Design Report

DEVELOPMENT OF THEME

Morbid. Murder. Daggers. Call it what you may, but the theme of the Mini-Zen Garden is simply blood. Maybe this theme could be viewed as disturbing and morbid, but it is something I truly enjoy. The entire concept of the design first occurred to me while I was looking at a preview for the upcoming Tim Burton movie, Sweeney Todd, about a murderous barber. Since there are no images of the movie in which I can gain the rights, my mind jumped to blood.

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

• Background

  The dark red abstract image in the top left corner works to attract the audience’s attention and draw them into the ‘blood’ theme. Its counterpart, the grey, black, and dark red image at the bottom of the page, brings the jagged nature of the top image through the document and keeps the theme flowing. You could even say it keeps it ‘flowing like blood.’

• Title

  The title sets up the entire page for the dagger, murder, and blood theme. It repeats and incorporates the colors found within the top image and sets the reader in the chilling mood. The drips coming from the title bring in the blood idea while the dagger used in the letter ‘M’ brings in the dagger concept. Also the blood drops dripping from the top image are taken directly from those within the title and are repeated to emphasize the theme and carry it throughout the entire page.

• Bullets

  Again, repetition takes place in the bullet point images as well. The dagger images within the sidebar list drag the concept from the title image down into the actual content of the page. It just makes sense: blood and daggers, they go together.

• Positioning

  The layout, while it is important to design, takes a back seat in order to emphasize the creativity and truly dark nature of the entire document. Since the entire aesthetics of the Mini-Zen Garden is quite bold, the actual positioning of the requirements needs simplicity. The minimalist and organized layout allows the theme to drench the web page.

• Font

  The Chiller font used repeatedly in the headings helps to emphasize the dark theme and design. The white font on the black background works for a great contrast and gives the document a punch while conveying the dark nature of the images with a simple black background color.

• Border

  The zigzag border between the requirements and the sidebar not only helps to separate the two and display a distinction, but it also plays into the jagged and otherwise rough, pointed look of the website.

CREDIT

The images of both the bullets and of the abstract corners were taken from stock.xchang and manipulated in Fireworks.

The title was a design originated by Laura Eckert and changed within Fireworks to obtain the desired contrast.

The layout coding was borrowed from Professor Lowe’s Mini-Zen Garden, at least in terms of position. While the coding was edited a little in order to move the different elements around and allow enough space, the initial code was Professor Lowe’s and then adapted.

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