700 words

My chosen site is http://www.tbwahakuhodo.co.jp/ . Yes I’m about to write 700 words in English about a Japanese site. The reason why I’m able to do this is simple; the site represents itself through art rather than words and symbols. There are words on this site and many of them are in English. Actually, upon writing that just now I’ve discovered the word “ENLISH” in the bottom corner can be clicked upon and translates all the words into English. So now I’ve managed to find the information page; and just as I’d guessed it’s an advertising company’s site.

So in terms of whether I think this site falls into the category of design or art, I’m going to have to say design. For me, as wonderful as the site is to look at (it is very artistic), it’s purpose and function is very clear. It’s a marketing site. Therefore it has the objective of meeting future clients through its site presentation. However, when compared to other marketing companies it’s completely different. I mean, for starters, how many marketing companies use flash based site? Let alone have a look that’s anywhere near as bizarre as this one. Bizarre is perhaps a strong word, but remember I’m writing in English about a Japanese site, they’re presentations of many things are usually quite different to that of the western worlds. There’s no impeccably neat look that says “hey we’re professionals, we can market you’re product to look as perfect as ours”, but you still get a very strong sense that they know what they’re doing.

Many examples of they’re work is displayed on the site through the sites artistic presentation it can be identified with easily by individuals. It showcases a lot of the work it’s done for big brands. It has the scrolling list of clitents it’s done work for; Apple, Aidas, Michelin, Renault and Nissan, to name a few but the way it present’s even this most basic content (a list) is so unique. There is a flashed based crowed of viewers for everything, including one with a parrot on their shoulder. Then there is everything going on around the one small bit of information this page is presenting. There’s sky divers, hot air balloons, Multicoloured trees and a wonderfully contrasting line of black and white architecture in this strange world. The colours are warm and inviting as are the friendly faces of the flash characters. This site has the function of selling its company and this is one of the best methods I’ve ever seen. They’re not just telling what they can do, but are showcasing it while at the same time making connections with the viewers. There are quite a few other sites around that showcase what they’re capable of, but they are not usually this breed of company and although sometimes have more impressive graphics don’t have the same fun factor or yield as much involvement.

One of my favourite feature of this site is it’s loading screen. Once again it’s every artistic, and yes I classified this site as design but maybe under more consideration it’s using art to design something very clever. The loading screen is a construct of 1950s style décor around an old lift and lanterns on the wall that cast a warm light. There is a lady as well who is dressed to match. Her calm face, the warm colours, nice ornaments and welcoming lounges in this foyer are very pleasing to look at, even though they seemingly have nothing to do with the site. Actually a lot of the things seem to have very little relevance to what it’s promoting. Though, when using the site I never really stopped to ask myself why they included a man standing on a surfboard with a briefcase or a panda that bounced around on a spring. It just somehow works to capture you.

There are boarders and vectors that draw to the home screen’s great depths and a giant mechanical hand that reaches out and grabs you every time you click to go somewhere; I just said go somewhere… See that’s the beauty of this site it captures you so much that going through it’s features feels more like a journey than a web experience.

This is the thing I find most impressive about the site and what I would like to use as an influence for the style of my final site. One that feels more like a journey just than web experience.

Class Picture

Was going to explore the identity of characters in film and how we relate to them.

Identity Crisis

I’ve realised that I haven’t determined what identity is yet, only what it isn’t. After observing my friend the other day run round doing a strange dance he made up and putting words together in way that didn’t entirely make sense or are appropriate to repeat… I wondered, what’s he like around mum and dad? Or, Grandma perhaps? Depending on what was going on around him however he’d adapt his dance routines and burst out in air guitar solos.

So I asked him, what are you like around your parents? And the answer was very different and a great contrast to all the things he explained he gets up to when they’re not at home. Is this a split personality? Does it deserve such a drastic label or are we all like this in a way. When I thought about it a little more I realised I was, too, different around my parents. Not to that extent but different; and they weren’t the only case. Over the week I found that I indeed acted differently around different friends, so I’m sure now that we all do this. Do we all have multifaceted split personalities then? Well, yes… We don’t have one personality, we have many, it’s our surrounds that dictate us.

I don’t quite know how to artistically represent this though, words are, sometimes easier.

3D Room

I've been looking for sites that embody my idea having a room that rotates with your mouse and found this one.

http://www.bkdsn.com/

It's basically what I wanted to make but with more walls, 360 degrees, and not so much a virtual tour of a building. The graphics of this site are very impressive all made with 3d software. I'm doing 3d modeling at the moment so I would be capable of designing my 3 dimensional room with alot of detail. However, one thing i noticed about this site is how long it takes to load each room. It leaves you stuck at the front door while the room loads and all you can do is swing it open and closed. I was patient but I would think that alot of people would be turned of by this and leave the site. Also this site doesn't have clickable content on the surfaces of the rooms only information that pops up. I'm wondering if this would be possible at all since I am yet to find a site like it.

I don't have the skills yet to create a web based 3d room and haven't found the source code anywhere to do so. I've found sites that offer it for sale though. I know we're not very restricted by plagiarism here but I think buying something would be going a bit far. And I don't think it would exactly suit my needs either. I'm considering a change of direction in terms of site layout right now. Only I don't know what to...

Art vs Design

I hate discussing a topic such as this because of the huge grey area at the intersection of these terms. Which is why, in fact, I’m not going to bother. With such a grey area I think it’s up to people to make they’re own opinions.

So in a nutshell:

They both overlap, art is a form of designing, expressive or not, it still has a function and involves creating something. Design, however functional, can be in a manner that affects the senses of beauty.

In my opinion artists and designers are both creators and it’s up to them to class their creations under whichever category they choose. It’s an issue with no strongly defined lines and no amount of discussion is going to change this. Our time would be better spent working on creations of out own.

Web Design Ideas

NYE 09

I’ve begun to give some thought to my website, or more specifically the way it will look. Googling “cool websites” didn’t really give me any kind of a start on this. So I hit up the class blog page and did some cheating by checking out what sites previous students found interesting. I stumbled across one that was unlike any type of site I’d seen previously. It appeared to be one giant picture, heavily photoshoped and full of bright colours that just popped. Even more interesting was that when you moved your mouse you could actually move around the picture, which was bigger than first appeared. I didn’t gain any kind of information from this site, but I think it’s a great idea and visually stunning when you consider what else the web has to offer. http://www.thebumblebeez.com/old.html

A bit of research into some artist and I discovered a type of work that could be integrated brilliantly with this web idea. The artists name is Peter Murphy, an Australian photographer who specialises in 360 degree and 3-dimensional photography. My particular interest is his 360 degree works. I’d describe his photos as revolutionary (pun intended) because 360 degrees doesn’t really do them just. They are indeed a full revolution, not just many shots stitched into a wide panorama but a full view of everything left, right, up, down. It’s hard to explain so it’s best to see yourself;

http://www.mediavr.com/nye09.htm , http://www.mediavr.com/blog/

The biggest problem with photographs is that viewing them is never as good as being there and experiencing things in real life. I’m not saying by any means Peter Murphy’s NYE 09 is the same as being there, but it’s probably the closest thing on offer.

So my idea; well, it’s a web page that you navigate by moving your mouse around a 360 degree room. A spherical layout may present a problem but making it square should solve this and enable text, pictures, links and video to be placed on the walls of a room without their dimensions being distorted.

What Is Identity?

When I first began to think about what identity was, I’m ashamed to say, I turned to Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a good friend of mine and usually provides me with answers that I find helpful and informative. The Wikepedia page on Identiy was neither of these. It was wrong. I didn’t read much of it but form the first paragraph I got the sense that Personal Continuity was integral to identity. It would even have you believe that this is essentially what identity was. Wrong. And I can say that because this is all about how I will perceive and represent identity. I will at least explain why this is wrong. Personal Continuity suggests that a number of traits in a person at any given time will sufficiently match traits they will display at another point in time, and that dictates their identity. This will probably hold true for a space of months or even years but what if this second point in time is decades into the future? Are the traits a person displays as a 25 year old going to have any degree of similarity to the ones they display when 55? We’ve all seen the latest bonds advert on T.V. where teens, showing off boxers with their pants falling halfway off their ass, are contrasted to a group of old men, who have their pants up somewhere near their neckline. Each group laughs at the others attire after they pass. But surely those pops were young and hip once? And these young men aren’t going to go round the rest of their lives wearing their pants like curtain drapes, enjoying loud music and being raucous at parties. What about criminals turning their life around for the best? If personal continuity was true then it would be impossible to believe anyone could become a changed man and live a completely different life, in which case that clichéd line “I’m a new man” must mean nothing to you and therefore you don’t enjoy 90% of the movies in the drama section at the video store. The point I’m trying to make is everyone’s identity changes over time as we grow and learn we understand and perceive things differently precipitating a change in the way we act and thus the way others perceive us. Maybe not drastically but in some way or another our identities change over time. So I’ve deduced what Identity isn’t… It’s a start.