Sparkbox Style Assignment

On the side, I had also been working on a smaller assignment that showed what kind of colors and imagery i'd use in my upcoming project. Although I did touch on that a little bit in my visual inventory, this more accurately reflects exactly what it might be. The images I had chosen were screenshots from some of the films they have featured (Aside from the film reel which I had created.) The color scheme isn't a definite, since I was still playing around with different colors as well as gradients. On top of that, I still plan to add patterns on top of the colors too, so a lot is still subject to change and will definitely improve.

Week 10A

In class, I had spent the rest of the time given to finish my visual inventory. I had compiled it into one comprehensive video which is embedded below. Here, I explain how I plan to handle color, typography, layout and other elements. The most difficult part of the whole process was determining which websites would be a good example to show in my video, since many of them didn't exactly have what I had envisioned. Overall, I do think the examples I had chosen accurately reflected what I wanted my final product to be like. Soon, we will critique other student's visual inventories and give advice on what should be changed, removed and added.

Week 9 Outside of Class

I had spent this weekend working on my visual inventory even more. This time, I looked for examples to show how i'd possibly do the layout along with how i'd handle size. As far as layout goes, I was thinking of doing something similar to the Wendy's website shown below. I really appreciate how they had done the side-by-side, grid sort of layout. They had managed to do it in such a way where even though all of the content is close together, it doesn't feel overwhelming or cluttered at all. This is something i'd like to try in my project, as it looks extremely organized in my opinion. My idea though is that I would have entire screenshots stretch across the page rather than food. Similar to how they have one half of the column display food while another is a description, I think i'd rather stretch the boxes and one have one show the movie along with the description over-top of the image. Unfortunately it is a little difficult to explain, but i'll create examples soon. The next I had chosen was a good website that showed how i'd handle size. This is somewhat similar to space, but I wanted to have a large banner at the top of the website on the homepage. This would make it more unique and dynamic in a way. 

 

Week 9B

In class, we continued to work on our visual inventories. I gathered more images and examples that i'd like to use and incorporate into my own project. The two that I had found and carefully considered were the Wendy's website and Nike. When focusing on typography, I felt like Wendy's was exactly the kind of style I was looking for. Bold text, large images and a clear message. When envisioning what a good website for a film festival would look like, I imagined something like this but replaced with stills from featured movies instead. The text would be replaced with the description of the movie, schedule and so on. Similarly, I thought Nike was effective in conveying how I wanted to show space. I wanted to have a lot of space to allow the user to breathe and simply view the images without any interference. Since it is a film festival, I believe people would want to see large and intriguing screenshots from a movie.

 

Week 9A

In class, we discussed what a visual inventory was, its uses, and how it relates to our current project. After the lecture, we had started to work on it, which actually proved to be a little difficult for me. I was a little confused what the difference was between a visual inventory and a mood board, since both focus on the feeling we get from our organization in a way. I had started this assignment by gathering the images I would use and laying out my presentation. Overall, it isn't too much to show yet as I was planning it more than actually putting it together, but this is what I have so far. So far i've completed the introduction and decided the kind of color that I plan to use in the upcoming project. Those colors would be softer gradients.

Week 8 Outside of Class

Outside of class, I researched more potential non-profit organizations to do my second website on. The first I had my eye on was the Alley Cat Allies website. Although i'm not too interested in animals, I do have a lot of ideas for the website. Overall, it is pretty well designed I think, but it does seem too cluttered. In addition, I do think it could be redesigned into something more modern. After working on my last web-page, I do feel as if I could do better. When calling the number listed on the website, I didn't get a response. I did call when they most likely in, so I will try to reach them again soon.

https://www.alleycat.org/

The second website that I would enjoy working on is the Asian American film festival. Similar to the other website, I do think it's well designed in the way that it conveys information. But it could be more modern. As far as design goes, it's very bare-bones and could definitely use more personality. Since it is based around Asian american culture, I believe I could take elements from that and include it on my redesign.When calling the organization, I asked the same questions that I asked the previous organization that I had worked on. These being:

• Who uses the website and why?

I was told that the website was meant to be used for anyone who wanted to find a schedule that showed what films were being showed and when. It was also meant to be used for those who wanted to purchase tickets, passes, and other items. 

• What is the main reason for the website?

Similar to the last response, I was told the website was meant to advertise the event and keep track of a lot of useful information. It is also meant to be used to capture the interest of those who may want to attend the event.

• If they could change or add anything, what would it be?

When asking what could be changed, I was given the response "To have something more modern". I do think the website was well organized and designed to a degree, but it could be improved.

https://www.asiancinevision.org/

Lastly, I had decided to choose the Lancaster City Fire Foundation. This time, I decided to choose something local. Of course, the Lancaster City Fire Foundation is an extremely respectable organization which is why I do believe it would be good to redesign. The website itself delivers the necessary information, but is still rather bare-bones. Most of the website is blank in terms of design and could be improved upon. Unfortunately, I did not try to contact this place as I recently decided it'd be something interesting to work on. I will ask the same questions when given the opportunity.

http://lancastercityfirefoundation.com/

Week 7 Outside of Class

Over my weekend, I had finished my second page as well as completely finishing my third page. This was difficult as I had to create new illustrations, banners, text, and other things over the weekend. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out why it was unable to resize correctly. When resizing, the text and images get jumbled into one column rather than sorting itself out correctly. My last page was an about section. What had initially made me choose Blaxican was their charity. Using donations and tips given to them, they feed those in need. The about section section also gives a brief history on the creation of the Blaxican. Here are some snapshots from my final website.

Week 7B

Today, I worked even more on my website and began working on my second web-page. As mentioned before, I had changed the purpose of my second web-page from being media to menu. I had spent this entire period gathering images of food for the menu, researching their menu, and sorting out my code for a gallery. A big part of our project is to be sure that it has the ability to scale for mobile. As of right now, it isn't scaling correctly (along with my first web-page) but I do plan on adjusting it next time I work on the project.

Week 7A

No class.

Week 6 Outside of Class

Outside of class, I created buttons that would lead to my second page. Instead of having a media page, I decided to replace it with a menu. I believe a menu is much more beneficial to a website based around food. With the addition of my buttons, I had finished creating the front page as well. Over my break, I had almost completely redone my website. I decided that the pure white backdrop made the website appear to be unfinished along with the floating images. To fix this, I added the buttons as mentioned before to fill blank space.

Week 6B

During our class critique today, I had many of my questions about my website answered. Although it did function fairly well so far, I still felt as if my images were outdated. My biggest question was whether or not my green banner that I had created was effective. I didn't put it into my webpage since it was still in-progress. Based on the previous banner that I had created, I had made a second one in a similar style. Another question I had asked was whether or not the navigation was effective and any recommendations for it. I had a very good idea to combine the navigation and banner into one.

Week 6A

In class, I worked on better images for my webpage. I added a new banner as well as choosing different images for food. I believe that the images I had chosen and created seemed a little outdated. After getting criticism from other classmates, I was reassured that the images that I had chosen weren't the most effective. Adding the filters to the food made it seem unappetizing, and the banner could be improved upon. After using other food-related websites, I realized the changes that I had to make.

Week 5 Outside of Class

Outside of class, I started working on the homepage to my website a little more. It's far from complete, but this is what the homepage will look like so far. I plan to replace and edit a few of the images as well as adding more buttons on the front page. I'm also going to adjust the navigation bar at the top as well. As mentioned before, the homepage is far from complete but I believe this is a very good start towards what I want to accomplish.

Week 5B

In class, I had readjusted the layout of my website tremendously. A while before class, I had a much better idea for a layout that's way more modern compared to my previous one, which reflected an older website. It does look very simple for now, but i'm simply setting the foundation for the website itself. All of the colored blocks will hold some kind of content, that being an image or a body of text. The website itself will only be 3 or 4 pages, which means I still need to do layouts for those as well. This weekend, i'm planning on either setting the foundations for my subpages, or finishing the front page to completion. While I do believe working on the foundations for each of my other subpages should take priority, i'm really eager to get started working on the front page and adding actual content to it.