Website Rationale

The website that I designed for the EcoGen company includes many of my previous projects including the logo, the slogan, the advertisement and the color scheme that I designed. The homepage was the first page of the website that I designed. The homepage consists of a banner with y logo on the top of the page. Every banner has a different title for each page of the website. So, on the homepage, the title is obviously Homepage. Underneath the banner is the menu bar of which includes all the secondary pages: about us, contact us, projects, products and links. Underneath the menu bar, there is a picture of the advertisement I made for the company. Additionally, there is a copyright statement on the bottom page and underneath that there is a statement, which shows when the website was last updated. 

The secondary pages are very similar to the design of my homepage. The only main difference is that instead of having the advertisement, I have the main text for the pages. Every secondary page also has pictures. Furthermore, the alignment, and construction of the texts and pictures are all the same on every page. 

I only created 3 tertiary pages for my website, which originate from the projects page. The tertiary pages are called wind projects, solar projects and other projects. The design and construction of the tertiary pages are different to the homepage and the secondary pages. The tertiary pages have no pictures and therefore the text has a much wider width than the secondary pages. 

To create the pages, I simply used tables to make it easier for me to align all the text, banners, menu bars and pictures together. Every page has a blue background . The banner, the menu bar and the background of the text boxes are all the same green. The text itself is black, since there is no better color to create a stronger contrast with my color scheme.  

Tertiary Pages

Secondary Pages

Homepage

EcoGen website design plan

EcoGen website explanation

My website homepage design is quite simple and fits perfectly to the company, since EcoGen is a company which sells simple environment friendly products. The main colors that I used were blue and green, the colors of my color scheme. On the top of my website, there is a horizontal bar which include the company logo on the left, and the words "Welcome to EcoGen" in the middle. This would make the website more user-friendly. Underneath this horizontal bar, there is a tab bar, with six tabs including, "Home", "Projects", "Products", "About Us", "Links" and "Contact Us". Underneath this tab bar, there is a huge picture of my advertisement I made for EcoGen. On the bottom of the page, there is a copyright statement in yellow. That is basically the general website homepage design. All of the headings and color of the font for the tabs are black. The banner and the bar are green. Overall, there is good contrast of colors and the colors that I chose are not too hard on the eyes, but attract the eyes instead. 

EcoGen Website Design

EcoGen space summary

For my EcoGen space, I decided to create a small boutique in Google Sketchpad. The main elements of the boutique include having the colors of my color schemes, blue and green. In addition, I added my advertisement poster for the company on one of the walls of the space. Some of the furniture of the space include a green sofa couch, a counter, two transparent desks for the laptops and surveys, a water fountain as an icon and four plants to set the mood of the whole space. I also added a few photos of nature to hang up on the walls. I believe that all these elements and features would attract people to come and visit the EcoGen boutique. 

There are posters and pictures all over the room walls to both advertise the company and set the mood of being in "nature". There also a lot of plants and the sound of the water coming from the fountain in the middle of the room also gives this spiritual and calm feeling, which can have a very positive effect on the people who enter the boutique. 

One of the posters include the EcoGen advertisement that I made for the company. This poster is quite large in size and is in the perfect place for people to come and look at it, since there is a lot of space around the poster. The carpet of the boutique is looks like grass, since the carpet has the grassy color and texture. 

The laptops on the tables are very user friendly, since they basically have the EcoGen website and slideshows about the company available to look at. Laptops definitely attract more people to come and see the slide shows than having brochures or anything on paper. 

As a result, I believe the boutique could be a great success for the company and it could promote EcoGen a lot by attracting people to the room and allowing to learn about the company and what it does. 

EcoGen space

Weekly Post 23 (Magazine)

Graphic (e)motion

This article from Matt Woolman demonstrates how motion graphics has changed the universe of multimedia. What I found interesting about this article is that he compared a graphic artist to a painter. With this comparison, he is trying to show that in the modern world both the painter and graphic artist are hesitating and are asking questions about what tool to use instead of asking the question what is possible. A painter has to choose between the water colors, the paint brushes and paint palettes while the graphic artist has to choose which software he is going to use for animations. The author of this article explains that the methodology is more important than the tool. No matter what software or paint tool is used, the design has to attract the attention and have a meaning behind it. With this article, the author is trying to promote his book called Motion Design, which is all about the concept of motion graphics design. 

Weekly Post 22 (Magazine)

And yet it goes round…

Basically, this article shows us how movement has influenced the world a lot including the graphic designers. In the world of designing, anticipating movement, bodily movement and translating mobility have always been challenges for designers to tackle. In our world, transportation system is the challenge. The author gives the RATP as an example. RATP is the public transportation system in Paris and the author uses this system to show how many different ways of movement there are from just one location, Paris. There are subways, buses and the RER (high-speed train services). These systems are all provided and open for us to use by just purchasing a ticket or a pass. The author, who is also a designer, presents some of his work which represents movement. His main characteristic that he uses in all of his designs is the use of light. He believes that light is a very important quality of movement and expresses the impulse of movement very effectively.  

Weekly Post 21 (Magazine)

One image is worth two!

This article, which is also the introduction to this edition of idPure, gives a brief description of how motion graphics are presented and how it gives us more artistic freedom. Since this edition concentrates mostly on motion graphics and animations, Thierry Hausermann, the author, gives a feeling of how and where motion graphics are used. The author believes that motion graphics were created to please and hypnotize us, since it appears everywhere. For example, when watching television, the news, video clips and on the hand phone. These animations have to be imagined which is how our brains see these pictures. Consequently, this opens up a more fulfilling dimension and this is one of the reason why motion graphics dominated the graphic arts environment ten years ago.

Weekly Post 20 (Magazine)

Humor, Zombie and Donut

Han Hoogerbrugge who graduated from the Rotterdam Art School illustrated animations using Flash animation tools to design a very dark and disturbing digital world. These animations of this dark universe reflect the current world to him. In his animations, he draws zombies instead of people. He illustrates them really carefully and cleverly so that you can figure out that they are zombies. Furthermore, Han Hoogerbrugge tends to concentrate on the zombie’s faces to represent their emotions. Some of these animations are filled with and if you combine all the animations and look at them sequentially, these animatronics can be formed into short stories.

Weekly Post 19 (Magazine)

idPure Magazine Article – Graphic Art In All Its Aspects

This enlightening piece of writing demonstrates the effect of graphic designing in the world today. The author of this article is informing us that the progress of digital technology in the recent years has given graphic designers options and new tools for their work. Even though the author believes that the technology has been quite beneficial for us, he also lists the negative points of the advanced technology in the world of graphic designing. He states that the designer is not the thoughtful designer; rather, a useful replacement of the machine. In addition, he tells us a story once when an applicant visited our school. This applicant asked him if the school was more “pencil” than “computer” and he replied “brains”. With this word, he is trying to say that whatever is produced with the fingers on a piece of paper or on the computer actually originates in the mind. As a result, the author is trying to present to us that no matter what we use, computers, pencils or paint, the idea is always invented in the mind, which is the most valuable thing to take into consideration in graphic designing.

EcoGen Letterhead

EcoGen Advertisement

Rationale for EcoGen Advertisement

Sakktivel Elangovan

Digital Design

Mainly using Photoshop, I managed to create a well-designed advertisement for the company that I chose, EcoGen. This advertisement is a basic impression of what the company is and what its goals are by including the slogan, a picture which fits to the company’s brief and my own design of a logo. This advertisement which is in a format which can appear as a billboard or as a magazine advertisement tends to be very clean and well spaced out in terms of its organization and proximity. The logo and the poster that I made were all in Photoshop. Playing around with many different tools in Photoshop and making sure that I follow the principles of design, I tried to make the poster as eye-catching and appealing as possible by using bright and strong colors such as white and blue. In addition, I also referred to many magazines, like the New Yorker and the Economist, as a sample and basis for my work. The picture that I chose as my main image and center-point of the ad was a photo of a small and peaceful hut in the middle of the Swiss Alps and by the side of a lake. The water gives a reflection of the mountains and the house. Basically, this image is supposed to represent the serenity and calmness of the environment which is what my company is supposed to promote. This is definitely the main goal of my company. I amended the picture so that there would be more contrast with the colors. I also changed the view of the picture so that the hut would be the center point even though the photo is not extremely zoomed into the hut. Consequently, my poster expresses the ideas of EcoGen and fits to its brief by supporting the peace of the environment and saving the world by buying the company’s products.

Weekly Post 18

Mirror’s Edge Review

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/927/927781p1.html

The feeling of the movement and leaping through the air in this game is just so realistic that you can actually feel yourself in the air. The graphics and the idea of making this game in first-person view is just incredible. Even though, the storyline and the characters are not really interesting, the main purpose of the game, which is to explore the environment is very fun. It is quite interesting to roam around the city and jump from building to building. This is new style of play, guiding the character on the journey of leaps and bounds, is called Runner Vision. This is the main highlight of the game which makes it so unique and revolutionary. In addition, there are so many different types of ways to move (jumping, climbing up buildings, swinging on poles, use a parachute, etc.), however these ideas were not well developed in the plot and storyline of the main single player campaign, which is why many gamers are hoping that there will be a sequel to this first game of Mirror’s Edge.

Weekly Post 17

The Design of the Manchester United Football Site

http://www.boagworld.com/accessibility/two_sites_are_better_than_one/

This article shows why the Manchester United Football Site might have a problem with accessibility. The author demonstrates why accessibility is so important when it comes to web designing. He believes that the Man Utd website has a hard accessibility, maintenance issue and is criticizing the idea of having a separate site after accessing the main Man Utd webpage. The author believes that the web designers are seriously alienating their target audience.

Fonts for the Company

1st Font: Asenine

2nd Font: Dream Orphans 

3rd Font: Eurofurence 

4th Font: Geosans 

Weekly Post 16

South Africa World Cup 2010 Logo

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20060722084852450c455144

The producer of the logo believed that it was the strong African identity of his logo that appealed to the judges. The footballer doing the kick was done in a San or rock painting style to bring the focus back to South Africa and its identity as "The Cradle of Human Kind". The convergence of lines towards South Africa in the continental image is intended as a metaphor to represent the diversity and energy of African soccer flair. The South African identity was further strengthened by incorporating the South African flag colours into the design. This is the reason why many people believe this logo will really enlighten the World Cup 2010.

Logo Idea 4

Logo Idea 3

Logo Idea 2

Logo Idea 1

Weekly Post 15

The Vancouver 2010 Logo

http://agonist.org/Learning-Center/The_Vancouver_2010_Logo_and_Campaign.htm

The The Vancouver 2010 logo was a big part of a campaign to win the 2010 winter Olympics. Its design features the two-dimensional representation of the traditional sculpture made up of block-like shapes in colors that represent the different geographical regions of Canada. The blue and greens of the design are meant to represent the unique coastal regions and forests of the country and its surrounding picturesque islands. The red symbolizes Canada’s maple leaf flag, and the yellow is meant to represent the famous Canadian sunrises. The block-like construction of the logo also symbolizes images of hockey player uniforms, making it an even more perfect symbol for Canada and for the winter Olympics as a whole. In my opinon, this is what I call a good logo since the colors and shapes all have to do something with Canada. Unlike the Adidas logo or the London 2012 logo, this logo actually fits the purpose of the campaign and is a very eye-catching emblem for the grand Winter Olympics.

Explanation of the Fonts

Font: Aervias Brasil NF

This font could be used for the slogan because of it is decorative and is sans serif. This means, that it is attractive and is easy to the eye. In my opinion, this font is the correct type for the slogan of EcoGen since it fits the brief and the purpose of the company. 

Font: Last Ninja 

This font is a lot more different than the first font because it is a serif font, but in away. This font is called Last Ninja and has a very medieval look, however I think if I could manipulate it a bit using Photoshop, the slogan could be quite appealing. 

Font: Eldorado

This serif font has a script type look, but is actually a Western and old style font. I think it fits with the brief and speaks well to the idea of the company even though the font is mean to represent the Old West.  

Font: Trading Post NF

This font is sans serif too and is also very  modern. It could be very effective when I use it for the slogan. This font is very clean and has a good look and organization in general. 

Font: Metal Lord 

In my opinion, this font is very eye catching and serves the idea of the company. It could be very effective when it is put with the logo. In addition, this font is very sophisticated and modern.  

EcoGen Schema Poster

Weekly Post 14

The Analysis of the Design of the Apple Website

http://www.intowebmarketing.co.uk/website-analysis-apple-mac.html

This article is very useful to use when designing your own website and when entering websites. People normally websites without realizing the graphical design of it. This article shows why the Apple Website is such a good example of professional graphical design. Firstly, the main page loads up in less than a second. This is quite fascinating when considering the amount of graphics used. In addition, the menu page is very well organized and is very attractive. Secondly, the colors were also very well chosen since the grey and white background gives a neat and professional look and provides a good contrast against the readable text. Thirdly, the length of the pages is well balanced and rather than having endlessly long pages, they have given more options when entering the main categories. In addition, the online shopping facility is comprehensive and easy to use. The Apple website gives a clear indication why Apple Mac is a leader in innovative technology.

Weekly Post 13

Fifa O9 Review

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/913/913467p1.html

The latest Fifa console game has been improved quite dramatically comparing it to its previous games. New animations, sound effects and graphics were added to make the game as polished as possible. For examples, players in open space will call for the ball while defenders will raise their hand to alert the referee that is an offside-ball. As a result Fifa 09 is seen as the most realistic football game to date.

Tips for Designing

Law of Thirds - design is divided into 9 boxes

The subject of the photo/design has to be where the lines intersect.  The subject should always be on the left side of the design, since we read from left to right. The positive subject should be on the left. For example, if there is a transition of beauty to darkness then the beauty has to be on the left and the darkness on the right. 

Weekly Post 12

Gears of War 2 Review

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/926/926305p1.html

This review article presents all the cool features in the new and exciting video game, Gears of War 2. This game, which received a 9.7 rating from IGN, contains a lot of modern graphic designs. The producers of this game did their best to improve the game play and design of the video game and making as flawless as possible. By doing this, they improved the sound effects, the visual graphics and of course the story-line of the game.

EcoGen Brief

Eco Generation (EcoGen)
The company will import environmentally friendly products, we would sell the Eco Ball, Dryer Ball, Magno Ball and the Eco Stapler. Our target consumers are the low income families who want to save up to Fr500 every 1000 washes they do. We will also target people who are environmentally conscious and want to help the environment. With the Eco Stapler our target audience are companies who want to become environmentally friendly and people who want to save resources. We envision selling the products that we import in established Swiss stores and to assist people to become more environmentally conscious by offering them Eco friendly goods.

EcoGen -Things for the Company

Pick fonts

create logo

create banner

letterheads

tags

faxsheets