Wednesday, May 02, 2007

designing - outside the box


I'm still worrying about the arty side, and asked what the other web students were up to. It turns out they've got an assignment. Here's the brief:

THE BLACK SQUARE PROBLEM

You will be assessed on your ability to:

  • Receive and interpret this brief
  • Generate a range of graphics in response to the above concepts.
  • Hand work in on time and in the appropriate format.
TEACHER / ASSESSOR: Nicole Welch

DUE DATE: 15th May

RESULTS WILL BE PRESENTED AS A: Grade
This assessment is Grade code 72:
Distinction 83% to 100%
Credit 70% to 82%
Pass 50% to 69%

DESIGN BRIEF:
Using only four black squares for each design, create graphic images to express the meaning of each of the following six words:

  1. Order (X4)
  2. Increase (scale) (X4)
  3. Bold (X4)
  4. Congested (X4)
  5. Tension (X4)
  6. Playful (X4)

Consider the following principles to help you find creative solutions:
Framal reference, touching, overlapping, cropping, contrast of size and the dynamics of negative –positive relationships.

SPECIFICATIONS

Each graphic must be:
  • Created in Photoshop and saved as a JPEG or GIF.
  • 10cm x 10cm
  • 72 DPI
Note: Always keep a copy or record of your assignment. Loss or misplacement of your assignment will not be accepted as an excuse for non-submission.

I'm pretty sure we can manage this one online too - with a few minor adjustments :-)

For starters, I'm not overly concerned about what graphic editing package you use. My personal preference would be the Gimp, but use whatever you're comfortable with.

Also, I'd like you to experiment a bit with the presentation. You could try some JavaScript gallery script to create a page of your own, or upload the images to flickr and make a slideshow there, then look for scripts that you can include on your own web pages to display the flickr slideshow - do a search for options. As always - put a post on your blog with a link to your efforts (and some comments on what you've learnt along the way).

Nicole also had a little exercise for you to try. Take a look a some of the sites featured on web pages that suck - pick your two favourites and link back to them in a blog post about what you hate about them most (or find a couple all by your lonesome and write about them instead). Then do the same with two sites that you admire. You might start your search by browsing through this flickr photoset. Once again, link back to them in a blog post about what you like about these sites.



Image: 'a crowd'
www.flickr.com/photos/48553010@N00/111126800

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