Feedback.....?

After presenting my idea in front of my peers I came to realise that one of the things people felt could be improved was either through losing the exterior edge smoke; or by changing the shape of the sides so it didnt have a flat edge. I am going to go back to the sketch board and try to think of another element to introduce that can fill the white backdrop I am using.

New Design in Photoshop

Here is the new design mapped out graphically inside photoshop. It carries the colour scheme that I decided to use and also uses the smoke well. I believe it has a professional feel and I am much happier with this design. I am going to use this a basis for my site and am going to start thinking about the other pages and how I can encorporate the colour scheme in a intuitive way but also paying key attention to the element of professionalism.

New Sketch....

This is the sketch of my latest design idea. It encorporates the element of smoke that I initially spoke about and also contains

a change in the format.

Change of pathway....

After doing some reseacrh and listening to some of the feedback given on the one day project, I wanted to ensure my site contained an atmosphere of professionalism and definitely not a claustrophobic feel. I decided to change the concept based around choice to one based around colour. I have chosen Black, White and Purple as the priority colour scheme for my site. I am going to encorporate smoke as well as water to add another element to represent versatility; and also try to bring in another element of flow and movement.

I am going to take these new ideas to the sketch book and see what ideas I can develop.

Research - Choice

During the research for the designing of this site I tried to gain an exact definition of choice and its link to behavior and overall outcome/user experience.

In life you are often met with choices; in-fact you have to make choice all the time: to walk one way, to order hot chocolate instead of coffee to make a blog as evidence of your thought process?

Choice is a key part of life. If in my site I offer a choice will this be a useful tool? A choice in a site represents a choice within a choice and could deter users from experiencing a site. I am going to do some research into the role of Choice; and how it is related to user experience a key aspect of web design.

Choice

Definition: In the personal development sense, choice refers to the act of choosing from among alternatives of beliefs, lifestyle and behavior.

Example: After realizing that his whining and complaining behavior was alienating his friends, Jeremy knew he had to make a choice between his habitual behavior and his friends.

Taken from: http://personaldevelopment.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_choice_#ixzz0UTsMcgR3

It would appear that the 'role' of choice has immediate implications which I personally relate to user experience. The option of choice could be appealing to many, but to some it may promote something that a passive spectator will not digest, and, will therefore not continue to progress through the site. I am going to continue to research this topic and based upon my findings my design will take shape. I believe the option of choice in design is a good one. But is this a universal belief? and if this is not, then are the symbolisms of shapes also read in the same context regardless of social background, age, sex and political beliefs?

This is a rough photoshop sketch of my logo design. I wanted to include my initials as a hallmark, and, the water behind represents flow and movement, which are essential to success in the interactive media industry.

When thinking about the colour scheme to use for this design I cannot just choose one colour scheme thats is fitting to the symbolisms of one particular shape, if it then clashes with another. I have found an image of a colour wheel; and taking my knowledge from the lecture on design I have learnt that 'Neighbours are friends & Opposites attract'. I am going to be very carful with my colour decisions as they can inflict emotion and feeling immediately and can also determine where the eye is lead too.