The purpose of this design report is to describe the processes and strategies utilized in the design, as well as to give credit to sources of inspiration and materials. The theme of this website was not instantly decided upon—it kind of evolved throughout the design process. I decided on a 1960s theme because I thought the whole “peace, love, etc.” movement of the era was kind of fitting for the Mini Zen Garden. When I decided on this theme, I started searching for backgrounds and images to use, and almost immediately decided on a silhouetted image of a VW bus. What I’d do with this image in the design, was still a bit of a mystery initially—as discussed below.
Ever since the beginning of the semester, I knew I wanted to keep my design for this project simple (the KISS principle—Keep It Simple, Stupid), yet still keep it attractive and colorful. Finding the “happy medium” between these two things, however, was not always easy.
Some goals this project tries to achieve include:
CRAP elements were utilized throughout this design.
The consistency in the design was not complete until the design itself was almost entirely complete. The picture of the VW bus was originally navy blue with colorful polka dots, and it kind of clashed with the clouds. Through a lot of experimentation (and saving many, many back-up copies of my work just in case!) I finally manipulated the image such that it fit in with the prevalent orange and black theme in the header.
There were many different drafts of this project before finally settling on the final. I first started with a southwestern theme, with all the images converted to a sepia tone. Upon the in-class workshop, however, I realized I really needed more color in my design, and I started looking for different themes. Deciding on a theme proved really critical in the design process, because it gave me direction as to where to go. After browsing several photo sites, I finally decided on a 60s/70s theme, and decided to use the image of a “hippy bus” and a “flower power” background.
Before creating any one of the many drafts throughout the projects, it was decided how the items on the page were going to be laid out. After the background, headings, etc. were placed into the website, adjustments were made as needed.
Many colors were used throughout the project. First, there was a really busy, fluorescent background that I eventually decided detracted from the content of the container. It was then decided that the use of many different, bright colors would be limited to the background, and then only a limited amount would be used in the container where the actual content was. The image of the bus, formerly navy blue spotted with many different colors of polka dots, was converted to black and orange with Fireworks to establish consistency within the container.
Time was a big issue with this project, and it was vital throughout the process to allow myself time to walk away when I became frustrated with the design.
Thanks to…