printer, which can make very detailed prints for both fine art and photography (About Glicee Prints). These prints allow artists to mass produce their work with minimal effort inexpensively. Glicee prints are often found in museums and galleries. Glicee prints can be printed on just about any kind of paper, including canvas. Since it’s a lazer print and screens are not used, you get a clear image free of dot patterning (Macgregor).

“Google.” Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“About Giclee Prints.” About Giclee Prints. Giclee Print Net Inc., 1997-2011. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

Macgregor, Denise. “What Is a Giclee Print?” About.com Painting. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

Group f/64

Beginning at the M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Fransisco, Group f/64 was formed and consisted of eleven renowned photographers. They were Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, John Paul Edwards, Preston Holder, Consuelo Kanaga, Alma Lavenson, Sonya Noskowiak, Henry Swift, Willard Van Dyke, Brett Weston, and Edward Weston (Hostetler). The group’s named for the smallest aperture in a large format camera. The group wanted to celebrate the world as it was by using smaller apertures, rather than distort it the way the pictorialists did. Group f/64 wanted as much of their photos to be in sharp focus as possible, for to make it most accurately record the world (Hostetler). This group formed in 1932 to go against the West Coast’s soft-focused photography (Britannica).

Works Cited:

“File:Ansel Adams-Half Dome, Apple Orchard, Yosemite.jpg.” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.

Hostetler, Lisa. “Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” Group F/64. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

“Group F.64 (American Photography Group).” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

James VanDerZee

James VanDerZee (1886-1983) developed an interest in photography in his youth, and created images of African American life, as well as celebrities. He’d opened his own studio (named Guarantee Photo (scholastic)) in Harlem in 1916 (bio). When he was a small child, he played the piano and violin, and later took pictures for his high school. After he moved to Harlem, he did odd jobs such as elevator operator, married Kate Brown, then moved to Virginia where he was able to do photography work for the Hampton Institute (bio). After his first child was born, they moved back to New York where he played in a band and orchestra and even taught violin and piano.
James VanDerZee shot studio portraits for anyone who could afford it, shot in churches and in clubs, sports, families, barber shops, pool halls, etc (scholastic). When shooting in his portrait studio, he’d set up a stage for his customers, and posed them to tell a story. He would also alter his negatives to straighten teeth or fill in bald spots so his subjects look as good as possible. This is similar to modern day photogrophers who retouch images to get rid of blemishes or whiten teeth.

Works Cited:

“Google Images.” Google Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.

“James Van Der Zee Biography.” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

McCollum, Sean. “Photographer James Van Der Zee.” Scholastic Teachers. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2013.

Documentary Photography

Photography is often considered an accurate account of real life; that images are actually small pieces of the past (Curtis). Photography is often used in history books to teach subjects like history because it allows people to get a better sense of what things were like in that time. Early photographers used methods such as the daguerreotype were using photography as an art form since it was nearly impossible to make multiple copies. When methods such as the ambrotype and tintype came about, it became possible to mass produce paper prints from their negatives, thus bringing about the use of photography for the purpose of documenting life. This happened to occur around the time of the Civil War (Curtis).
Documentary photography was used not only to open the masses’ eyes to the horrors of the war, but also to show how different people live. Jacob Riis published a book of photography documenting “How the Other Half Lives” in 1890 to show the wealthy people how the less fortunate people were living in the slums of the Lower East Side (Metropolitan). Arnold Genthe published a book documenting San Fransisco’s Chinatown and candid photos of foreign people in 1908 called “Pictures of Old Chinatown”.

Works Cited:
Migrant Mother. N.d. Photograph. Google Images. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

Curtis, James. “Making Sense of Documentary Photography.” Making Sense of Documentary Photography. N.p., June 2003. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.

“Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.” Early Documentary Photography. The Metropolitan Museum of Art,, Oct. 2004. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.