First Impressions 0110001101101111011101010110111001110100

Design actually plays an important role in how customers interact with your image/business/product. As this article on weboptimization.com states, “Web users form first impressions of web pages in as little as 50 milliseconds (1/20th of a second), according to Canadian researchers.” This is followed up with the idea that this frames all subsequent judgments on the site (known as the Halo Effect) and can cause a person to be more critical of a slight issue and vice versa.
Since this first impression is formed so quickly, poor layout and color choices can destroy even the most intelligent of websites. It is also worth noting that younger children are able to more thoroughly pass judgment on a site than older people (which could possibly be due to their age or due to the fact most younger people are more familiar with web pages than the average older person).
Thus, if a site does not manage to succeed in its first impression, it will be permanently hurt. “Even though your site may have superior products, services, or usability, an initial negative impression from a poor or slow design can steer customers towards your competition. You only get one chance to create a good first impression, make it count.”


For the full article click here.

Clay for the Bricks

When we’ve been talking about collage it seems we are so focused on the whole that we never really got around to talking about the individual pieces all that much. Although the point of a collage is the whole itself, the pictures and parts used to make it are just as important in stating the overall point as the final product (as they are all contributing factors).
As a result, we must also concern ourselves in these last few days of our project for Unit 1 on what the images we are using say for themselves and then how they communicate with one another when placed next to each other. If an image communicates well with its counterparts, but fails to deliver a coherent message on its own, does this damage the collage or is it a justifiable weakness?
This brings about the idea of common themes within our pictures (obviously the African Famine, but there are other themes as well) that we must appreciate. So when we post our pictures against our posters, we need to ask ourselves what each picture itself is saying before we ask what the board is saying.

Project Update 3

For today’s drafting of our project, I decided to completely ignore the poster board, instead opting for a simple layout. Almost all my pieces are there though, which allows for the playing around with ideas and layout.
I do however have the basic idea for what I want the poster to look like: a TCU oriented top with an Africa Oriented bottom left aligned. This gives me the chance to place the Operation USA logo and the instructions to the right without interfering with the images too terribly much.
I was also playing with the idea of using thumb tacks to stick the pictures on (or at least make it look like that’s how they’re stuck on) and give the whole thing a collage feel like you would see on a tack board.

Colors of the Beans

So the other day I bought a bunch of jelly beans. After a long time of looking at the bag, I began to notice how instinctively I knew what flavor each of the beans were according to their color. Even despite the fact the watermelon and the apple were the same color, I knew which were which by the insides of the beans (watermelon had a red inside and apple had a green).
Not only did the makers of these candies make the colors represent the flavors of the candy by their real life counterparts, they did it in a way that causes us to never actually think about it. I’ve had a jelly bean addiction for years, and although I processed the idea that this color means that, it had been so ingrained into my mind I never cognitively processed the idea.
As a result jelly beans will never be the same for me, but that’s ok. As a result, I’ve become more aware of how color affects how we interact with substances (specifically food) and how that causes us to interact with the product as a result.

I bet you can guess pretty accurately what flavor these beans are just by looking at them.

Where the Eye Goes

I’ve really become fascinated with the idea of image layout since coming to TCU (especially in its application to advertising). In every image, layout always becomes an issue (even if only subconsciously), such as a family photo having the people in the center or a watch ad having the hands at 10 and 2 so the eye is led down to the brand name (get on Google and check it out if you don’t believe me).

Even in film, oftentimes the person is placed to the side of the screen so the background can have a more visible effect. This also makes the screen feel less crowded and thereby more personal.
In the end, it’s all about where the eye is drawn (in my case as an advertiser I want the eye drawn to the product and a brand). For this project we each need to have a focus, such as the people’s eyes for my own poster. As a result, my poster will become more haunting, and thereby take a more empathetic and emotional route.

Project Update 2

So I was playing with the idea of using actual food in my project (something cheap like rice). This could possibly be used to help blur the borders of each individual picture more than I would normally be able to and give it a little more unity. This also reinforces the point we’re trying to make.
The overall idea is putting a bowl with plastic wrap over it and gluing it to the bottom of the poster. This gives it some 3D effect and shows what exactly the money is going for.
The other plus of this is the fact that it will fulfill some of the “other materials” requirements of the project. The only real downsize is how effectively can I secure the bowl and its weight on the board without spillage.

The Ethics of Collage

A question worth raising is whether or not the concept of one’s art and its idea is ever safe? With the internet now being an major outlet for the publication of art, the copying and modification of this art is now simple.
Take for example Photoshop and its ability to change pictures in multiple ways. By adjusting the picture, we make it into something else entirely. While this is an expression of the one who is modifying it and now a means of displaying their idea, it is still made up of pieces of other art to form this collage. As a result, the intent of the original piece may have been lost of corrupted, thereby twisting the original intent of the artist but reflecting the idea on him still the same.
So is this ethical? Should we be allowed to use other’s work for our own purpose and thereby giving a whole new meaning to their work besides what it could do on their own? If I use the Mona Lisa and make her a skeleton, this makes the picture more ominous. This same violence reflects of Da Vinci, and is in a sort of awkward way its own form of libel.

Project Update 1

So I was toying with the idea of blending the East Africa Pictures with those of the TCU area. This would involve a lot of cropping and layering of the images, but the end result just might be worth it. The whole idea is to have pictures of those who are suffering through the famine to appear in recognizable areas around TCU, thereby creating a sense of empathy for the victims by the TCU community.
This also helps meet the picture quota for images I created. The only issue is that I would have to be careful in what pictures I choose to use from the internet since they must be able to crop easily (in other words have a high amount of contrast so the tools can easily sect the appropriate areas) and look somewhat natural after they have been reintegrated into the new images.
Let me know what ya’ll think.