edsonweb.co.uk

After the mid-project review it became evident to me that my Logo element could be greatly improved and changed to integrate in with the the rest of my show case. As i result i've pulled together a number of urban/snow related merchandise company logos to see how they do it. I have chosen this area of style as my avatar is to represent me and my interest in skiing and skate-wear like clothing.















After looking at the above logos several things became evident. These things i feel i need to apply to my own logo. These are:
Logo's should contain no more than two colours, preferably one, usually black
Logo should be can contain text, 'image' part should also be recognised on its own
Using significant letters to create images works well (ie Initials)
Reference to use ie. Mountain outline, road lines, graffiti stencil, waves
To use text, own personal text works, generic fonts probably would not

After looking at these i prepared a few sketches and started to implement them, the first which are below:

As we were asked to review 3 different websites as part of our identities project i decided that websites that related to my project directly would be most appropriate. The websites i will review are:
Ferrari Racing Website - Links with logo
Burton Snowboarding Website - Links with avatar
Apple UK Website - Links with personality

The first website, http://www.ferrariworld.com/FWorld/fw/index.jsp, is the part of supercar manufacturer Ferrari's website which they discuss their racing activities. The websites home page, shown below:













The design choices in this website give a lot away about the corporate identity of Ferrari. The using only red and white as base colour gives emphasis on the team colours and a feel of simplicity, tradition and class. The use of the corporate logo, the prancing horse, surrounded by their achievements gives a real impression of success and prestige. Over all the Ferrari website gives a very good impression, which it most definitely intended.

The second website, Burton (seen below), gives a very lively and exciting impression when first viewing. The vast majority of the page is taken up by images, mainly, cartoon snowboarders. The white and light blue colours give it a very cool and crisp feel, which gives connotations of snow. The other two colours mainly used are purple and pink in various shades. These colors give the image a striking appearance and a bold look.

All the images in the website appear to be sketches which also gives a home-made feel to the website. The images are also similar to the style of graffiti artists. This makes the website feel quite urban, despite the obvious links to mountains and nature. The website is definitely geared toward a younger audience.











The third website, Apple UK (as seen below), has a very minimalist approach, to showcase their products which are very much the opposite. The use of cool white and grey colours gives a technological feel, which the company is. The website appears very organised, which could be a reflection on the company's ability to deliver effectively. Over all the website navigates very well and is very aesthetically pleasing.

Deciding what I should do for my 3D avatar idea was fairly easy. It was a split between a human character or a mechanical like creature made of of components that represent me.

After a few sketches it became evident that creating a mechanical like creature wasn't really going to work and i couldn't create anything i thought i'd be happy with. Initialy i was going to create a 3D avatar of me in everyday life however i don't think that best represented me as an identity. After a few ideas i decided that i would express my identity and personality through a skiier/snowboarder type figure. The sketches i am fairly happy with are below:

So, for the Identities project we have to do at least one piece of AV footage. Looking back at my Narratives project its more than evident that my strong point in AV was pixilation over creating footage with a hand-held video camera. Then the question arose, what, using moving visuals and audio, represents me and my identity.

In my opinion a large percentage of a persons identity is acquired by what they day. There day to day life. So, I’ve decided to create a pixilation movie about a day in my life.

My plan is to shoot a person doing the things I normally do. Or shoot from a first persons POV. I will probably attempt both in order to decide which is most effective. Either way I intend not to have any shots of their face and little of their physical appearance. This is important in order to emphasise that identity is about what we do and shouldn’t just be about how we appear.

The basic timeline/storyboard for the video will be as follows:

Wake Up
Get Ready
Eat Breakfast
Travel To University
Action at University
Lunch
Travel to Work
Action at Work
Getting Ready
Going Out
Eating Dinner (probably in social environment)
Going to Social Event
Action at Social Event
Going Home
Watching Film
Going to Sleep

Sounds fairly simple, but I want to integrate the idea of things being not as they seem. This is based on the idea of that, yes, hundreds of students do the same as me every day, but we all have our own identity. In order to express this ‘differentness’ I have decided that I will mess around with the sounds that are played at the time of each clip. I intend to play the clips that are at the opposite end of the day to the visual ie:

Visual - Audio

Wake Up - Going to Sleep
Get Ready - Watching a Film
Eat Breakfast - Going Home
Travel To University - Action at Social Event
Action at University - Going to Social Event
Lunch - Eating Dinner
Travel to Work - Going Out
Action at Work - Getting Ready
Getting Ready - Action at Work
Going Out - Travel to Work
Eating Dinner (probably in social environment) - Lunch
Going to Social Event - Action at University
Action at Social Event - Travel to University
Going Home - Eat Breakfast
Watching Film - Get Ready
Going to Sleep - Wake Up

I know the concept sounds strange but the way I imagine it I think it will work quite well. Bare with me!

As a one of the 2 free choice elements for my Identities project i have decided to create a flash-based website about my identity. Over the Christmas period i came up with a 'Polaroid' idea which can be seen further back in my blog. I've taken the original idea behind that and start to add a bit more creativity. I've only just started to compile my initial thoughts but here's a quick snap of the front page:

Just a quick one. I've just come up with this, its an idea for a website logo although I'm tempted integrate it into my identities logo:

Still not sure that i'm completely happy with my logo so i've gone for a more simple colour scheme:

Just realised i did this last week and forgot to post it. Here's my self portrait for the identities seminar =)