Design evaluation: Bad

http://havenworks.com/
The design of this Web site made me a little nauseous, which I'm sure is the opposite effect the designers wanted. The proprietors of this site obviously ignored several basic design elements.

The site lacks contrast. The geometric shapes created by the boxes on the page are all the same, and thereby confuse the reader as to what the most important part of the page is. All elements seem to blend together. There is no contrast in size, shape, texture, color, position or orientation, which violates the rules of contrast we discussed in class. Because there is no contrast, there is no meaning in the elements of the site. This site is posing as a news site, but the lack of contrast prevents the reader from understanding that.

The fact that all the shapes are essentially the same removes any chance of having balance. Without balance, the site lacks a clear focus and remains uninteresting.

The designers of the site also used design elements poorly. Color is a big part of the problem on this page because it seems to be used randomly. There is no method to the placement of bright colors. This also comes back to the principle of contrast. Because there is no variance in the value or intensity of the colors, their purpose is diminished.

The designers also seem to have no method with their use of lines. There are no interesting intersections of lines, nothing but vertical and horizontal lines connecting in predictable ways. This makes the site boring.

Lastly, there is no negative space, which is a necessity when attracting readers. The page is busy and confusing, and my eyes have no time to rest when I look at the page. There is no clear shape created by the white background, and the lack of negative space makes the site nonfunctional.

Overall, this site is a good example of poor design. Those who designed the site completely ignored basic principles we have discussed, which resulted in a terrible layout. This example proves the point that good design is essential in all artifacts.

Design evaluation: Good

http://www.steveshamesphotos.com/images/Riolinda01.jpg

I just happened to find this photo while browsing images online, and I think it has great representation of many of the design elements we have covered so far.

In terms of line usage in this photo, there are vertical lines in the tree, the grass and in the car. There are horizontal lines in the car, buildings, woodpile and horizon. This combination creates a sense of permanence in the photo, which aligns nicely with the idea that the car looks as though is has a permanent spot in that field. The curved lines of the VW Beetle also have an organic tone, which makes the car blend in more with nature.

The tree represents organic form because there is no symmetry. The cloud shapes also take organic form. Since the tree and sky fill most of the photo, their organic forms make the photo calm and soothing to me. There are geometric shapes in the car and in the background buildings. As we discussed, nature often productes organic shapes and people often create geometric shapes. That idea is well represented in this photo.

There is also good usage of space in this photo. Even though the clouds give the sky a visually stimulating pattern, the sky serves as the negative space in the photo. Without that negative space, the photo would likely be overwhelming to the eye.

The textures in the photo are very well captured because of the lighting. These textures have a Gestalt-like effect on me because from my experience, I know exactly what it would feel like to walk through that field. I know exactly what the tree would sound like blowing in the wind. I also can feel in my mind the differences in the smooth parts of the car and the roughness of the rust. Even the sky has a familiar texture.

Contrast serves a powerful purpose in this photo. Because there is such stark contrast between nature (tree, grass, sky) and man-made objects (car, woodpile, building), this photo tells a story. To me, the flourishing tree with the delapidated car and buidings respresent the idea that man-made things can only last so long, but nature has staying power. The grass growing up around the car gives a sense that nature is reclaiming the land. There is also a sense of contrast between the old look of the car and replentished look of the leaves.

The composition of the photo creates a good sence of balance. The two main focal points are offset on the center line, and the scarcity of the tree is balanced out by the solidity of the car. What look to be hills in the background on the right side of the frame are also balanced by the buildings on the left side of the frame.

There are several Gestalt principles at work in this photo. The first one I noticed in the law of similarity, which I thought of when I grouped the man-made objects together automatically. By grouping the car, buildings and woodpile together, I also noticed the law of continuity. My eyes followed the lines created by the connection between the man-made objects. I also noticed the law of pragnance at work when the first shapes I noticed were the simple circles created by the headlight spaces.

Overall, this photo was not just snapped; it looks as though the photographer took time to honor the principles of design. That effort makes this photo all the more interesting and beautiful.

Balance lab

Most of the images on prettyloaded.com involve some sort of asymmetrical balance.

Here are some examples.

"The Detective" preloader image is of a feather duster that is dusting a fingerprint. As the fingerprint is revealed, there is never a clear sense of horizontal or vertical symmetry, which makes the preloader seem more active and more entertaining. The angle of the feather duster also keeps with the asymmetrical theme and balances out the solidity of the image in the middle, making the setup more interesting.

The "Coke.dk 2009" preloader image shows vertical symmetry in the shape of the Coke bottle as it fills up, but horizontal symmetry is not used, which again makes the image active. As the Coke bottle fills up, the liquid line is never straight across, which keeps the image balanced in a yin-yang, asymmetrical style. Once the bottle is full, the height of the bottle is balanced out with the length of the words in the slogan displayed to the right, which shows asymmetrical balance.

The "Get magnetics" preloader image is interesting because the balance is created by shooting laser lines that surround the bottle of body wash. The bottle itself has asymmetrical balance, but the lines create symmetrical balance as they dance around the bottle.

"Sketch Loader" is probably the most cleverly balanced one I noticed. As the light bulb is being sketched and filled in, the shape of the bulb has vertical symmetry. The frame is balanced horizontally by the pen and pencil working in opposite corners. The angles of the pen and pencil also provide asymmetrical balance for the frame.

Contrast lab

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/Rainier/Images/Rainier84_mount_rainier_and_tacoma_08-20-84.jpg

This photo displays several of the types of contrast we discussed in class. Looking strictly at the lines in the photo, there is contrast between the diagonal/horizontal lines of the city and water and the vertical/diagonal lines of the Mount Rainier. There is also contrast in texture between the shapes of the city's trees and buildings, the choppiness of the water, and the smoother, more muted texture of the mountain in the distance. There is also a clear contrast created by the deep colors of the water and trees and the white buildings and boats in the city. The mountain in the background makes the darker colors pop because the colors on the mountain are more hazy due to distance.

This photo also has an element of psychological contrast. You see the stark contrast between nature, conveyed by the water and mountain, and the civilization represented by the city. Like we talked about in class, there is little meaning without contrast. The meaning I take from this photo is that civilization is still controlled by nature because here, the city is sandwiched by nature. Even though the water and mountain are not the focus of the photo, they still carry great presence in the frame.