Idpure magazine article- Onitsuka- Tiger in the soul

Written by: Aylin Sallin-Toker

Summary of the Article:

In Japan, Onitsuka Tiger offers a “beautiful roar”. This shoe company was found in 1949 and for the last 50 years, all they decided to concentrate on was technology rather than marketing. So, for the next 50 years the founder said that they will concentrate on marketing. This company first saw international success in the year 1951and an Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila who ran bear foot accepted to wear this company’s shoe to continue in gold medal in 1964 and 1968 Olympic games. This became the symbol of the brand and signature. All that was missing from this company was strong marketing; there was a recent opening of the first Onitsuka Tiger Store in Switzerland.

Idpure magazine article- Retro- futurist photography

Written by: Joël Vacheron

Summary of the Article:

Photography is a “mirror of reality” and in terms of advertizing, it is defined as a “magnifying glass”. The meaning of photography can be defined as a “magnifying glass”. This is that photography enlarges at a certain time the trends and aspirations of a society. In numerous contemporary works, causes such as veiled references, discreet borrowings or vulgar plagiarism happen although the end product is different. This might be because of lack of originality or search for proficiency.

Retro- futurist esthetic is a period when there was Flash Gordon and Barbarella and when the nylon strings supporting the space ships were obviously visible. Retro-futurism isn’t represented in photography by an obvious way. It suggests the phoney and anachronic character of the universes created by advertising and some contemporary artists. Photographic retro-futurism shows heightened reality which doesn’t represent any particular period.

Idpure magazine article- Coarse Graphic Art

Written by: Joel Vacheron

Summary of the article:

This article was written by Joel Vacheron. The writer said that currently there are infinite numbers of graphic creations which interfere and damage the current graphic norms and the best or the favorite place for where to put this unauthorized graphic art is of course the internet. In this column of unauthorized graphic creation, there is a stable and repeating style and this is from the Hip Hop, RnB and Ragga universes. The idea of glittering letters and cars, and attractive girls are the elements which from this graphic art. In esthetics, the word ‘coarse’ includes productions which do not look back reflectively on discipline. This idea is graphically equivalent to the idea which the rappers have about these ‘bling bling’ universes. The laborious cut-outs, unlikely juxtapositions, large fonts with luminous brilliance have turned into visual codes of this idea. The writer at the end mentions that coarse art will always be a source of inspiration and this will be something which will continue to impact its influences in the future graphic arts and conventions.

Idpure magazine article- Cartoon Couture

Written by: Aylin Sallin-Toker

Summary of the article:

Sacha Roulet the writer of this article based her article on a specific person and she is Cari Mundane who is a Londoner and a designer. Her style is so unique that it surprised the audience who saw her pieces and that style is named “cassette playa”. This contains the idea of “do it yourself” or specifically, ‘if you want something done properly, do it yourself’. Also there is a concept called ‘nu-rave’ and this is the shortcut between the idea of ‘new-wave’ and there is a group which had launched this idea and this group called the Klaxons and they were styled by Cari Mundane. The word ‘nu-rave’ means everything- and-nothing, and ‘The only rule is that there is no rule. The mixture of styles- that’s the style.’ This is a concept where there is a mixture between reality and virtual. To summarize, this article is about a unique type of concept/idea created by Cari Mundane.

Idpure magazine article- Selective Utopia

Written by: Sacha Roulet

Summary of the article:

This article is written by Sacha Roulet and this person says that when design comes together with art, or when art is interpreted into certain designs, this can create a very impactful and memorable pieces. This tends to work most likely with cloth designs. Then the author lists some example of cases in which there were art interpreted into design or when the designer used an art piece as their model to design. In addition, in the new age, there are lots of uses of geometry to make the piece meaningful and this was evoked by painters such as Paul Laffoley and David Thorpe. There are shapes such as circles, triangles, squares and pentagrams that have symbolic value. Laffoley associated shapes with extremely hierarchical mysticism and Thrope said it was more like an ‘urban romantic utopia’. To summarize, most of this article was about geometry and art pieces being interpreted into design.

Don’t Be Afraid of Serif Fonts

Summary of the Article:

Typography is very important in web design however also the number of fonts you use is more important than the type of font you use. It was said by many other web design articles that sans-serif font is the best and general font you should use for building websites or in general. But, serif fonts can be attractive and does have advantages though it also has disadvantages.

The advantages of the serif fonts are:
- Since most of the websites use sans-serif, serif fonts can give a fresh and new look
- It helps the font stand out
- Serif fonts gives a web designer more to work with

The disadvantages of the serif fonts are:
- Serif fonts look terrible when they are italicized
- Serif fonts have worse readability when they are small
- The serif fonts have more of a personal or informative feel rather than a business feel.

Written by: David Rodriguez

Source From: http://www.wpdfd.com/issues/86/dont_be_afraid_of_serif_fonts/

A Good Web Site Essentials

Summary of the Article:

Some website out in the web really is bad. This is because of poor design, layout and bad content and list. There are some basic fundamentals on creating a good website and they are:

- Title of the website is important because it decides whether you want to look at it or not.
- Content of the website is important because it brings guests back if the content is good and interesting
- Grammar and spelling is essential in a good website. Grammar or spelling mistakes makes the website not trustworthy
- Images and fonts are also important because the font and images decides whether the reader/audience’s eyes are going to be pleasant or not
- Page length is another essential. The content should be short and brief and it should only contain the main points. Audience gets bored of long web pages.
- Links should be made so that it is easy to access.

Source from:
http://www.selfseo.com/story-19541.php

Written by: Methyl Vizcarra

How NOT To Design a Logo

Summary of the Article

Definition of a logo: A logo’s design is for immediate recognition, admiration, loyalty, and an implied superiority. Logos are to indentify organizations and it is used for commerce, and economic entity.

There are some things which you shouldn’t do when you are designing a logo and they are:

1. Using logo design contests: the quality of the logo would be very bad and you wouldn’t want to use that logo.

2. Buying logo from logo businesses: like the logo design contests, the quality is far worse than you will expect.

3. Stock imagery: do not use stock imagery. Ensure that your logo is original.

4. Free Logo Makers: also stay away from free logo makers. The logo wouldn’t have a meaning to it.

5. Getting a design without feedback: ensure that you get feedback from clients, peers and stakeholders.

Source from: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/how-not-to-design-a-logo/

Written by: Jacob Cass for WDD

Article: Nine Keys to an effective logo design

Summary of the Article:

There are 9 keys to an effective logo design and this is good for the business and for the company itself because the logo is like a face of the company.

1. Consistency
2. Memorability
3. Meaningfulness
4. Uniqueness
5. Professionalism
6. Timelessness
7. Contrast
8. Unity
9. Scalability

Writer: Erin Ferree
Source from: http://www.elf-design.com/article-9-Logo-Keys.html

Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design

Summary of the article:
There are top 10 mistakes in web design which the writer thinks we shouldn’t make.
The top ten are:
1. Bad search: search engine has to be comfortable to use or it will hurt all users
2. PDF files for online reading: users hate PDF files because it breaks their flow and also it is different to a normal website so it is uncomfortable
3. Not changing the color of visited links: users might revisit the site that they found useful so it is good to change the color of visited links.
4. Non- scannable text: subheads, bulleted lists, highlighted keywords, short paragraphs, the inverted pyramid, a simple writing style, and de-fluffed language devoid of marketese. Use these to make your web look better.
5. Fixed Font size: 95% of the time fixed font size is tiny so change the font size so that it is legible.
6. Page Titles with Low Search Engine Visibility
7. Anything that looks like an Advertisement
8. Violating design conventions
9. Opening new browser windows: it is uncomfortable for the user if there are so many windows.
10. Not answering User’s questions

Source from: www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html
Written by: Jakob Nielsen

What is branding?

What is Branding?

Branding is not only your logo but also your business name. Great names evoke intrigue, savvy and class, and tell customers a lot about who you are. When you begin the branding process, think first about your name. Next, envision an image that works with that name. Finally, create a byline, which is a short sentence that describes who you are or what you stand for. Here's an example. I named of one of my first coffee bars "Caffe Primavera." In Italian, "Primavera" means springtime. For my logo design I used a Corinthian column with a floral theme at its base, surrounded by two renaissance angels. The byline I chose was "Coffee delivered from heaven."
There are many examples of expired branding in the coffee world. Let's look at Seattle's Caffé D'arte (Italian for "coffee of art"). Its simple logo incorporates the company name and a cup in a design that uses traditional Italian colors. Its byline, "Taste the Difference," tells you a lot. It indicates this company has traditional Italian coffee and suggests it is a high quality product.
Another Seattle coffee company with impressive branding is Caffé Vita. Its logo design features an Italian clown holding a cup. The image is classy, whimsical and reminds me of Carnival in Venice, reinforcing the link to Italy, the Mecca of espresso. The company uses its name and branding in fun and unique ways, probably more so than any other company in the industry.Recently the company gave away black hats with an embroidered logo design that simply said "Caffé Vita." But for the younger crowd, as a very creative and unique promotion, the company created cheap black and white foam baseball hats that from a distance read "VITA SUCKS." Upon closer inspection, you could read small print that said, "VITA is great! What SUCKS is when you can't find any!

Summary of the article:
Branding is what represents your business itself. Branding is your business name. When you start a branding process there are 3 steps which you have to go through. They are:
1. Think about your name
2. Think of an image which matches the name you have chosen
3. Create a byline which is a short and powerful sentence which describes your business.

Written by: Bruce Milletto

Source: www.expresso101.com

Ten Tips on Writing for the Web

1. Use CSS to set your text at 10 or 12px, which is an optimum size for readability.
2. Use sans-serif text such as Verdana, Arial and Helvetica. You can specify "Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif." as your font in CSS.
3. The maximum width for easy reading is 400 - 440 pixels. Use tables or CSS to control this.
4. Use absolute control of the width of the text columns. Set them so the lines of type run around 10 to 12 words per line.
5. Black text on a white ground is the easiest reading. Other colors tend to blur the text slightly because of anti-aliasing. However, a stark white background is hard on the eyes. Use an off-white (a very light grey), or an eggshell blue colored tile for your background. If you prefer to set a color, try pale khaki CCCC99
6. To relieve the denseness of continuous type, use headlines and subheads. Use bold ONLY for emphasis, such as in subheads. Text all in bold is fatiguing to read because the blackness of the letters begins leaving shadow trails. It is also confusing to text readers.
7. Add photos and illustrations to illuminate passages. Make sure you put a minimum of 20px space around your graphics to give them some breathing room.
8. Information is more easily retained in "clusters" which equal about a screen full in length at a time, and then broken by some type of graphic or change in structure. The change in structure could be no more than a bolded topic header or a drop cap or even the equivalent of a side bar with some information in it.
9. To relieve the monotony of text, pull out a paragraph to use as a side bar. Or, put a short description into a box with a link to "more"
10. Use bullets to ::reduce wasted space ::create visual interest ::make information easier to understand and absorb

Summary of the Article:
There are 10 tips of writing a good website and this will help the writer enhance the website and could make their website look neat and organized.
The 10 points are:
1. Set your font size at 10 or 12.
2. Use Sans-serif for your font.
3. 400 to 440 pixels is the maximum width for easy reading.
4. One line should contain 10 to 12 words.
5. Chose colors which are good for reading and which doesn’t hurt the audience’s eyes.
6. Bold is only used in emphasis and use headlines and subheads.
7. Add pictures and other visuals.
8. Information is more easily retained in clusters.
9. To reduce boredom, use paragraphs as a side bar.
10. Use bullets points to reduce space, gain interest and make information easier to understand.

Source from: http://www.phoebemoon.com/writing.htm

Weekly Article (Semester 1)

5 blogs I have read:
http://charlie6330.blogspot.com/
http://DD-jack.blogspot.com/
http://tape-jessy3513.blogspot.com/
http://bk190.blogspot.com/
http://blog-on-blogger.blogspot.com/

Articles that I have chosen:

http://bk190.blogspot.com/
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/whitespace

From this article I have learned a lot about white space. I think it is interesting to see how white spaces change the look of the design. I have learned that white space can make a ‘good’ design to a ‘great’ design. And that white space gives luxury and flexibility on the design. From this article I learned that leaving white space out is not a bad thing but can be a good thing.

http://tape-jessy3513.blogspot.com/

For this blog, I found that the whole blog is interesting because instead of finding articles, Cindy found designs that interested her and explained how it is which was quite unique compared to other people’s blogs. I think it is a good idea to put a weekly design up on the blog.

http://charlie6330.blogspot.com/
http://www.wpdfd.com/issues/87/the_design_environment/

From this article I have learned that organization is an important part of design. Also I learned the fact that visual elements, color, typography, imagery and content are the factors which determine the organization of a certain design. If there is a messy and not environmentally friendly website or a webpage, then people just tend to stay away from that website which makes us learn that the environment or the organization of the website takes great part.

http://bk190.blogspot.com/
http://www.bluemoonwebdesign.com/art-lessons-5.asp

This article shows that keeping the design simple makes the design better. A simpler design is better to look at than a complex design. I have learned that fact and also I have learned that when you put an element into a design, you have to not think of the effect that the element has but think of what the overall effect would be if the element is put in. I think I have learned a lot from this specific article.

Web Site Design: Who Is Your Audience?

One of the first things that you need to decide, long before you begin your analysis, design and implementation, is who is your audience? With whom are you trying to communicate? You are obviously creating a web site for a reason, and hopefully you intended someone to view it. In fact, you should define your audience before you even get into any details about what the web site is to do - the "to do" will actually be made much more clear once you understand your audience.

There is the odd circumstance of someone creating a web site just for him, but this is a very rare exception. Usually there is some intention for someone else to view the material, read the articles or listen to the sounds.
So who is this group of people who you except to visit your web site? This is a far more important question that it appears on the surface, as it will define and guide you through just about every remaining phase of your web site implementation. The question of "who" will determine how you write, which graphics and sounds you include, what kind of HTML tags you use and what other technologies are needed.

It is critical to understand that you cannot communicate to everyone. For example, a web site that is aimed at five year olds will probably not be very useful to computer professionals (except, possibly, as an example of how to do it).

So sit back and think for a minute. It does not matter what kind of site you envision - you can determine your audience. Start with the subject material. Let's say you are creating a website about model railroads. That's your subject, model railroads. This is very general, but it will do for now.
Okay, now, are you communicating with beginners? Experienced railroaders? or are you attempting to explain the subject to someone who does not know anything about it? Perhaps you want to communicate with all of these groups - but are you also interested in writing to the critic of the hobby?

Let's take an intranet that I worked on a number of years ago. This was intended to explain how my staff was to perform their various system management procedures. It would include step-by-step instructions for each of the tasks that they performed on a day-to-day basis.
So who is my audience? My own staff members. Let's define them a little further. They are highly technical, well trained and know how to do their own jobs. By defining just this much, the nature of what needs to be written becomes more clear. Extreme detail is not necessary, for example. In addition, by knowing that they are, say, trained in Windows NT, I can specify that Windows NT commands do not need to be explained. It can be assumed, because I know my audience, that they know this information.
Another intranet which I have helped design is intended for use by store managers. By simple defining that information, I can determine exactly what information is needed by this group of people. I can also infer what data they do not need to have explain in detail - because they already know it. I can also expand the audience by saying "store captains and their direct reports". Now I might have to include more information, as the direct reports may need additional explanation.

If possible, it is a great idea to interview or survey some of your intended audience. I have done this on several occasions, and it has prevented many errors which may otherwise have crept into the final product. Remember your end user may not be the person who is paying for the project - it is the people with whom you are trying to communicate.

Things to note as you are defining your audience:

- Education - are you aiming for an audience of college graduates or school children or something in between. This is necessary to determine how you write your articles.

- Technical training - what kind of training and technical knowledge do you expect your end users to have. By knowing this information, you can make assumptions about their abilities.

- Medical conditions - does your intended audience have any medical conditions that you need to account for? For example, if you are writing to the blind, you may need to do extra work to be sure they can hear your site addition to (or instead of) being able to see it.

- Graphical orientation - is your audience better communicated with using graphics, text, sound, movies or a combination of the above? By knowing who they are, you can tailor your presentation towards them. For example, if I made a site tailored for my boss, I might include flowcharts, spreadsheets and diagrams. For my technical people, text descriptions might be more than adequate.

Once you know your audience, other things become obvious. For example, a common question is whether to code a site for just one browser or all browsers. When I created an intranet, we coded strictly for Internet Explorer V5 since everyone in the company used that browser. By knowing our audience we could define this early in the project. The same holds true for things like screen resolution, graphics formats (jpg, gif and png), load times (the intranet had a network so it was fast) and so on.
You audience also determines what kind of content you will include on your site. Thus, if your site is intended to be read by advanced webmasters, you probably don't want to include articles on how to load you site onto a free host. They should already have this information.

As you can see, by understanding your audience, you can answer many of the questions that come up during web site design. In fact, this understanding often makes the decisions become non-issues - they are obvious.

Summary of the Article:
The first thing you do when you design a web is that you have to figure out who your audience is because that changes the way you design your web. The audience determines graphics, how are you going to write, sounds, and what kind of HTML tags you use and the technology needed.

These are some things that depend on the audience when designing a web: Education (Are you aiming for an audience of college graduates or school children or something in between), technical training (what kind of training and technical knowledge do you expect your end users to have. By knowing this information, you can make assumptions about their abilities.
), medical conditions (does your intended audience have any medical conditions that you need to account for? For example, if you are writing to the blind, you may need to do extra work to be sure they can hear your site addition to (or instead of) being able to see it.), and graphical audience(is your audience better communicated with using graphics, text, sound, movies or a combination of the above? By knowing who they are, you can tailor your presentation towards them. For example, if I made a site tailored for my boss, I might include flowcharts, spreadsheets and diagrams. For my technical people, text descriptions might be more than adequate.).

Source from: http://www.edezines.com/article11.shtml
Written by: Richard Lowe

Weekly Article: Writing Well for the Web

· Using Links - Don't let the reader know you're leading them

· Keep it Personalized - Who's writing your pages anyway?
· Good Navigation - You can't know where your readers are coming from.

I admit it, I'm biased. I was a writer with a book title to my name before I became a Web Developer. Then, when I joined the Web team, I was brought on as a Web Writer. I like to write, I like good writing, and writing is my passion. So, when I see Web pages that demonstrate that the author doesn't care about writing, I cringe.

There are many things that constitute good writing. They include correct spelling, good grammar, as well as interesting content. However, to write for the Web you have to be aware of how people read Web pages, as well as the nature of hypertext itself.

Using Links

Don't use: "click here"How do you handle links on your Web page? If you're like most people, you have the words click here sprinkled liberally through your pages. Now, you may be thinking (as does the Marketing Department where I work), "What does that matter? Jennifer is just being a style martinet again."

Yes, I admit that I can be inflexible when it comes to those two words in a Web page. These two words completely destroy the flow of any document. The only time I can condone using "click here" is if you are writing a Web page on how to use Web pages.

Do use title tags and "inter-paragraph" links
I have found that the best way to add in links to Web pages is to add them after you've written the text. You can then go in and highlight textual elements as links so your readers can get more information. When I do this, I try to use title tags in my HREF so that readers with title enabled browsers will know where they are going.

Keep it Personalized

We all have myriad chances to deal with automation in our lives these days. Why not let your readers know that there is a person behind the pages? Because my pages are on About.com they all have my photo on them, but I like to keep my articles friendly and easy to read. (I think the other reason I write so casually is because I have to write specs at work, and those are very dry and impersonal.)

When you create your pages, make sure that you have some way to contact you on the Web page. If you don't want to be listed on every mailing list in the country, then at least put your name so people can give you credit. Why did you spend so much time on your pages if you didn't want someone to read them and know that you wrote them?

Good Navigation

Elsewhere on this site, there are many pages that have information of interest to my readers. A lot of these pages include navigation at the top, bottom, or sides that says "Next", "Previous", "Back", "Top", and so on. However, if you came to that page from my page, you have no idea where those links are going to take you.

This is the beauty of the Web; you never know where a link will take you or how people will find your page next. Never assume that because you set up a beautiful table of contents that anyone but you will use it. Links of this nature make you the tour guide again. Your links should tell people where they are going, preferably as part of a sentence, but they shouldn't be reminded to use their mouse to get there.

Summary of the Article:

There are three major points that you need to know in order to write well for the web. First, it is important to not show the reader that you are leading them to someplace. When you put up a link, you should put “click here” this is because that ruins the flow of the whole piece. Also it is nice if you indicate the writer of the web page. Last of all, when you are putting links, you have to put what this site leads to.

Source from: http://webdesign.about.com/od/writing/a/aa061598.htm

Weekly Article: 35 Deadly Website Sins that will Kill Your Business

After reviewing thousands of web sites over the past couple of years for my Exceptional Sites Award, I have come to the conclusion that many business web sites are missing the boat.

For example; I've been working on some offline promotions and was searching for a simple targeted mailing list. I searched through about twenty sites and not one of those sites were, what I would consider, professional. Their standard blue links were enlarged to about a size 16 font, busy backgrounds, flashing images and very unorganized.
Did I purchase a mailing list from any of those sites? Absolutely not. Why? The way I see it, if those companies don't take pride in their web sites, chances are, and they won't take pride in their products either. Large linked text and flashing graphics won't make sales.

Your web site is a direct reflection of you and your business. The appearance of your site is the most important factor in determining your sites value. In other words, if your site doesn't look professional or pleasing to the eyes at first glance, its perceived value and the value of your products and services will be low.

On the other hand, you may have a great web site, well designed and a quality product or service, but if it takes too long to load, the value will still be perceived as low. Why? Because your potential customer won't wait. Ultimately costing you business.
Another consideration of great importance is your content. Not just links, but content with value. When someone is surfing the net and they visit your web site, they're visiting for a reason. Your site has something they want. Whether it is your product, service or information, that's why they're there. If they don't find what they're looking for, they move on to the next site and so on. If you want your visitors to stay at your site, provide the quality content they're looking for in a nicely organized fashion. Give them a reason to want to explore your site and to continue to visit your site in the future.

After receiving many questions, in regard to site design, from my visitors who weren't selected to receive an award, I have devised a list of what I refer to as "35 Deadly Web Site Sins".
- Poor load time - Poor overall appearance - Spelling/Grammar - No contact information - Poor content - Poor navigation - Broken links and graphics - Poor browser compatibility - Large slow loading graphics - Too many graphics - Pages scrolling to oblivion - Multiple use of animated graphics - Animated bullets - Too many graphic and/or line dividers - Busy, distracting backgrounds - Multiple banners and buttons - Poor use of frames - Large fonts - Pop up messages - Over use of java - Poor use of tables - Poor organization - Different backgrounds on each page - Over powering music set to auto play - Confusing - Too much advertising - Large Welcome banners - Multiple colored text - Text difficult to read - No Meta tags - Multiple use of different fonts - Under construction signs - Scrolling text in the status bar - Large scrolling text across the page - Poor use of mouse over effects
Take some time to really look at your site. Compare it to sites that you feel look professional. Time your sites load time. Your customers won't wait. Their time is valuable.
The simple, well-designed sites make the sales. If your sales aren't what you had hoped, take some time to seriously evaluate your site and make some changes before spending your time and money on advertising and marketing. You may be pleasantly surprised

Summary of the Article:
The writer of this article Shelley Lowery stated that the website is the direct reflection of the person who makes the business and the business itself. When you design a website, you have to consider not only the design itself but other things too in order to make your business and you yourself professional. There are 35 deadly sins that you shouldn’t do when creating a website and they are
1. Poor load time 2. Poor overall appearance 3. Spelling/Grammar
4. No contact information 5. Poor content 6. Poor navigation
7. Broken links and graphics 8. Poor browser compatibility
9. Large slow loading graphics 10. Too many graphics 11. Pages scrolling to oblivion
12. Multiple uses of animated graphics 13. Animated bullets
14. Too many graphic and/or line dividers 15. Busy, distracting backgrounds
16. Multiple banners and buttons 17. Poor use of frames 18.Large fonts
19. Pop up messages 20. Over use of java 21. Poor use of tables
22. Poor organization 23. Different backgrounds on each page
24. Over powering music set to auto play 25. Confusing 26.Too much advertising
27. Large Welcome banners 28.Multiple colored text 29. Text difficult to read
30. No Meta tags 31. Multiple uses of different fonts 32. Under construction signs
33. Scrolling text in the status bar 34. Large scrolling text across the page
35. Poor use of mouse over effects

Source from: http://www.web-source.net/website_sins.htm

Weekly Article: Color Symbolism

When is the last time you saw a Web site in black and white?

Color is vital to the repertoir of your average Web designer, and yet many designers don't realize that the colors they choose may be having more of an effect than they realize. Colors are an element of design that people react to on a visceral level. Often, they don't realize they are reacting to it. For example, in the U.S. many hospitals dress their nurses in light blues and pale pinks. This is because these are calming, soothing colors, and upset patients relax a little in their presence. Once you understand your audience make up you can create a color scheme that suits them.
When choosing the colors for your site, you need to first (as always) think of your audience. Is it a global audience? Is it primarily Western? Eastern? Are they older? Younger? Male? Female? All of these things and more can affect the color choices for your site.

Cultural Differences

Colors obtain symbolism through cultural references in the culture you grew up in. Depending upon the culture, colors can have very different meanings and actually cause problems for your site. For example, in the East, white is the color of funerals while in the West white is the color of Weddings. If you were to design a Wedding site intended for an Asian audience and you used a lot of whites, you could be disturbing the people you're trying to reach.

Age Differences

Young children tend to prefer brighter, more solid colors, while adults tend to prefer more subdued colors. If you're writing to an audience of children and you're using muted pastels and shades of grey, their parents might like it, but the kids will be long gone before the page finishes loading.

Class Differences

Marketing research in the United States has shown that working class people tend to prefer colors that you can name: like blue, red, green, etc. While more highly educated classes tend to prefer colors that are more obscure: like taupe, azure, mauve, etc. This is why Walmart does their store logo in bright red.

Gender Differences

In many cultures, men tend to prefer cooler colors (blues and greens) while women tend to prefer warmer colors (reds and oranges). Western men are also more likely to be color blind and so unable to see some of the differences in color on Web pages.

Trends

Colors, like everything else in design, go through ins and outs in popularity. Black Web pages were all the rage a few years ago, and now you hardly see it at all (but it will surely come back into style as I write this). Colors also tend towards seasonality, in other words, the designs reflect the season they were built in: winter blacks, whites, and greys; spring greens and bright colors; summer yellows; fall browns and golds.

Summary of the Article:

Color is very important in everything but it is particularly more important when doing design. Many people don’t realize that color gives great impact to the people who look at your design. When designing anything, you should see who your audience is because that depends on what color you have to use. For example, when you are dealing with age differences, children like more bright colors and adults like more subdued colors. Also for class and gender differences, working class people like colors that you can name and richer class don’t. Also mostly, men like cooler colors and women prefer warmer colors. So, these examples show that color can impact how the person looks at your design so when you design, it might be helpful if you know who your designing to.

Source from: http://webdesign.about.com/od/color/a/aa072604.htm

Weekly Article: Getting Attention With Your Site Design

When designing a Web page, there are many ways to attract attention to important events or items. The most common way is to change the font size of the headline. For example, during the U.S. war in Iraq, CNN.com changed their banner headline from font-size: 20px to font-size: 48px - more than doubling it.

You can see that in the two screen shots of CNN - the first is from December 2002, and the largest headline reads: "Iraq promises report Dec. 7". This is written in 20px type right below the photo. The second screen shot is from CNN in March 2003. The banner headline reads "CLASHES INTENSIFY". This is written in 48px type at the top of the page. Even the second headline (which does not completely show in the screen shot), is in font-size: 28px, another 8px larger than their standard headline from December.

Using Typography to Get Attention

Using changes in font sizes to get attention is nothing new. But before you go out and make your headlines 48px or larger, you need to follow a few simple rules:

1. Is this really that important?If you're announcing a 30% off shoe sale, it might be important to some people but making the font unbearably huge will just turn most people off.
2. What's the standard font size on your page?If you type everything at 20pt, then creating a 30pt headline will not look that much different. But a 16pt headline next to 8pt text might look huge.
3. Do you have standards for what font size to use?You should decide ahead of time what types of events will trigger an increase in headline size. Once you have a plan, then even if your marketing director comes in begging to announce his shoe sale at 56pt type, you will have a standard size for that level of event.

But changing the font size is not the only way to get attention. You can also
play with the font:

· Family: If you have a sans-serif font, switch to a serif font for emphasis.
· Color: Reds are a good color to attract attention.
· Style or weight: Making text bold or italicized will make it stand out.

Other Ways to Get Attention

Changing the font size or color is not the only way to change your Web site to get attention.

· Images: Images and graphics are always attention-getters. The aphorism "a picture says a thousand words" is true because people are visual, and using a picture to enhance or emphasize what you want to say will do more than just words alone. Google uses pictures to emphasize various holidays and other events.
· Layout: An exciting way to attract attention to an event is to completely change your layout. After the September 11th attacks, CNN removed nearly all of their normal navigation to give more room for their coverage of the events. Amazon thanked its customers for their loyalty by replacing their front page with a letter from the president.
· Animation: Animation where normally you have flat images will attract attention. Many Web designers use this in splash pages to show off their skills and make their site more dynamic.

Use with Care
It is easy to go overboard with these techniques. If every line of your site is bold or red or blinking then nothing will stand out. And if you announce your 30% off shoe sale at the same intensity as announcing a war, your customers will quickly learn to ignore your designs, and eventually go to a more even-handed Web site.

Summary of how to draw attention:
Use typography; change the fonts if there is a part which you want to emphasize. But before you do that, you have to think if this information is really the part you want to emphasize and the standard font of your webpage. Not only does the size of fonts draws attention but the type of font (serif, sans serif, modern and script etc). Also the color can draw reader’s attention; red is a very good color for attention. In addition, bolding and italics also help. Other then these main methods, inserting images, completely changing the layout and putting animation in would help attract the reader’s attention.

Source from: http://webdesign.about.com/cs/webdesing/a/aa032403a.htm

Weekly Article: Shape - Basic Elements of Design

What are Shapes in Design:
Shapes are a basic element of design. They are made up of closed contours and three dimensional objects placed in the design. Shapes are used to convey meaning and organize information. Shapes can be 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional.
There are three basic types of shapes:
· geometric shapes
· natural shapes
· abstract shapes
Use of Shapes in Design:
Shapes in Web design can be used in many ways:
· add interest to a design
· sustain interest
· organize or separate elements
· direct the eye through the design
Geometric Shapes:
Geometric shapes are what most people think of when they think of shapes. Most geometric shapes on Web pages are created through layout and CSS. Some common geometric shapes you see on Web pages are:
· squares and rectangles
· circles
· triangles
· diamonds
Natural Shapes:
Natural shapes are shapes that are found in nature, but they are also shapes of man-made items. Most natural shapes in Web pages are created with images. Some examples of natural shapes are:
· leaves
· puddles
Abstract Shapes:
Abstract shapes are those that have a recognizable form but are not "real" in the same way that natural shapes are. For example, a stick-figure drawing of a dog is an abstract dog shape, but another dog in a photo is a natural shape. Abstract shapes in Web designs are usually added through images. Some examples of abstract shapes are:
· alphabet glyphs
· icons
· symbols

Summary of shapes in design:
Shapes are used to organize information and express your ideas across efficiently. Shapes can be either 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional. There are many uses of shape in design and they can be things such as: gaining attention, organize elements as said and to direct the eye through design. Shapes can be mainly divided into three man categories: geometric shapes, natural shapes, and abstract shapes. Geometric shapes are shapes that we normally think of such as circles and triangles. Natural shapes are things that are found outside commonly such as leaves, stones etc. Last of all abstract shapes are elements such as icons, and symbols.

Source from: http://webdesign.about.com/od/webdesingbasics/p/aashape.htm

Weekly Article: Color Harmony

Using Color Wheels and Color Theory to Design Harmonious Pages

Once you understand the basics of color theory, you can start learning how to combine those colors into a harmonious whole. There are certain colors that look good together, while other colors look so painful you have to click away before they burn your eyes. And while you might recognize these combinations when you see them, there is a theory based on the color wheel as to which colors will look nicest together.

Analogous Colors

These are the colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel. For example: green, yellow-green, and yellow; or red, red-orange, and orange. Play with the hues and saturation of analogous colors to create a harmonious color scheme.

Complementary Colors

Complementary colors are those colors that are opposite one another on the color wheel. By using colors that are opposite one another, you create color schemes that have high contrast and so are brighter and more vivid. Some contrasting colors are: red and green or blue and orange.

Color Triads

By placing an equilateral triangle on the color wheel, you can create color schemes that have a lot of life to them. The most basic color triad is the three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. But others are: green, purple and orange, or yellow-orange, blue-green, and red-purple.

Still Having Trouble?

When looking for color schemes the first place I start is nature. The color schemes found in nature are typically harmonious to our eyes. This can be the case even if the colors don't "go together" according to color theory.

Summary of Color Harmony

Color is very important when it comes to designing a page. If you can put the colors nicely so that it is comfortable for the reader, the page would look much more effective. Analogous colors are colors that sit next to each other on the color table. These colors are used to form a harmonious color design. Complementary colors are colors which are opposite one another on the color table. This gives contrasts and makes the page look brighter. You can also put colors in a different way. By placing an equilateral triangle in the color table, you will get three colors. Those colors could be used to design your page. Nature is a good color scheme to have.

Source from: http://webdesign.about.com/cs/color/a/aacolorharmony.htm