Worth 1000
collaborative
5/10/08
http://www.worth1000.com/default.asp
This is a very fun Photoshop contest site. A topic will be posted, and you can submit your Photoshop manipulation into that contest if it relates, once submissions are in, there is a voting period where visitors can come and vote on their favorite. It is really fun to look around at past contests and see what type of designs people come up with. There are some very original artworks on this site. I like the fantasy categories because I think they allow a lot of freedom in design.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Event #9
Graffiti Playdo
collaborative
5/10/08
http://graffiti.playdo.com/
I was introduced to this site in a class I took in the past, but I thought it was very interesting. It consists of an online canvas, with selectable tools that the user can use to paint on the canvas. But the interesting part comes from the fact that the canvas is shared by whomever visits the site. So you can see what other visitors are painting, and can even interact with them through the artwork. I thought this was interesting how it brought a sense of community to an activity (painting on your computer) that has usually been considered solo.
collaborative
5/10/08
http://graffiti.playdo.com/
I was introduced to this site in a class I took in the past, but I thought it was very interesting. It consists of an online canvas, with selectable tools that the user can use to paint on the canvas. But the interesting part comes from the fact that the canvas is shared by whomever visits the site. So you can see what other visitors are painting, and can even interact with them through the artwork. I thought this was interesting how it brought a sense of community to an activity (painting on your computer) that has usually been considered solo.
Event #8
Lynda.com
Multiple
5/10/08
http://www.lynda.com
I use this site off and on. I have had to register for classes before, and I will get a discount, but otherwise I will enroll for 3 months so that I can learn a program more in depth. This site is so rich with information, that it can seem very daunting; but if you narrow your focus to specific things you want to learn to do in specific programs, you can learn them easily through these videos. I usually try and learn advanced techniques within programs that I am already familiar with, rather than trying to learn a new program altogether. There are videos on just about every computer program you can think of, and the video instructors are often very good at getting the point across.
Multiple
5/10/08
http://www.lynda.com
I use this site off and on. I have had to register for classes before, and I will get a discount, but otherwise I will enroll for 3 months so that I can learn a program more in depth. This site is so rich with information, that it can seem very daunting; but if you narrow your focus to specific things you want to learn to do in specific programs, you can learn them easily through these videos. I usually try and learn advanced techniques within programs that I am already familiar with, rather than trying to learn a new program altogether. There are videos on just about every computer program you can think of, and the video instructors are often very good at getting the point across.
Event #7
Color Scheme Generator
5/10/08
http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme/index-en.html
This site gives you help when trying to decide on a color scheme for a project you might be working on. I have been using it for a number of years now; they made a newer version of this program, but I linked to the older one because I prefer it more. You can choose the type of scheme you want, monochromatic, contrast, and can adjust the saturation and brightness. All the colors are given to you in hexadecimal, and sometimes I just take screenshots of the pattern I choose to use (for later reference). It is a very useful program.
5/10/08
http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme/index-en.html
This site gives you help when trying to decide on a color scheme for a project you might be working on. I have been using it for a number of years now; they made a newer version of this program, but I linked to the older one because I prefer it more. You can choose the type of scheme you want, monochromatic, contrast, and can adjust the saturation and brightness. All the colors are given to you in hexadecimal, and sometimes I just take screenshots of the pattern I choose to use (for later reference). It is a very useful program.
Event #6
www.OneMoreLevel.com
Ira (sorry, I don't know his last name)
5/10/08
http://www.onemorelevel.com
Sometimes you need a break when designing a website or working for long hours in flash. The primary site I use when I just need to give my mind a break is www.onemorelevel.com. The site is about showcasing good flash games. Many sites out there have hundreds of flash games that aren't any fun to play, but at onemorelevel, you get a good game linked to daily. This site can also serve as a sort of reminder of what one person can do. The creator of the site originally designed a site called addictinggames.com, and sold it to MTV. I work a lot on my computer, and this site helps me get through the hours with some occasional breaks.
Ira (sorry, I don't know his last name)
5/10/08
http://www.onemorelevel.com
Sometimes you need a break when designing a website or working for long hours in flash. The primary site I use when I just need to give my mind a break is www.onemorelevel.com. The site is about showcasing good flash games. Many sites out there have hundreds of flash games that aren't any fun to play, but at onemorelevel, you get a good game linked to daily. This site can also serve as a sort of reminder of what one person can do. The creator of the site originally designed a site called addictinggames.com, and sold it to MTV. I work a lot on my computer, and this site helps me get through the hours with some occasional breaks.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Event #5
Deviant Art
User Submitted Images
3/19/08
http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/
This site is a venue for artists of all walks of life to showcase their work. I enjoy exploring the entire site, but the section "digital art" (linked above) is related to our class. This section can show you some of the many things that other artists do with computer editing programs like Photoshop.
Since we have been exploring some of the features of this program, I thought it was interesting to see some of the advanced techniques that become available once you learn more and more about the program. Seeing these pictures can help to get your creativity flowing about a picture that you may want to alter; if nothing else, many of these images are simply amazing to look at.
User Submitted Images
3/19/08
http://browse.deviantart.com/digitalart/
This site is a venue for artists of all walks of life to showcase their work. I enjoy exploring the entire site, but the section "digital art" (linked above) is related to our class. This section can show you some of the many things that other artists do with computer editing programs like Photoshop.
Since we have been exploring some of the features of this program, I thought it was interesting to see some of the advanced techniques that become available once you learn more and more about the program. Seeing these pictures can help to get your creativity flowing about a picture that you may want to alter; if nothing else, many of these images are simply amazing to look at.
Event #4
Mezzoblue
Dave Shea
3/19/08
http://www.mezzoblue.com
While this site is created by the same person who created the CSS Zen Garden, I have spent so much time exploring both of them that I think of them as resources for different reasons. This is more of a resource for problems that may arise when building a website or some design glitch you can't work out. The author posts regularly on topics that he is dealing with at the moment, lately there has been a lot about icon design, and then others can respond to the post with stories, ideas, or solutions that they have experienced.
In any type of design, having a community in which to bounce ideas off of or ask for help is important. We have that in the classroom now, but sometimes you need a specialized community. This site can be very informative about a number of topics, but you can also use the number of people who post on here as another resource in which to help you in your work. Most people are more then happy to help another designer with a problem they might be having, and this site can be a venue for that collaboration.
Dave Shea
3/19/08
http://www.mezzoblue.com
While this site is created by the same person who created the CSS Zen Garden, I have spent so much time exploring both of them that I think of them as resources for different reasons. This is more of a resource for problems that may arise when building a website or some design glitch you can't work out. The author posts regularly on topics that he is dealing with at the moment, lately there has been a lot about icon design, and then others can respond to the post with stories, ideas, or solutions that they have experienced.
In any type of design, having a community in which to bounce ideas off of or ask for help is important. We have that in the classroom now, but sometimes you need a specialized community. This site can be very informative about a number of topics, but you can also use the number of people who post on here as another resource in which to help you in your work. Most people are more then happy to help another designer with a problem they might be having, and this site can be a venue for that collaboration.
Event #3
CSS Zen Garden
Dave Shea and the web/graphic design public
3/19/08
http://www.csszengarden.com
This is a very groundbreaking site in the field of web design. It is based on the idea of a uniformed system of design, but that these guidelines do not hinder creativity at all, it just allows the finished product to be experienced by more people. The site consists of one page of html code, and countless numbers of CSS sheets, that when attached to this html page, make the page's design completely different. You can spend so much time browsing the site to see what type of styling people used to make their design, and by seeing what they created, and examining the code that they wrote, you can learn more about web design.
I am biased towards this site because I am a web designer and one who employs CSS as the primary means of design. CSS is about clean, simple, and efficient code; and this is a concept that is lost on many designers, especially those who are new to web design and rely solely on Dreamweaver to create sites. I believe everyone should at least learn the basics of HTML and CSS, so that they do not have to rely on a program to build the entire site.
I also submitted a design to CSS Zen Garden about two years ago, and while it did not make it in as an "official design," and looking back I can see some changes I would make to it, I am still proud of it. The link to my design is below.
My Design
Dave Shea and the web/graphic design public
3/19/08
http://www.csszengarden.com
This is a very groundbreaking site in the field of web design. It is based on the idea of a uniformed system of design, but that these guidelines do not hinder creativity at all, it just allows the finished product to be experienced by more people. The site consists of one page of html code, and countless numbers of CSS sheets, that when attached to this html page, make the page's design completely different. You can spend so much time browsing the site to see what type of styling people used to make their design, and by seeing what they created, and examining the code that they wrote, you can learn more about web design.
I am biased towards this site because I am a web designer and one who employs CSS as the primary means of design. CSS is about clean, simple, and efficient code; and this is a concept that is lost on many designers, especially those who are new to web design and rely solely on Dreamweaver to create sites. I believe everyone should at least learn the basics of HTML and CSS, so that they do not have to rely on a program to build the entire site.
I also submitted a design to CSS Zen Garden about two years ago, and while it did not make it in as an "official design," and looking back I can see some changes I would make to it, I am still proud of it. The link to my design is below.
My Design
Event #2
Sean T Cooper
3/19/08
http://www.games.seantcooper.com/
Originally, I intended for this artists flash portfolio site to be the focus of this entry, but recently he updated his site and removed the element that I enjoyed. However he still does some very creative work with Flash that we can look at in comparison to the Flash work we have been doing. The old site had a navigation menu that was very original and creative, but it was to showcase the work he did in creating online games, so we can look at the games now instead.
He created a very popular series of games called "Boxhead," in which the user is charged with the task of killing an endless onslaught of zombies. But he has also created games that incorporate physics into the gameplay of games like "Wone" http://www.games.seantcooper.com/wOne.aspx. Overall the quality of his games is very high and can show some of the advanced capabilities of Flash.
3/19/08
http://www.games.seantcooper.com/
Originally, I intended for this artists flash portfolio site to be the focus of this entry, but recently he updated his site and removed the element that I enjoyed. However he still does some very creative work with Flash that we can look at in comparison to the Flash work we have been doing. The old site had a navigation menu that was very original and creative, but it was to showcase the work he did in creating online games, so we can look at the games now instead.
He created a very popular series of games called "Boxhead," in which the user is charged with the task of killing an endless onslaught of zombies. But he has also created games that incorporate physics into the gameplay of games like "Wone" http://www.games.seantcooper.com/wOne.aspx. Overall the quality of his games is very high and can show some of the advanced capabilities of Flash.
Event #1
Paper Tiger
2/12/08
http://www.papertiger.org/
Paper Tiger is an alternative to mainstream media. They try and initiate social change through their television program, which is an independent/public access style of programming.
I think we can relate to this groups work because of the fact that they are doing things themselves. They are a collaborative community, and they find ways to get their message across with the resources available to them. While I may not enjoy all of the work that they do, I can appreciate their process, and it is something that we can learn from in our own work.
2/12/08
http://www.papertiger.org/
Paper Tiger is an alternative to mainstream media. They try and initiate social change through their television program, which is an independent/public access style of programming.
I think we can relate to this groups work because of the fact that they are doing things themselves. They are a collaborative community, and they find ways to get their message across with the resources available to them. While I may not enjoy all of the work that they do, I can appreciate their process, and it is something that we can learn from in our own work.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Social Issue Proposal
The social issue that I would like to focus on for this semester is the benefits of stem cell research.
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