edsonweb.co.uk

I have finished a version of Identities which works with all elements included. I may change a few minor aesthetics before hand it, but this is basically it. Comments appreciated. http://www.edsonweb.co.uk/identities.html

Is done!

http://www.edsonweb.co.uk/identitysite2/home/home.html

go check it out. It is a website showcasing some of my photography aswell as photographs that represent me and my life. Its a combination of art and expression to show my identity.

After a discussion with tutors at different reviews i've decided to use my polaroid idea for the box itself...initial design:










































The Final Box Design...

Just a temporary version to gather opinions, dont worry about the incorrect title formats and stuff like that. Just want to know what people think of the design and content.

http://www.edsonweb.co.uk/Home.html

Again, after my review this week, it has become evident that the latest website idea i had using my mobile as a navigation tool was floored in many ways, and making it work on a design level could be very difficult. As a result i have come up with a new design based more about me.

Initial Design below:

After my review this week ive become to understand where ive been going wrong in designing my logo. Here's the latest batch, i hope they're of better standard...









and three others...

After working on my CSS/HTML based website for a while id decided that the original design was not particulaly individual or represented me in the best possible way. After a few thoughts i came up with the idea of using my phone as a navigation system, as the user looking through my eyes. First preview in browser below:

I eventually gave up on the 'Arrow' logo idea, it seemed what ever i did to it, it still felt slightly too simple and slightly immature. I decided to look into varying styles and came up with the idea of using headphones as the basis for the logo. Headphones represt so many things to so many different people i decided this would be a good thing to use. A headphone based logo will integrate very will with my avatar and other elements.

Below are 7 variations of my ideas, please feedback which you prefer, or how i can improove them.

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 =)

Below is the first draw up of my Car-Name logo idea. I quite like it. I will have to see if i get any more ideas for it. Please comment if you've got any good ideas or constructive criticisms =)

I've sort of come up with a new idea for my logo. Whilst sitting in a web-based lecture this week (no link really), (and no pun intended), i rememberd a cap i'd seen with Michael Schumachers personal logo on it. So, when i got home i looked it up and i got some fairly good ideas.

The Schumacher logo looks like this:














As you should be able to see, the idea is that it is initials, M.S., in the shape of a racing car. As motorracing and cars in general is something i take great interest in i thought i'd give it a go. Below are a few sketches i did to get the ideas flowing:

This one is just my first name, Tom, transformed to look like a racing car and driver. I quite like it although it doesnt look that much like a car or my name.


This is my second sketch that just uses my second name, Edson, in the shape of the car. This one looks a lot more like a racing car but its sort of loosing the look of having a name in it. So i gave it another go to see if it could be improved...

The third and final image (that i'm willing to show you anyway), again, is another attempt at putting my last name, Edson, into the shape of a race car. I like this one a lot better than the previous.



After quite a few sketches i still feel that the original image using 'Tom' in the shape of a race car is the most effective due its simplicity it feels much more like a logo than the other two.

I will post the computerised version of that when it is complete.

Ok, so last week I posted a few images of a billboard i found displaying a new coke advert that i really liked the look of. I intended to use it as the basis for my own identity logo. And here is the result:


















As much as i like the finished product it is too complex for a logo. Keeping in mind that a logo is an easily recognisable symbol i don't think this is. However, all effort has not been lost as it acutally makes a pretty in-depth moodboard. Either as it is above or as the background images as can be seen below:

Using 3D Studio Max 3D I have chosen a shape with texture, lighting and colour which I feel best represents me.

The shape I’ve chosen is a Torus Knot. At first I wasn’t really sure why but I felt that this shape appealed to me a great deal more than the rest so I think I should use it. I’m not really sure if the shape suites me or I’m trying to suite the shape but here it goes.

I think the shape visually represents me as I like to think I’m fairly complex, yet easy to follow. The name of the shape also appeals greatly as Taurus is my star sign.

I used 4 different colours, these are black, blue, red and orange. I didn't choose these colours because they visually represent me, orange and red especialy. But they all appeal to me for different reasons. I used the colours to represent my interests.

Not one colour represents one intereset but i've used them to show the idea that i have many, quite different interests yet they all colide together from time to time.